3 Ways Dispensaries Can Improve the Customer Experience

As the world is waking up to the scientific truth concerning cannabis, more and more places around the world are beginning to loosen the laws prohibiting its sale and use. As these jurisdictions begin to allow dispensaries to open their doors to the public, whether for medical or recreational sales, owners of these dispensaries are faced with the challenge of entering a whole new sort of business that requires them to rethink customer service as a whole.

In many places where selling and using cannabis legally is still a new idea, dispensary owners must set the bar high in order to quell the remaining stigmas that hover over their heads. This means they must train their employees, such as the budtender, on market specific etiquettes that not only shine a positive light on the industry itself but also provides their customers with professional, quality service.

Always Keep Staff and Yourself Up-To-Date

It isn’t only important to keep abreast about what is going on within your dispensary, but you must stay vigilant of new cannabis trends, regulations, and ordinances in your area and around the country. This is still a new ball game, which means there are opponents still working to reverse cannabis laws. Not only that, but law makers are tweaking things as they go.

Being able to inform customers and hold insightful conversations with them shows them you know your business. The legalization of cannabis throughout the U.S. has literally created millions of new consumers over night, and a whole new sort of market that never existed openly until now. These same consumers may be seeking knowledge and understanding concerning everything from local and federal laws to the specific health benefits or the cannabis plant.

Train Your Budtender in Good Customer Service

As touched on above, the stigma associated with cannabis isn’t going away simply because some laws were passed. We have decades of social engineering to thank for that. This means you and your employees must hold yourself to a certain standard of customer service, just like any other business.

Customers may come in for the cannabis you are selling, but in all honesty, the style and attitude of your budtender are what gives your dispensary that good or negative energy. That personal experience they get when dealing with your budtender will be a huge driving force behind whether or not they return. Therefore, be sure they get sufficient customer service training.

In addition, a big part of a budtender’s job is to be well versed in the correct ways to interact with the public. Believe it or not (or maybe you already know), everyone in town is looking at you. Especially if you are a dispensary who has recently opened in an area that never had one before.

Keep Your Brand Image Clean

Cannabis and cannabis products are nature’s way of curing us of illness or relieving us of discomfort caused by illnesses. These products manage chronic conditions and improve health. Getting “wasted” is only the side effect. With that said, every medicine has a side effect, some that are far worse and more dangerous than cannabis ever could be.

In order to keep your dispensary’s image clean, you and your employees must always remain professional. Be sure you don’t have budtenders who are saying things like, “Now this one right here … you will be so blazed!” That would be like a doctor prescribing sleeping medications and saying, “This right here! You’ll be knocked out for hours.” Even in a recreational market where some consumers just want the high, it is important to stay professional and always ask questions first to determine their need.

The whole idea of selling cannabis and its by-products still makes people uncomfortable – it is still viewed as a “counterculture.” Your employees should always be aware that not everyone who visits may be there to buy cannabis, but to take notes – or to prove that dispensaries are unprofessional and irresponsible. That’s why knowing the exact medical terms and keeping that health-and-wellness image is very important.

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