Last December, I visited three bicycle shops to search for a new bike. I wanted a hybrid bike that was easy to maintain and fun to ride.

The employee at the first shop immediately focused what they had in stock, which wasn't much. He didn't ask any questions and barely answered mine.

The employee at the second bike shop answered my questions, but didn't go deeper to truly understand my needs.

Tyler, the employee who helped me at Trek Bicycle San Diego, was different.

He listened to my needs and paid attention to what really mattered to me. I wound up buying my first Trek bike after being loyal to another brand for many years.

Tyler clearly possessed a customer service superpower: the ability to identify my unspoken service cues. Here's how you can do it, too.

What are service cues?

Service cues are unspoken customer needs. They're often found in the specific words a customer chooses, their tone of voice, their body language, and their actions.

They're often very subtle, but they can be the keys to a customer's heart.

A classic example is a lost customer. They don't ask for directions, but you can still tell they're lost. They have a slightly confused look on their face while slowly looking around, as if searching for a sign or landmark.

How to identify service cues

The "I'm lost" look might be easy to identify, but some service cues are much more subtle. You have to really pay attention to what customers say, how they say it, and what they do.

Here are three techniques that can help.

#1 Listen

You have to listen carefully to what your customers are saying.

I told the employee at each bike shop I was replacing an older bike that used gears, brakes, and other components that wore out easily. The old bike was getting difficult to maintain and spent too much time in the shop.

The employee at the first shop didn't listen. He immediately showed me bikes with the same components as the one I was replacing.

The employee at the second shop listened to my questions and answered each one, but he didn't dive any deeper to learn more about my concerns or why they were important to me.

Tyler at the Trek shop did a great job of listening. He quickly understood my desire to spend more time riding and less time repairing and showed me a few bikes with features that made them more durable.

You can develop your own listening skills using this guide.

#2 Interpret

Once you get really good at listening to the customers, the next step is interpreting the hidden messages behind their words.

Pay close attention to:

• Tone of voice: What emotions do they convey?

• Word choice: Are there any hidden meanings?

• Body language: What do their facial expressions, posture, and hand gestures say?

The employee at the first shop missed this completely because he wasn't listening.

The employee at the second shop answered my questions, but pick up on my concerns about my bike spending too much time in the shop. My real goal was to spend more time riding and less time and money getting my bike fixed.

Tyler at Trek San Diego picked up on my concerns about maintenance.

He steered me towards bikes that were easier to maintain. He also showed me the onsite repair shop, pointed out their excellent pricing, and explained they typically had a fast two-day turnaround time on repairs. (Other local bike shops were averaging a week or longer.)

Building your interpretation skills takes practice.

Side-by-side coaching is one of the best ways to help your employees. Have employees observe you serving customers and then give employees feedback after you observe them. These skills are rarely taught in training, but they should be.

#3 Observe

Speaking of observing, you can learn a lot by paying attention to what customers do.

The employees at the first two bike shops didn't observe anything. I didn't test ride any bikes at the first shop and the employee at the second shop went to help other customers while I test rode a few bikes behind the store.

Tyler was very observant.

He watched me test ride a bike that he helped me select and could see that I clearly enjoyed it. The observation also helped him see that the frame size and seat position were just right, but the front brakes were slightly rubbing.

By taking a moment to observe me, Tyler saw me falling in love with my soon-to-be new bike. He also observed a minor concern with the front brakes that had to be fixed to close the deal.

Tyler quickly pointed out the brakes were easily adjusted.

Observations like this often come from procedures. Unlike the other shops, Trek San Diego had a thorough procedure for customers to test ride bikes, including a safety check and the sales associate watching the process.

Conclusion

I love my new Trek bike and have been riding more than ever.

The other shops sold great bikes, too, but customer service closed the deal. Tyler took the time to observe my service cues and help me find the perfect bike for me.

Spotting service cues can be the difference between winning or losing a sale, retaining or keeping a customer, and making or breaking a reputation.

Help your employees do a better job of observing service cues:

• Emphasize listening skills.

• Train them to interpret customers' subtle signals.

• Create procedures that help employees observe their customers.