Customer Excellence Versus Customer Service

In today’s retail environment, there are many departments that handle interaction between customers and the retail establishment. Think of the different departments imbedded under one roof of your favorite retail shopping experience. There might be as many as 10 persons you potentially interact with when patronizing your favorite store. From a sales staff person to a department manager, to accounting to customer service, all represent that store in some capacity and have an effect on your perception of that store’s presentation. The same is true for your staff’s interaction with customers on your store level. Everyone’s interaction from the sales person, to the designer, to the transportation engineer, to the customer service follow up call, everyone plays a role in making this interaction the best experience that your customer has. That is one of the biggest factors that keep customers coming back time and time again! When polled, retailers found that price was not at the top of the list, but customer service made it to the top as most important!
Many big companies talk the talk of customer service, but when push comes to shove, you have to ask yourself do they really care? Some do care immensely. One of the most famous retail operations associated with customer service is Nordstrom. Nordstrom takes customer service and has elevated it to a whole new level. Theirs is not about having hundreds of extra staff persons on board; theirs is about the staff being empowered to make the customer happy with their experience of shopping. Rarely do they compete with other department stores with sales, extended hours, or flashy displays. No, they feel from the time you step into their store until the time you walk out with a Nordstrom bag in hand, they want you to have the most positive experience. Why? It is quite simple. Because YOU will tell (and brag) that you shopped at Nordstrom and will share the positive experience with friends and family. You become their advertising medium of choice. Pretty savvy when you stop and think about it. They have excelled in CUSTOMER EXCELLENCE!
With Valentine’s Day on the horizon, this is a great time to gather your staff and review and revise your customer service policies. What to do, when to do and who is empowered to make what decisions. While you may not feel comfortable with every staff person being able to make every decision, try to eliminate as many hoops as possible that your customer has to jump through to get satisfactory resolve to a situation. Think that each customer is a powerful voice that has the ability to share the positive (or negative) experiences about your store and the level of service they received. Rarely will you hear talk in the office about the price of the flowers, but you are more likely to hear about the experience. Take the time to keep customers from being disappointed. For instance, you may not to be able to offer any more deliveries to an area that you normally service, but instead of taking the phone off the hook, or taking your computer off line, have the courtesy to give the customer an answer and an alternative solution such as being able to stop by and pick up something. Don’t forget courier services. Many customers will pay the price if it is that important to have something delivered.
Review your history from last year and try to create solutions for this year so you too will be one of those shopping experiences that customers will remember. You too can excel at CUSTOMER EXCELLENCE!