Posts Tagged ‘customer service’
A Perfect Gift from Buckle
How does a retailer defy gravity, posting quarterly sales increases in recession while the competition falls flat? My guess is customer service with great products. And that store bucking the economic trend? Buckle.
I have to admit, I have not visited Buckle, an upscale clothing store known for its designer denim for young men and women. But my MBA marketing professor has, and he shared this story in class.
My professor and his wife were searching the mall for a gift for their seventeen-year-old daughter. (“And you know how hard that is,” he said. “Seventeen-year-olds are impossible to shop for.”) They stroll past Buckle, and he stops. Turning back, he describes to his wife how Buckle is thriving in an abysmal retail economy. Maybe there’s a gift in there for their daughter. “Let’s check this out,” he said.
So begins one of the best retail experiences my professor has encountered. The sales teammate (Buckle’s term) listened and asked questions about their daughter. From the nearly 1,000 denim options for women, she picked a pair that she assured them that their daughter would love. The designer jeans were more expensive than they were used to paying, but they agreed. The sales teammate offered to gift wrap the jeans and did so. Twenty minutes later, my professor and his wife left Buckle with the “perfect gift.”
Fast forward to the daughter receiving the gift, with the parents looking on. Removing the gift wrap, she saw the tell-tale cardboard box that signals “clothing.” Her initial expression read, “Oh no, my parents bought me clothes!” Pushing on, she opened the box and held up the jeans. She is stunned.
Finally, she said, “These are cool.”
“We got them at Buckle,” my professor added.
“Wow. These are very cool.”
The Buckle sales teammate was absolutely right: the daughter cherishes her new jeans, the perfect gift. Maybe that’s how a retailer survives this downturn.
Tags: clothing, customer service, for her, for teens, gift ideas, shopping, surprise
Earlier today, I spent an hour removing UPC labels stuck on serving bowls. And not just one tag per bowl. The manufacturer added three other essential stickers: “Made in the Philippines,” “Not dishwasher safe,” and “Hand-crafted from monkey pods.”
Why do companies indelibly tattoo these tags on their products? Several left sticky glue residue on the underside of the bowls. eHow offers six suggestions for removing this sticker gunk. Plus, eHow offers advice for removing labels that involves Q-tips, rubbing alcohol and razor blades. So I need to become MacGyver or a field surgeon to rid these stickers.
That’s just the tags. Some manufacturers humanproof their stuff in hard-plastic clamshell cases, requiring heavy-duty scissors or the Zibra Open It Universal Package Opener
Thankfully, Amazon.com began a “frustration-free” package initiative in 2008, spanning several years. Amazon’s first easy-to-open product, which I gave my nephew for his birthday, is the Fisher-Price Imaginext Adventures Pirate Ship
Tags: customer service, gift sites, giftology, packaging, toys
MSN Money has released its 2009 Customer Service Hall of Fame this month. I’ve listed the top ten below with excerpts from the retailer profiles. Try one of these service standouts for your next gift purchase.
#10. Southwest Airlines
“Low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines attributes its customer-service success to personality… and free peanuts.” Consider a Southwest gift card.
#9. Costco
“The company’s prices have also won Costco fans. Costco stocks its stores with bulk items that consumers can buy at discounts. It keeps its margins low in order to keep prices down and makes up the difference in sales volume.” Shop at Costco.com.
#8. Apple
“If they can’t fix it, and it’s new enough, they’ll often hand you a replacement device free, on the spot.” Visit the Apple Store.
#7. Whole Foods Market
“[Whole Foods] has created a loyal following by committing to sell high-quality food that’s free of many additives and antibiotics that concern health-conscious customers.” Order a Whole Foods gift card.
#6. Publix Super Market
“[Spokeswoman Maria] Brous also attributes Publix’s success to discount programs intended to help struggling families afford the basics.” Purchase a Publix gift card.
#5. Nordstrom Department Store
“The company gives many of its salespeople the latitude to deal with customer complaints without running them up the management chain.” Shop at Nordstrom.com.
#4. Amazon.com
“Amazon considers its free shipping a form of advertising. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Amazon said it had saved customers more than $800 million in shipping costs in 2008.” Shop at Amazon.com.
#3. NetFlix
“Netflix has 58 distribution centers across the country, enabling 97% of members to receive new DVDs the day after Netflix gets their returns, says Steve Swasey, the company’s director of corporate communications. The company ships more than 2.2 million DVDs each day to a network of 10.3 million subscribers, he says.” Give a NetFlix gift subscription.
#2. Trader Joe’s
“Trader Joe’s owes its customer ratings to its cheese, chocolate cake… and the rest of its product selection, says satisfied shopper Lisa Hsu.” See TraderJoes.com for the closest grocery store location. TJ’s does not sell its products (not even their gift cards) online.
#1. USAA
“USAA certainly isn’t your average insurance company or financial institution. Its 7 million members are all in the military, former servicemen or family members of military personnel. Members are stakeholders. They pay premiums and are paid back a portion of the insurer’s profits each year.” If you qualify for USAA services, visit USAA.com to learn more about buying a U.S. savings bond as a kid’s gift. Albeit practical, savings bonds help children understand the power of growing interest.
MSN Money based its top ten on a survey of 3,015 respondents, rating the customer service of 145 companies in 15 industries. Zogby International conducted the survey and also asked which aspect of service was most important. The results (rounded up) are as follows:
- Knowledgeable staff – 44%
- Friendly staff – 18%
- Readily available staff – 15%
- Flexible policies for return/exchange of merchandise – 9%
- Service after the sale – 9%
- None — product is all that matters – 1%
- Not sure – 1%
- Other – %1
Tags: chocolate+candy, clothing, customer service, food, for kids, gadgets, gift cards, gift ideas, gift sites, lists, money gifts, movies, shopping, surveys, travel
Yesterday I posted to Twitter about shipping my old iPhone to gadget reseller Gazelle. Within 12 minutes, the folks at Gazelle noticed my tweet message, followed my Twitter feed and sent a nice reply.
That’s a great customer follow-up use of social media. Gazelle’s prompt response made me think about other sites I frequent. How many of my favorite retailers are using Twitter? And when did they start posting tweets? I compiled the table below using Twitter’s “Find People” search and MyTweet16, which lists a Twitter user’s first 16 tweets.
Retailers Using Twitter
| Retailer Web Site | Twitter Use |
| Amazon.com #1 online retailer in the U.S. |
@amazon since Feb. 14, 2009 |
| Barnes & Noble Bookseller |
@BNBuzz since Apr. 22, 2009 |
| Best Buy Consumer electronics |
@BestBuy since Jan. 28, 2009 |
| Borders Bookseller |
@BordersMedia since Feb. 24, 2009 |
| CafePress Online retailer of custom goods |
@cafepress since Apr. 24, 2008 |
| Cooking.com Online retailer for cooks and chefs |
@CookingCom since June 19, 2009 |
| Crate & Barrel Housewares, furniture and decor |
@crateandbarrel since Apr. 25, 2008 |
| Dean & DeLuca Fine food, wine and kitchenware |
@DeanandDeluca since Mar. 23, 2009 |
| Dormbuys.com Essentials for college dorms |
@dormbuys since July 28, 2008 |
| Edible Arrangements Fruit arranged like flowers for delivery |
@DoFruit since Oct. 24, 2008 |
| Etsy Handmade crafts |
@Etsy since Jan. 14, 2008 |
| Gazelle Buys used gadgets |
@gazelle_com since Sept. 19, 2008 |
| Godiva Chocolatier Premium chocolates |
@GodivaChoc since Feb. 6, 2009 |
| JustGive.org Choose from 1.5 million charities for gifts |
@JustGiveOrg since Jan. 16, 2009 |
| Kiva.org Microlending for needy entrepreneurs |
@Kiva since July 25, 2008 |
| Kohls Department store |
@Kohls_Official since Apr. 27, 2009 |
| Lands’ End Clothing retailer with iron-clad guarantee |
@LandsEndChat since Sept. 27, 2008 |
| Levenger Gifts for reading and writing |
@Levenger since Jan. 16, 2009 |
| Nordstrom Upscale department store |
@nordstrom since Sept. 5, 2008 |
| Omaha Steaks Premium meats and seafood |
@OmahaSteaksHelp since June 17, 2009 |
| OneShare Sells one share of stock as a framed gift |
@oneshare since Feb. 4, 2009 |
| Overstock.com Online retailer selling surplus goods |
@Overstock since Nov. 20, 2008 |
| PajamaGram Pajamas sent in a hat box |
@PajamaGram since May 14, 2009 |
| ProFlowers Floral delivery |
@ProFlowers since May 5, 2009 |
| Starbucks Largest coffeehouse chain in the world |
@Starbucks since Aug. 12, 2008 |
| Sur La Table Gourmet cooking utensils and appliances |
@Sur_La_Table since June 11, 2009 |
| Teleflora Floral delivery |
@Teleflora since Mar. 6, 2009 |
| The Fruit Company Fruit basket delivery |
@TheFruitCo since Apr. 29, 2009 |
| ThinkGeek Online retailer for nerd stuff |
@thinkgeek since Jan. 26, 2008 |
| Ticketmaster Concert, show and sports tickets |
@Ticketmaster since Apr. 14, 2009 |
| Trader Joe’s Great groceries and inexpensive wine |
@traderjoes since Aug. 28, 2008 |
| Travelocity Travel and lodging |
@travelocity since Feb. 10, 2009 |
| ToysRUs Toy retailer |
@ToysRUs since Nov. 15, 2008 |
| Uncommon Goods Unusual home accessories and gifts |
@uncommon_goods since Jan. 24, 2009 |
| Urban Outfitters Clothing and footwear retailer |
@UrbanOutfitters since July 21, 2008 |
| Vera Bradley Seller of brightly patterned bags |
@verabradley since June 4, 2008 |
| Z Gallerie Home decor, furniture and dinnerware |
@zgallerie since June 14, 2009 |
| Zappos.com CEO of the online shoe retailer |
@zappos since Mar. 8, 2008 |
| Zazzle.com Online retailer for custom merchandise |
@zazzle since Oct. 24, 2008 |
Of the 40 retailers above, grocery chain Trader Joe’s use of Twitter impressed me the most. Nearly all of Trader Joe’s posts are simply retweets of customer talking about TJ’s food and beverages on Twitter. (Jargon alert: Retweets repeat someone else’s message on Twitter — crediting the author — to help spread the message to others. Often abbreviated as RT, it’s word of mouth, Twitter-style.)
Finally, as I’m writing this post, Gazelle sent me another Twitter reply. This time, Gazelle thanked me for my tweet and offered me a 5% bump in value on my next Gazelle gadget trade-in.
Tags: books, charitable gifts, chocolate+candy, clothing, coffee, college, customer service, decor, flowers, food, gadgets, gift baskets, gift sites, giftology, stock, thank you, toys, travel, wine
As givers of gifts, sometimes we encounter problems with retailers. Perhaps the retailer sent the gift too late, sold damaged goods, offered a sub par experience, shipped to the wrong destination or even delivered the wrong gift altogether. In my MBA service management course this spring, we called these service failures. Our textbook authors, James and Mona Fitzsimmons, shared some statistics on word of mouth and service failures.
- The average business only hears from 4% of their customers who are dissatisfied with their products or services. Of the 96% who do not bother to complain, 25% of them have serious problems.
- The 4% complainers are more likely to stay with the supplier than are the 96% non-complainers.
- About 60% of the complainers would stay as customers if their problem was resolved and 95% would stay if the problem was resolved quickly.
- A dissatisfied customer will tell between 10 and 20 other people about their problem.
- A customer who has had a problem resolved by a company will tell about 5 people about their situation.
From these statistics, the authors conclude “that a quick resolution to service failure is an important way to create loyal customers.” In other words, businesses need to focus on service recovery: empower front-line employees to make wrong situations right. My business professor reached a more proactive conclusion. Service firms should train people and invest in systems to prevent the service failures in the first place.
I agree with my professor. Once a customer receives poor service, retailers need to expedite (i.e., spend more time and money) to win that customer back. Service recovery should be a secondary strategy. Yes, online shoe seller Zappos.com made my gift order right last Christmas. But I would have been more satisfied if Zappos.com shipped my wife’s Uggs slippers undamaged when she opened them on Christmas Day.
Tags: christmas, customer service, giftology, shipping
