Customer Service Chronicle

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Macy's Hits a Homerun with Customer Service!

Labor Day weekend, a retailer's last ditch effort to entice customers into stores before the holiday shopping season begins and hectic fall schedules start.  This time of year there is a flood of coupons, incentives and flyer's hitting the marketing via direct mail, email and customer loyalty programs.

As a long time Macy's customer, I was excited to go shopping and I was armed with my 20% off coupon, my list of items and of course, my Macy's charge card.  Dan and I separated - he went to housewares in search of a slicer and I went to Women's clothes in search of a new wardrobe but it was Dan who hit the jackpot with a customer service experience.

As he was in search of his item, a gentle older women approached him to offer assistance.  Not only was she informative and friendly, she also encouraged him to open up a Macy's charge card where he would be rewarded with an additional 15% coupon plus the 20% coupon being offered to current Macy's members.

I completed my transaction with the lovely assistance of Rachael who ironically was with me when Dan called me with his new deal.  At first, I was too busy to pick up the phone as I commented to Rachael how men just don't like shopping and I was sure he was calling to leave.  When Dan found me, he told me about his deal and took my bags back to Rachael where she transferred my purchases from my credit card over to his for the additional savings - almost $ 60!

This little old lady who went out of her way to help Dan select his slicer and convince him to open his charge is a great example of a customer service champion and of Master Strategy # 6:  Make it Easy for Your Customers to Do Business With You!  She was an absolute pleasure and made our shopping experience fun and fabulous.

Now, Rachael, who also was wonderful, summed it up best as she re-rung the purchases on Dan's credit card "she should have picked up her phone"....lol.

So the morale of the story is..... Treat your customers well and always pick up your phone!

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Hey Mr. Retailer, I'm Standing Right Here!

 I recently had the tragic experience of purchasing a new T.V. In my world, nothing can compare to the anxiety of making the right selection.  Electronics are not my "thing", so in a world where I am basically blinded, I feel all my power is transferred over to the sales associate.

The retailer of choice was Best Buy and we were in search of a new flat screen that would have all the bells and whistles, fit in our armour and have a long life when left on 24/7 (we work out of our homes and the T.V seems to always be on.

We must have been fine prey for the sales associate who approached us and we were so thankful to have somebody help us make this decision but to my surprise, he wasn't educated in the products he was selling and was unable to clearly direct us down our path.  His focus was pushing us towards a "deal".  A returned product that was in an "open box" that would sell for $ 170 cheaper.  At first, we considered it because "hey, in this economy, we do everything we can to save some money".  But as we went further into the discussion, it became apparent that the sales associate didn't know why it was returned, if there were any warranties and if it had all of its components. 

It was went he reached behind the TV on display and pulled out a manual, wiped off the dust and said "at least it has a manual", that we realized we were getting that particular T.V. on display. - we decided the savings wasn't worth the risk and the associate wasn't really demonstrating value.

To end our Best Buy experience, we proceed to the checkout stand where the associate was engaged in a conversation with a couple of others associates while he was ringing us up.  No eye contact, no smile, and no acknowledgment that we were even standing there.

I just wanted to scream - "Hey, we are standing right here making a major purchase", but we just laughed and walked outside the store.  If Best Buy truly wanted us to have a wonder experience in thier store, they would have educated thier staff on how to treat customers.

Why? Because our faith in retailers' ability to maintain a connection with their customers and provide strong customer service is tested everyday.  We have not come to expect bad service and are thrilled when we receive exceptional service.

Best Buy experience - D-