Yesterday it became incumbent upon me to make a trip out into the world and purchase a coffee maker to replace the lemon that died on us just a few days back, and after the backup French press bit it the night before, the situation was raised to DEFCON 5 - I had a mission to reinstate our caffeine delivery system STAT before the next morning or we ran the risk of devolving into Precambrian chaos.
Since most of the electronics/appliance speciality stores have gone out of business in my general locality, I felt my best option was to head out to the mall and visit one of the department stores still left in operation. My first choice was Sears, as they are a long-time dependable price leader, and offer such stalwart brands as Kenmore and Land's End. I knew what make and model of coffee machine I wanted before I walked into the store, and so I figured this was going to be a quick 5 minute in-and-out ordeal.
I was wrong.
I walked in one of the outside entrances to Sears, and proceeded through the hardware department to the escalators, taking them up to the second floor where the home appliances are found. This was on a Thursday afternoon, and the store was a wasteland. There was a young lady working the counter, and a second worker hanging out around the counter, doing something with one of the displays. I walked past the counter and down the aisle that I knew to carry the coffee makers, and I was presented with a display that was in general disarray. Stocked boxes and floor models were combined together on the same shelves, and after far too many minutes, I finally found the floor model I was after, but there were no stocked units on the shelves. I was unsure of my perceptions, so I paced around the aisle, looked behind stocked boxes, around the corners, and on the endcaps and center aisle displays, just to make sure I wasn't missing anything.
I looked around for assistance, but it was a ghost town. Finally, I walked back to the register, and explained to the checkout attendant that I knew which model I wanted, but could not find it on the shelves, and could she check to see if they had any in stock. Her expression in return was one between confusion and boredom, and after asking a few times, she walked back with me to the aisle to see what I was talking about. I pointed out the model I wanted, and she misidentified several units before she became cognizant of the fact that I was trying to get across to her the entire time - that the floor model did not have units stocked on the shelf. She came back, and started to chat with the other employee who had been arranging displays, and asked in confusion if she knew what to do. Both conferred, and the first employee returned to me and said that someone (they gave me a name, but not a job title or responsibility) was out on his lunch break, and that they didn't know what to do. In smiling patience masking my exasperation I calmly replied that I would come back later, which gave them both visible transformations of relief.
Come back later? Fat chance. They had lost my sale.
I walked all the way down the mall to Macy's, skeptical that their prices would be able to match what I had seen at Sears, but willing to take the chance, just because I needed a coffee pot, and wasn't leaving without one.
From the moment I walked in, it was a totally different situation. Walking in through the make-up counter, there were many employees walking the aisles, and taking the escalator all the way up the top floor, I witnessed a store that was alive, and had employees greeting customers in every visible department. Entering the kitchen appliance section, I quickly was able to identify the section displaying the coffee pots, as they were all up on a counter top, with prices and descriptions clearly affixed to their placards. As I walked over to the display, a worker on the floor made eye contact with me and smiled, but was able to judge that I knew where I was going, so didn't come and ask me the annoying question if I was finding everything that I was looking for. This question, asked at the inappropriate moment, conveys to the customer that the employee is reading from a behavioral script, and much like the waiter that asks you how your meal is the moment you insert a bite into your mouth, is only looking to fulfill the letter and not the spirit of their obligation to the customer.
I glanced around the display, and I was quickly able to identify the make and model I was looking for, and it was even $20 cheaper than the same model at Sears. Knowing that I had accomplished my goal and with time to spare, I took a moment to compare the model with similar models in the general vicinity. At this point, the same employee that had made eye contact with me before, approached and confidently asked if I had any questions about the coffee makers. I did indeed have a question about the difference between two very similar models that differed only in interface and appearance, but had a $20 difference in price. He quickly confirmed my intuition that the main difference was appearance, and I was able to make my selection and walk to the counter. The same attendant escorted me to the register, and rang me out. Instead of putting my large coffee pot box into an even larger plastic bag, he taped a very simple handle to the top of the box, allowing me to carry it out by hand, and without guilt for wasting resources. Ring-out was easy, and while he asked me if I had a Macy's card, he confirmed that there were no savings that day on the card, and therefore it was unimportant. We chatted jovially over the exchange of cards and signatures, and at the end of the transaction, with a smile, he asked if my experience was a good one, and on the answer of affirmative, he gently suggested that I fill out an online survey indicating my pleasure. I've decided to do one better, and to put it on our blog.
Walking out of the store, I happily carried my new appliance knowing that I had been treated in exactly the way I wanted, with excellent attention to customer care and comfort. I was greeted at an appropriate moment and in an appropriate way. I felt served but not spammed with service. I felt a connection with my assistant and knew that he understood my needs, and he helped me with what I wanted help with, and nothing more. Any suggestions he made were done openly and without pressure, and at the end of transaction, I was asked for my feedback in a friendly way.
This is exactly the way we strive to provide customer service at Archer Web Solutions--client centered, relationship based, and thoughtfully targeted at exactly what each client needs.
And Sears, who received my first query due to past experience, reputation and assumed price? What should have been a simple transaction for them (and at a higher price that I would have paid due to my perception that they were a cost leader) was lost because I was mishandled as a customer. What's the big lesson here? When you're cutting costs, never cut on customer service. Never.
Other lessons that can be distilled from this experience and applied to our business (and any business):
- Be ready for business when it comes in the door.
- Be clear about what is available, and be ready to answer questions when they come.
- In fact, anticipate the question, but wait for the asking. Being pushy can lose a customer.
- Be responsive, and never push responsibility off to others when you can help directly.
- Walk the customer through the entire transaction.
- Ask for feedback when you are finished. It not only serves to improve your work, but can reinforce a positive experience a customer receives in asking them to remember it.
This morning I drank my cup of freshly brewed coffee with a smile on my face, knowing I had been well served.
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It's 3:42 AM, Christmas morning, and even though it is the case that I am Jewish and do not celebrate this particular holiday in a religious sense, I come from a family that does, and therefore this time has it's own nostalgic sacredness to me. It's been storming all night long, and I've been in the living room in my pajamas catching up on tasks for work. 
Hello, Joshua here.
