CUSTOMER SERVICE IS BS! Bernard Smalls

I call it the gospel of customer service because this philosophy takes having a deep belief in customer service which has GOOD results. Customer service starts with a philosophical or ideological way of thinking like a religion. It is a belief system that starts with a vision of perfection as you consider how you will serve your customers as Ken Blanchard puts it in his excellent book Raving Fans!

GREAT BUSINESSES ARE GREAT AT CUSTOMER SERVICE
Businesses that are great at customer service create a cult-like culture. It always starts with a vision or a conceptual way of thinking. Many times it will even seem impractical. The Nordstrom tire story illustrates this. I lived in Alaska and shopped Nordstrom regularly. It is a great store with a deep customer service philosophy.

THE NORDSTROM TIRE STORY
A man walked into the Nordstrom department store in Fairbanks, Alaska, with two snow tires. He approached the counter, put the tires down and asked for his money back. The clerk, who’d been working there for two weeks, saw the price on the side of the tires, reached into the cash register and handed the man $145.It didn’t matter that Nordstrom sells upscale clothing and not tires. The customer wanted to return the tires. The clerk accepted the return because that is what the customer wanted.The validity of this story has been argued for years. But it is absolutely true that Nordstrom has become synonymous with great customer service. No other retailer has achieved that marketing status. Whether or not the tire story is true doesn’t matter. What matters is that based on Nordstrom’s reputation of providing the best customer service people actually believe the story could be true.The retailer receives thank-you cards from grateful customers. All requests are handled with fast service from a knowledgeable sales staff. Hand deliveries are made to the customers’ homes. Nordstrom goes out of its way to help customers find items they do not sell. Returns of Nordstrom products do not have to include a sales invoice or a Nordstrom price tag.So did the tire story actually happen? John Nordstrom claims he was there and that the refund took place in a former tire store that had been converted a Nordstrom outlet. Northern Commercial Company, which sold the property to Nordstrom in 1974, operated department stores, auto dealerships and tire centers in Alaska. The customer in question had purchased the tires from the tire company right before Nordstrom took over. Nordstrom’s policy was to take care of the customer. And that’s what it reportedly did. (dealerscope, 2009).

CONTACT INFO:

Bernard Smalls Email: gunghoguru@hotmail.com

Phone: 602 791 9710http://www.obernardsmallscompanies.com/