Learning to serve your customers well - retail trade customer service - column

Learning to Serve Your Customers Well

Customer service seems to be on everyone's lips these days. And when the talk is about service, the conversation inevitably turns to Nordstrom's. I can understand this happening among retailers, but even people outside the industry seem to equate Nordstrom's with service.

The following are two cases in point: I was talking with a small building contractor recently who said the people in his area of business demand good service of him. "These people expect it," he said. He emphasized his point by talking about Nordstrom's, and how its move into New Jersey was being looked on as a God-send by consumers and as a major frontal attack by other retailers in the area. What surprised me was, how does this carpenter know Nordstrom's?

The other example of the concern for service came in a newspaper column. The writer--not a retail or even a business writer--was bemoaning the rudeness and incompetence among sales people she had encountered recently. She too knew about Nordstrom's and is holding her breath waiting for its renowned brand of customer service to come to her area.

The point of this column is not to sing the praises of Nordstrom's, but to suggest that "people" seem to be yearning to be serviced. So I went to the consumer information base complied by Impact Resources to find out who these service-oriented people are.

Profile of a Service Shopper

More than one-third of them have professional/managerial jobs and are between 25 and 44 years old. The ratio of married to single in this category is 2-to-1. They tend to have a bit more education than those for whom service is less critical. The interest in service picks up as household income rises above the $30,000 a year mark. These consumers are more likely than the average to own their own home. And they eat at full-service restaurants almost 20% more than the average consumer.

More than one-third live in two-person households. These may be working couples who have little time to shop and want good service to conserve that time. Having the incomes they do, they apparently are willing to afford to pay a little more for that service.

This group is a tough one to reach, as you might imagine. Almost half say they do not listen to phone solicitations. They use The Yellow Pages more than the general population, but they are less likely than the average consumer to read mail advertisements, billboards or transit ads. They do, however, read ad circulars inserted in their newspapers, and do so more than the average consumer. As better-educated consumers who read newspapers more regularly than most, they apparently see the circular as a means to more efficient shopping.

Concern for Efficiency

This concern for efficiency does not mean these service-oriented consumers dislike shopping. In fact, more than 61% of them, more than the average, list shopping as one of their leisure activities. Only watching television, listening to music and reading take precedence over shopping. It seems these people will shop, if the experience is a pleasant one, and good service is critical to making it pleasant.

The concern for service seems to vary depending on the items sought. For example, the people who rank service as the first criterion when they buy clothes, rank service fourth when they are buying shoes, children's clothing, or televisions, VCRs and stereo equipment. Service is fifth when they are buying toys or health and beauty aids. When they are buying major appliances and home improvement items, these consumers rank service fourth and fifth, respectively.

In choosing a first choice department store, these consumers rank service behind selection and quality, but ahead of price and location. The implication here seems to be that while service is important, it does not supercede the importance of merchandise.

When we talk of good customer service, most people8 immediately think of attentive sales associates on the floor who greet the customer and help with the selection. While that attention is critical to service for some customers--in some stores--it is not the only element of good service.

Some people will be satisfied to do their own selecting if they could easily find the departments, sizes, variation and colors of the items they need. For tools or electronic equipment, they may insist on knowledgeable salespeople to assist. But in buying sweaters or stationery, good signing will be sufficient.

Quick and Easy Transactions

Regardless of the amount of personal attention required, all shoppers want a quick and easy conclusion to the transaction. Going from register to register is frustrating. Standing in line more than a few minutes is exasperating. And watching cashiers chat, or waiting for the supervisor to clear the drawer, can drive customers batty, or at least to another store.

Good service may take many forms--a pleasant ambience, a sense of orderliness, tasteful music. If you can't decide whether your customers like Beethoven or Bon Jovi, you might be better not piping any music at all in your stores until you find out which it is. And just how important are credit privileges, gift wrap and tailoring to your customers? These, too, are elements of good service, but not necessarily to everyone. Good service may mean a clean, well-lighted place for pick-up of large items. Too often these pick-up joints look like settings for a murder movie, especially at night.

Good service may vary from customer to customer and from store to store. But there is one constant in all customer service, politeness and friendliness. It does not cost you more and it can be easily taught and learned. And while people can tolerate inadequacies of many forms, they will not tolerate rudeness.

You can't pick up a business paper or magazine today without reading that people are fed up with the low level of service they are receiving. It would seem, then, that a lot of shoppers out there are ready to be wooed by the retailer who makes their shopping a pleasant experience. What would it take for you to be that retailer?

Harvey B. Braun is a national partner for retailing and chairman of TRADE, the Retail & Distribution Services Group of Deloitte & Touche, the Big Six accounting and consulting firm.

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