Category Archives: Retail Customer Service

Walk it around

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Version 2

Passing through Nordstrom today, I spotted a cosmetics saleswoman finishing up with a customer.

The Nordstrom employee stepped around from behind the counter and handed the bag carefully to the customer.  Handing over the bag she said, “Thanks for shopping with us today.  I hope to see you again soon.  Enjoy your day”  speaking in an earnest and sincere tone with a smile on her face.  Well done!

That is just one of the little things that you will see at Nordstrom that exemplifies their incredible service.

Recommended reading – Hiring Squirrels

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hiring-squirrelsPeter Smith shares what he has learned, sometimes the hard way, in Hiring Squirrels 12 Essential Interview Questions to Uncover Great Retail Sales Talent.  He offers sound advice on attracting, interviewing and selecting the best possible salespeople for your retail store.

The book opens with his own personal tale of managing at Tiffany’s, yes, that Tiffany’s.  With great bravado, he stepped into an underperforming store with the idea that he knew exactly what to do to turn the store around.  You will have to read the book yourself for the rest of the story, but this simply tale was what hooked me into reading the rest of the book.  (I will be honest, I do not always read every chapter of the business books I buy.)

The key I took away from this opening chapter is that good retail managers recognize the individuality of the salespeople they employ. Just as all customer are unique people, so are our employees.  Successful managers know what characteristics to look for and nurture in potential sales people.

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The poor backpack

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Not the poor backpack

Not the poor backpack

There it sat, right in the middle of the aisle, the poor backpack. It had fallen from an overstocked fixture and now it sat in the middle of the main aisle circling the store. I am not sure how long it had been there when I spotted it.

Being small, the pack did not block traffic and was easy enough to walk around or step over. I figured that if it was still on the floor when I got to it, I would put it back on the fixture.

As I stood watching, I noticed two employees walking up the aisle towards the backpack. Ah, I thought, I won’t have to pick up the pack, surely one of these two employees will.  I was wrong.  In fact, one actually stepped over the pack and continued up the aisle.

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In retail history

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Piggly-wigglyOn September 6, 1916, Clarence Saunders launched the self-service grocery store revolution in the United States by opening his Piggly Wiggly store, at 79 Jefferson Street in Memphis, Tennessee.

Customers entered though their characteristic turnstile at the entrance and then selected goods for themselves from the shelves and paid cash. The store was the first grocery store to use check out aisles in the front of the store, pricing on all items on the shelves and later developed the first shopping carts to aid in shopping. Piggly Wiggly created elaborate aisle displays and arranged the store so customers would travel down all the aisles and view all the merchandise.

Saunders was granted a patent in 1917 for the “Self-Serving Store” concept. Self-serve became so popular that throughout the 1920s & 30s, many grocery and other types of stores converted to self-serve.

In retail history

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World's 1st ATM

World’s 1st ATM

As of September 2nd, 1969, the people of the United States no longer had to spend their lunch hour waiting in line or rushing out to the bank before the 5 o’clock bank closing to get access to their hard-earned cash for shopping.

Chemical Bank debuted the first automatic teller machine (ATM) at Rockville Center, New York.  The world’s first ATM was installed by Barclay’s in North London on June, 27th, 1967.

There are now over 425,000 ATMs in use in the United States.

In retail history

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Using money that he had received as an inheritance and savings from his job as a tutor, Irishman Alexander Turney Stewart opened a small shop selling Irish fabrics and lace along with domestic calico at 823 Broadway in New York.  The date was September 1st, 1823.  From this humble start, Stewart was to build a commercial empire and amass a fortune equivalent to $90 billion in today’s dollars.

A._T._Stewart_1870

With early success in his first shop, Stewart built a larger building across the street in 1846.  The building eventually became known as the Marble Palace due to its unique Tuckahoe Marble facade.  To keep up with business, the building was expanded in 1851, 1852 and 1871.  This was the birth of the modern department store.

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If I were to buy furniture today…Part 2

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Chilton Table in Spalted Sugarberry by Room & Board

As we continued through Room & Board, I was feeling less and less inclined to spend any money there and was anxious to leave.

But then, towards the back of the store, we found ourselves standing in front of an interesting piece, the Chilton Table in Spalted Sugarberry. My wife and I looked at one another and began to talk about how we both truly admired the table.  We also admitted that neither of us cared all that much for our current dining room table bought less than 3 years ago.

As we stood examining the table and discussing how a table like this would be great to have in our home, an amazing thing happened.  Amazing since I had long since given up hope that anyone would ever greet us much less offer any help.

A smiling Room & Board employee stepped up to a nearby computer terminal to lookup some information. While going about her business, she turned to my wife and I and said, “Isn’t it a beautiful table?”

“It is beautiful,” my wife responded.

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If I were to buy furniture today…Part 1

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Rooom & Board sign

On a recent trip to Seattle’s University Village (an outdoor shopping mall), my wife and I decided to make a visit to Room & Board Home Furnishings. We have always liked their product and since they are not now located in Portland, this was our chance to check out their latest selections.

When we walked in the front door of the store we immediately saw two employees.  They were  strategically positioned next to the front of store featured furniture display  and at the edge of the drive aisle leading around the store. I assumed that they were there to greet customers entering the store.  That was a rash assumption.

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In retail history

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wardsdoors_e

On August 18th, 1872, a traveling dry goods salesman named Aaron Montgomery Ward founds his retail company with its first catalog.  Not much of an actual catalog, the first issue was a single sheet, 8×12 inches, that listed 163 items available for purchase and ordering instructions.  This first catalog was a feat in and of itself since Wars and his partners had lost their first inventory in the Great Chicago Fire of October, 1871.

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Spotted at Macy’s

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Macy's evending 2       Macy evending

I spotted this on a recent visit to Macy’s.  The vending machine was located next to the men’s wear department. The machine contained a variety of small electronics and accessories.

It seems like an interesting way to increase assortment and profitability without requiring the store to have knowledgable staff to sell the items. I imagine a third-party service maintains the machines.