New Clothes Are Like Old Friends

There is an old adage that you can judge a person by the company he keeps. There is another old adage that clothes make the man. If both adages are true, than I’d say, “New clothes are like old friends."

I love shopping for new clothes. I say that because new clothes, like old friends, have the ability to make us feel good about ourselves. New clothes help to define us. New clothes are welcome. New clothes are intimate, but seldom reveal the truth. Some retailers have grasped this seductively simple philosophy. In doing so, customers offer their patronage and sometimes undying affection. To me, Brooks Brothers is like an older friend, offering sage fashion advice, direction and mentoring. It’s so waspy! I sometimes feel like I’ve betrayed Brooks when I head over to next-door-neighbor Paul Stuart, who has become my new best friend. Their Phineas Cole collection is my envy. I do pray they don’t speak to one another. Both retailers are as dear to me as an old friend.

A recent BIGResearch survey, which polled 8,877 shoppers, asked a simple question, "Which retailer delivers the best customer service?" In order to develop a fair comparison, regardless of a retailer's size or geographic coverage, the BIGResearch responses were compared to each retailer's 2006 revenues to develop overall rankings. Here are their surprising findings…

First-place winner went to 92-year-old L.L. Bean, now that’s an old friend. L.L. Bean remains as consistent, and true as an old friend. It has confidence, and doesn’t need to impress us. It’s reliable. Like a pen pal, second-place winner went to Internet shoe retailer Zappos.com, which proves that bricks and mortar are no longer elements of financial success. Zappos.com offers the unexpected, comfortable shoes that fit. Cynics scoffed, "no one will ever buy shoes online." The same people prophesized that no one will buy bottled water. Third-place winner was Amazon.com, followed by fourth-place winner Overstock.com--both like old friends, offer safe “secure” sites, and place no judgments on our purchases, no mater how mundane or ridiculous they may be. Fifth-place winner was Blair. Sixth-place winner was Land’s End (now owned by Sears), and like L.L. Bean, conservative, calm and familiar, always bringing us back to center. Seventh-place winner was Coldwater Creek. Eighth-place winner was Nordstrom, a venerable institution, a bit haughty and pompous like some old friends, but glamorous and a part of the “in” click. At the retail cafeteria of life, they would not let me sit at their table. Ninth-place winner was Lane Bryant, a specialty store that has personified the trend to embrace real beauty in all sizes and shapes, like the old friend with a big waistline and a great personality. Tenth-place winner was Newgg.com.

Four of last year's winners fell right off the list--Boscov's, Kohl's, REI and Macy's. Perhaps this year they will try a little bit harder to become like old friends too. I hope they and other retailers will ponder this top 10 list and ask themselves not only what kind of retailer they are, but what kind of old friend they are.

--Ron Knoth, Guest Blogger

Ring Ring

Q: What’s the one thing that we almost always don’t figure into our design plans, and yet should be top of mind?

A: Who’s answering the phone in a smaller store setup?

How many times have you called a store for information and not been able to get through to anyone? Or worse, you get a computer operator voice that can’t help anymore than to give a pre-recorded message that doesn’t answer your question, and then puts you on hold forever while no one picks up. Is it that the store doesn’t care about you being on the phone, that they are giving their full attention to the real live shoppers in the store, right? Wrong? Or is it just that the person dusting the shelves or straightening the clothes didn’t have easy access to a phone from out on the floor to be able to pick up and talk with you.

Unless you’re in a one person operation, there should be someone free for the phone calls most of the time. If there’s not, then the store should probably hire some more staff; they are too busy to deal with business effectively. I know that the customer in your store is, and rightly should be, the focus of the most attention. And it is annoying to me as a customer to have a salesman drop me to talk on the phone for an extended period of time to someone who let their fingers do the walking, or who doesn’t know how to use Mapquest. It is a fine line between good phone service and great in-store experiences, but shouldn’t there be a happy medium? Like taking the phone away from the cash wrap where people are trying to give you their money and discretely putting some extensions out on the floor for the lesser busy staff to put their time to good use.

But how often have you incorporated phones into your floor plans and design? How about doing a roaring '20s vignette and having a working candlestick phone in the picture? Or an old time farmhouse or country store look with a wall crank replica hanging there? Or even a '50s, '60s or '70s themed scene with an old rotary dial phone? A bedroom with a princess phone on the nightstand? You get the picture, there are a lot of great new antiques out there that could work well and help the staff to work as well. Just because we are designing a new display doesn’t mean that we can’t design some behind the scene mechanicals for the staff too.

Just remember to tell the mannequin to hang up the phone when it’s done.

--Scott Caldwell, Guest Blogger

Customers Don't Shop Here, People Do

I understand the machinations, but have failed to accustom myself to the new retail moniker "guest," as when I am in line, and the cashier says, "next guest please." I am not a guest. My guests do not stand in line. The retail experience and expectation is not improved by what is said. The retail experience and expectation is transformed when better service is provided.

People need to sit down. Retailers who do not provide chairs and benches risk loosing and alienating customers. Retailers' floors are crowded, packages are heavy, and floors are hard-- especially for women in heels. Guests are always invited to make themselves comfortable upon entering someone’s home. Customers are not cattle. Invite your customers to have a seat and offer them a glass of water, and they will remember who treated them so nicely.

People need and want assistance, but people are reluctant to ask for help. Walking into a store is like walking into a party where you don’t really know anyone. So retailers need to approach their customers, smile and say, "Thank you for coming, how can I help you?" Way back when, more than 100 years ago, many department stores had pages to personally escort ladies to their destination in the store and even carry their bags. It was simply a nice way to help customers. That was service. Can you imagine receiving that level of service today?

People need a second opinion; people need advice and suggestions. People watch makeover shows. Instead of having sales people, hire stylists to assist customers. Older people with good taste, students in fashion school, people who love shopping. Have them strategically stationed to help customers find the right size, offer options for add-ons like "would you like to see some belts for that pair of pants" or "do you think you’d like some matching hosiery for that new skirt" and "we just got in tops that would be perfect for that, can I show you?"

Customers are people. People shop. Some doctors treat patients, the best doctors treat people-- not patients. The best retailers sell to people, not customers.

--Ron Knoth, Guest Blogger

Now That's Customer Service!

Normally around this time of year, I leave the mall after each Christmas shopping excursion feeling frustrated or irritated or angry. Why is it that whenever you're looking for something, you can never find it, but when you're not looking for anything in particular, you always do? Last year, I had several unpleasant encounters with sales associates and I complained about the variations in customer service. But this year, I'm proud to say, I had the most wonderful customer service experience yet. Here is how one simple gesture completely shifted my view...

Shopping at Perimeter Mall (oh, how I love thee) quite recently in search of a few gifts (one for you, one for me), my shopping crusader and I decided we needed to find one of those mall maps/directory things in order to save time. Since I'm only somewhat familiar with Perimeter Mall (unlike NorthPoint Mall, where I could lead you to any one of its stores--while blindfolded), I thought aimlessly wandering around in search of our targeted stores would definitely put a damper on our schedule, and my budget (oh, there's Anthropologie, lets just take a quick peak inside....three hours later).

We found a directory and located American Eagle and it's correlating "section" of the mall quickly, and were about to start deciphering the color-coded map when a man standing near it politely interrupted my train of thought. "Excuse me, may I help you find a particular store?" he asked. Slightly caught off guard, we both hesitated for a moment before realizing he was an employee of the mall, name tag and all. So I said sure, and asked him where American Eagle was. He quickly answered and told us to go down one of the corridors and head to the right. We immediately thanked him and began walking to the store, pleasantly surprised.

Now that, was really nice, I thought. How smart to have someone set up to help busy shoppers with directions. It was so simple, and yet so unexpected. Good customer service during the holidays--could you wish for anything better than that? Kudos Perimeter Mall!

Have you been pleasantly surprised this holiday season? Tell us, the Diva is dying to know...

--Jessie Bove

Don't Trash Customer Service

Impeccable customer service is hard to come by these days. However, I have a story that blows the lid off many retailers who have thrown customer service by the wayside. Not long ago, after purchasing a pricey trash can--the sort with a stainless steel cylinder and foot pedal--for the second time in two years, the lid on it broke...again. The mechanism that opens the lid kept breaking after a few months of use. Most people would say to go with a trash can that doesn't have a foot pedal, but this is not an option in my household, where a chocolate lab and foxhound reside (who would readily tip over a plastic trash can or stick their noses in an easily accessible top.)

After trying to repair the trash can with no success, my husband decided to buy yet another. We racked our brains on other alternatives, but caved in and were ready to shell out money for a similar product. While at Bed Bath & Beyond, my husband spoke with a store manager walking the floor, telling him about the problem and asking input on which trash can had the least problems. After five minutes of conversation, the manager pointed him to a trash can that had a more durable lid connector and told him to bring the broken trash can back to the store for a refund. Yes, a refund with no receipt and for a product that was purchased last year. When my husband returned home with the new and improved trash can and news that we would be getting it for free, I almost passed out. Good thing we didn't throw out the old can! It gets better. The store accepted a 20 percent off coupon on top of the full refund, so we ended up with a store credit to boot.

And I thought customer service was a long forgotten practice. While it may not be the answer to world peace, good customer service isn't just good for business--it does wonders for humanity.

--Rachel Brown

A Happy Camper

I cannot resist a sale. So when J.Crew ever so kindly sent me a reminder e-mail that its swimwear was on final sale and clearance, I just about started drooling. Earlier this summer, I purchased a gorgeous green two-piece suit (gotta love that mix-n-match style) from the J.Crew Web site, which by the way, has a really cool (and helpful) feature called Swimfinder that lets you search by all sorts of different categories and see the suits on actual bodies. I paid full price for the green number and was very pleased with my purchase--so when I saw the opportunity to snag the same two-piece (in a different color of course, I'm not that shop-crazy) at half the price, I jumped at the chance.

Now, the story gets a little sticky. I ordered the same exact style and size in the top and bottom pieces in a fabulous Flamingo pink (cause after a summer of pool weekends I can actually wear light colors without looking like a ghost now! Don't worry, I always wear some SPF). I excitedly awaited its delivery with easy satisfaction, knowing that no surprises were going to ruin this purchase. Unfortunately, I was wrong. The top of the suit ended up having a huge defect that made it unwearable, automatically sending me into a panic since this was a clearance item/final sale and NOT returnable. I immediately called the customer service line around 7 p.m. and was actually able to speak with a representative. I was pleasantly surprised by how helpful and nice she was to speak with. She placed a special comment under my order number and told me that I would be able to return the suit to a J.Crew store in my area and receive a full refund. Happy with her promise, I headed to a local J.Crew a few days later--still anticipating the ensuing fight with one of the sales associates. Again I was wrong, but this time I was glad that I was mistaken. I gave the associate my order number and receipt along with the suit, and he quickly refunded my money --including the shipping and handling! No problems whatsoever. Even though the purchase didn't work out, it was one of the most pleasant retail experiences I've ever encountered. I will most definitely continue to do business with J.Crew.

Sometimes I find that retailers and their Web sites are not always aligned when it comes customer service goals, return policies or even merchandise offerings. But when a retailer does have synergy with its e-commerce business and its brick-and-mortar locations, it can really boost customer loyalty--and sales. It's refreshing to see that some retailers are taking this to heart and are already making the brand experience one that is all encompassing. I am one happy camper, or more appropriately, one happy shopper. Which makes for one happy (read loyal) customer.

--Jessie Bove