It’s been a while since we have heard from my friend, John….but totally worth the wait! Honestly, you would think that he and Ken coordinated their articles this week the same way us girls coordinate our outfits. haha ….This all makes me think….what if advertising lies and paying people to say they like your product was illegal? What if all you had to rely on was what people say about you and your brand? How would that change the industry…..better yet…How would that change the world???  It shouldn’t change anything, but unfortunately it would. At least there are some of us out there who get it! High five to us!! -Julia

Customer-centric Empowerment

Several months ago, I was engaged in my weekly routine, waiting in a security line at the airport, standing in my socks, coming up on my turn to walk through the security scanner. Just in front of me were a husband and wife with two small children. The three year old little boy started to make a fuss when it was his turn to walk through the scanner. At first it was just a bit of commotion, but he quickly became quite animated and started to scream and cry. Apparently, he was refusing to take off his shoes to put them on the security belt. He must have been pretty attached to the shoes and was afraid the TSA wasn’t going to give them back. His father tried his best to convince the boy to remove the shoes, assuring him that he’d get them back on the other side of the scanner. After a serious temper tantrum that lasted at least sixty seconds, the father was forced to pull the shoes off of the boy’s feet and put them on the belt. The boy screamed and cried all the way until he got his shoes back and it took a while for his sobs to subside. When I made it through to the other side, I told the dad that I worked for Stride Rite and that I’d like to help. So I offered to send the child one of our most popular lighted athletic shoes, and arranged for them to be mailed directly to their home. I told him that hopefully this would help offset the traumatic experience and make traveling next time a bit less tragic for the boy. They greatly appreciated the gesture and went on their way.

I was fortunate this past week to be able to attend a training seminar by the Disney Institute called “Quality Service.” The seminar stirred up a lot of memories from my Nordstrom days where I was a buyer during the 1980’s. It was during this Disney seminar that I realized the customer service culture that was engrained in me at Nordstrom had become almost a part of my DNA. That the way I responded in the security line was instinctive. And then I realized why – because at Nordstrom, all employees are empowered to “WOW” customers on a daily basis. Nordstrom was delivering “customer-centric” service before the term was popularized. I remembered a scene that I witnessed in the first few months of employment at Nordstrom, when I was a sales associate on the men’s shoe floor. It was something that had a tremendous impact on me and motivated me to go above and beyond for the customer from that point forward.

The Merchandise Manager (our buyer’s boss) was on the sales floor when an older gentleman walked into the department. The Merchandise Manager, Steve, said that he’d like to help the customer. As he took the man’s shoes off of his feet, he recognized that the shoes were a brand that we didn’t carry. After talking to the man and determining what he was looking for, he quickly realized that another store had sold this man a pair of shoes that were totally wrong for him and were causing him discomfort. Steve went to the stock room and brought out a top notch pair of casual walking shoes, one of our more expensive brands. After he checked the fit and ensured that the shoe was exactly what this man needed, Steve did something quite astounding. He told the man that he was sorry that the previous store (a competitor of ours) had sold him a shoe that clearly wasn’t right for him. Steve said that he’d be honored if the man would accept the new pair of shoes in exchange for the pair he wore in – for no additional charge. You can imagine how surprised and delighted the customer was. How many people do you think that customer told that story to – 10, 20, 50? And how many people do you think THEY told the story to? Our cost for giving away that pair of shoes was probably less than $100. But the word of mouth advertising that ensued was priceless. This was testimonial advertising with impact and it probably reached well over a hundred people, leading to new customers and repeat visits that ultimately led to thousands of dollars in sales. When Steve was finished he told me and the other sales associates that we were empowered and expected to do the same. It was the Nordstrom way and the difference between us and our competitors.

A lot of companies today throw around the term “customer-centric.” Many use it as part of their mission or vision statement or as one of their core values. But what does it really mean to be “customer-centric?” The Disney presenter told a story about a honeymoon trip her and her husband took to South Africa. She said that the hotel they checked into was nice, but their room was quite small. She said that they met the housekeeping manager and told her that they were there on their honeymoon. She also expressed to her that they thought the room was quite small and asked if all the rooms in the hotel were this small. The housekeeping manager replied that no, there were several larger rooms in the hotel. Apparently, the next day, the housekeeping manager hand-delivered a fruit plate with a card signed by all of the housekeeping employees, congratulating the new couple. But that’s where the story ended. I was waiting for the customer-centric punch line – you know, the one where the housekeeper says, “I’ve spoken to our general manager and we’re moving you into one of our suites. Congratulations on your marriage!” This would have truly been unexpected, radical customer service. But the housekeeping manager wasn’t empowered.

To me, “customer-centric” means each and every day, in everything that you do, in every business decision that you make, you go all out for the customer. True “customer-centric” service means striving to exceed the customers expectations over and over again. It’s why Zappos upgrades most ground orders to next day air. It’s why Nordstrom hand delivers a pair of shoes to the business traveler’s hotel room, just in time for his meeting that morning. Many companies talk about customer service and throw the customer-centric term around, but one key ingredient is lacking – empowerment. If the employees that most often interact with your customers are not empowered to make spur of the moment decisions to deliver radical, unexpected service, then you can never achieve true “customer-centric” service. The kind of service that builds fanatical loyalty. The kind of loyalty that businesses would pay millions for and that most will never experience. Are you modeling that type of service for your employees? Are your employees empowered? It won’t happen overnight and you’ll have to consistently model and preach this radical service model. Give it a try and watch your business soar. What do you have to lose?

John Licata

VP Sales

Stride Rite