In the Race
Now, here, you see, it takes all the blogging I can do to keep in the same place.
If I want to get somewhere else, I must blog twice as fast as that!
You see, I'm in
the Red Queen's Race...
How About Some (Customer) Service?
By Janet Evans
Tuesday, Aug 19 2008, 11:54 AM
If there is anything that gets me going it’s poor customer service. Maybe that’s one of the main reasons I would rather shop on the internet rather than venture out into the stores. Granted, glitches can happen on the web, too, but at least I don’t have to deal with rude sales people, standing in long lines, or cashiers who can’t count money and acknowledge my presence or say hello or thank you.
With a slow economy, some businesses are looking into ways to make sure your business is a return business.
"At Lord & Taylor, staffers invite special customers in on their birthdays for cake and fitting-room parties. Moxie, the fashionable Charles Street boutique, has started making home deliveries. Get your oil changed at Sullivan Tire and Auto Service, and expect a phone call within the week - and a free re-do if you're not satisfied. With the economy struggling, some retailers - emphasis on some - are turning up the charm.
"It's all about customer service these days," says John Miller, Sullivan Tire's metro Boston area representative. Miller's made some 2,000 calls since February and says most people are happy to hear from him. "They feel we care, which we do." But awkward situations are not unheard of. One man became suspicious when Miller rang asking to speak to the guy's girlfriend. "He thought we were calling for another reason, if you know what I mean," Miller recalls.
But Miller's motivation, like that of Lord & Taylor's staff, is simply an attempt to keep those scarce dollars coming in. "We're trying to make it a more meaningful experience," says April Stern Riccio, the chain's regional public relations director, explaining that the company has increased a customer outreach program that was instituted as part of a rebranding effort in 2007."
Read the entire article from Boston Globe HERE
