Customer Service Legends: Is Nordstrom Still Nordstrom?
I was having a nice chat with a customer the other day when she mentioned that she and her semi-rural neighbors “don’t think about driving an hour or an hour and a half to get to a Nordstrom store.”
The reason: “We know we will be treated well when we arrive, unlike visiting local retailers.”
I smiled broadly but invisibly because we were on the phone.
Without realizing it, he was adding something to the “Nordstrom legend.”
Lots of people do that.
Yes, compared to your local retailers, those hardworking but rather rough Mom & Pops, Nordstrom is still a refreshing oasis in the Sahara.
But in my opinion, he’s not as smart as he once was in delivering an expert serve, and he was probably never as Olympian as his legend made him out to be.
The cornerstone of Nordstrom’s reputation was its commitment to ensuring customer satisfaction, which has eroded over time and is today less unequivocal and comprehensive than what is offered by Costco, one of the “big discount” chain stores. warehouse” more successful.
The Nordstrom legend, often repeated in books and customer service articles, held that one of the company’s original stores actually provided a cash rebate for a truck tire it never sold, simply to create a happy customer.
And for several years, you could get a full refund if your white dress shirts shrunk to “doll size,” as mine did after several months in the wash. I told my readers about this episode in my book, MONITORING, MEASURING AND MANAGING CUSTOMER SERVICE.
However, those days have passed, at least in some stores, dealing with certain clerks, who seem to be “empowered” to not honor the guarantee, or make it difficult to invoke it. I asked a local Nordstrom associate if the policy had changed. She whispered that some customers were unfairly taken advantage of and that things had changed, but unofficially.
Compare this to Costco’s amazing deal, which is NOT widely advertised. Let’s say you buy a $500 video camera or a $3,500 plasma TV today that you think will be obsolete in three years. Return the camera or TV, receipt in hand, and you’ll get a full refund.
Will you get a refund for a $7,000 baby grand piano?
When I asked, the answer I received was, “Yes.”
It’s convenient and helpful to have icons of success that we can point to, examples of the good, the best, and the best in customer service. However, it is worth checking if the reputation still fits.
Today’s Cosco may not be tomorrow’s.
Remember that sensational Tom Peters book, IN SEARCH OF EXCELLENCE, that came out in the 1980s? He listed over 40 companies that were at the top of their game.
Where are you now?
Look closely and you’ll find that most of them fell from grace, while others disappeared altogether, long ago.