A friend of mine, Josh, told me of an incredible experience he had this past weekend while shopping for a new pair of shoes. Normally when purchasing anything routine at a retail outlet, Josh likes to keep his customer service expectations low, and therefore he claims to be seldom let down. Perhaps I am being a bit cynical, but over the past few years it seems that stories of exceptional customer service have been few and far between. However this story I was told reassured me that customer service is not dead…
For some time Josh had been considering the purchase of new pair of sports shoes to use at the gym. This past week he decided he could tolerate his current shoes no longer so he broke down and headed to Scheels All Sports, the local sporting goods center. Scheels is awesome, they seem to have everything you could dream of, and a friendly and knowledgeable staff.
Josh strolled into the men’s sport shoes department of the store and started browsing his favorite brands to see what they had to offer. He narrowed his decision down to two different shoes. While holding one in his hand, he was approached by a most “delightfully friendly” sales associate.
“Hi, how are you doing today sir?” she asked with a pleasant smile.
“I’m pretty good. Thank you” Josh replied
“That’s a great running shoe you’ve got there – we’ve been selling quite a few of those lately. Are you looking to hit the gym during the winter?”
Their continued interaction was friendly and informative as the sales associate asked a number of qualifying questions and helped him to determine the best shoe based on his needs. She measured his foot and hurried to the storeroom to bring Josh a pair to try on.
She returned with the shoes and laced one up for him to try on. He put the shoe on his foot and thought it felt a little snug. She felt around the shoe on the toes and the behind the heel and sure enough she told Josh he needed a ½ size larger. Josh agreed and she hurried back to the storeroom to get the right size shoe.
After a short time she returned empty handed. ‘Here we go again,’ he thought to himself.
“I’m sorry sir, but we sold the last pair of 11s in that model earlier this afternoon.”
“Ooh, shoot” He replied. He couldn’t help but think to myself that this sort of thing always happens to him! However, Josh tells me, before he had the chance to feel like the world was out to get him, the friendly sales associate sprang into action.
“However I did call the Minot store,” 70 miles to the north, “And they do have that shoe and size in stock”
“Oh, they do…would they be willing to ship it down here?” Here came the real shocker.
“Yeah, we can do that. However if you would like, tomorrow is my day off and my mother and I were planning on driving to Minot to visit my grandmother. I could swing by the store up there and pick up the shoes for you so you wouldn’t have to wait for them to get shipped”
Josh was taken off guard. “Oh, you don’t have to do that. I’d hate to be an inconvenience”
“It’s no inconvenience sir. I drive by the store on my way to grandma’s. You could pay for the shoes here and I will drop them off at the register when I get back tomorrow and you can pick them up in the evening. Do you think you can handle your old shoes one more day?” She said with that now familiar and pleasant smile.
“Wow! Are you sure it’s no trouble?”
“Not in the least bit, I assure you”
At this point Josh claims he could hardly contain himself, “That is incredible. Thank you so much!”
She accompanied him to the register and made sure that everything went smoothly. The next evening, as promised, his shoes were waiting at the register. Talk about going above and beyond the call of duty!
There are two thing that incredible woman did that were extraordinary. The first and most obvious was her willingness to go out of her way (at least in my mind and Josh’s too!) to find and deliver the product that he wanted. The second may not be quite as apparent. She identified a problem, and instead of being discouraged or trying to make excuses as to why the shoes were unavailable, she quickly identified a solution. She did not ask the store manager or a colleague what she should do, but rather took the matter into her own hands and found a way to deliver a real solution.
In my opinion, this sort of thing is becoming increasingly rare these days. This sales associate could have tried to get Josh to purchase a different shoe, but rather sensed his enthusiasm for the shoe and found an appropriate and timely solution to the problem.
For her what may have been a quick and painless detour on the way to grandma’s, was to Josh a giant display of kindness and customer service at its finest. Would he have waited for the shoes to be shipped and still been reasonably satisfied? Sure, but the extraordinary customer service he experienced drove his satisfaction level through the roof. He couldn’t have been more pleased.
I like to call this the “WOW” factor.
It should go without saying that Josh, and myself for that matter, will return to Scheels in the future for our footwear and other sporting goods needs. Will I receive this sort of exemplary service every time? Doubtful, but I won’t soon forget this incredible story that I heard. An experience like this reflects favorably on the organization, just as a negative experience reflects poorly on the organization.
In my opinion this particular store and organization have done an excellent job of identifying individuals who are likely to deliver exceptional customer service and reinforcing the need for this level of service to their staff.
Now go Maximize Possibility!
Other blog posts you may be interested in:
- Consistency is Key to Creating a Memorable Customer Experience
- Understanding a Customer's Emotions is Critical in Providing Excellent Service
- What Time is the Three O'Clock Parade?
- Cultural Change Begins with Personal Accountability
Chris Young helps organizations Maximize Possibility through talent management, cultural transformation, and strategic intervention. Bring Chris in today!
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