Customer Service

I bought a t-shirt online recently and placed on top of it in the package I received was this note.

What terrific customer service!

I don’t recall being given this advice in such an obvious and friendly way when buying t-shirts from a high street retailer. Sure, some of this information is on care instructions inside the garment – not presented in this obvious way or with the same friendly style.

What I love about the postcard the most is that it was unexpected. I was delighted to see it included and with the information shared.

High street retailers argue that their service is more personal and more connected than online yet with this t-shirt purchase I have received better and more personal service than is usual when purchasing t-shirts offline.

Smart online retailers will take business from high street retailers if they provide a more valued experience. That’s what I have had here.

On the back of the note was a bold yet simple Thank You! 

I bet they thought about this long and hard at SHIRTSCOPE.COM – about how to provide an experience to the online shopper which is better than they would experience from a high street retailer. It shows in their execution from the website to shipping to how the product was packed to the customer care from this note.

We need to understand

The photo shows the sign at the counter of a Starbucks I visited on the weekend. It has a photo of the barista, their name and tells me a bit about them, making the experience feel more personal than one might expect from a worldwide chain like Starbucks.

While we could argue that we should be so well known that we don’t need something like this, there are plenty of newsagency shops serving first-time or infrequent shoppers where it could work: shopping malls, holiday destinations, transit location.

FYI, here’s the translation:

Hello I am Jacky!

A cup of warm of Toffee Nut Latte can warm your heart? If yes, please come to find me to share with you!

A shopper on Friday wanted a copy of Vogue US. As we had sold our, our team member pointed the shopper to the Nextra store in the centre. Half an hour later the shopper returned, thanking our team member for the advice even though they did not have the title. She purchased Vogue Australia from us in appreciation of the assistance.

It’s terrific when a customer lets you know your help has been appreciated.

A young boy – 5 or 6 – presented at the counter on Saturday and asked if we had Happy Hoppers. I took him to our display on the shop floor. On seeing this, he yelled out at the top of his voice: mum, they have them they have them! Others in the shop smiled.

The joy expressed by the kid was infectious. It gave me a real boost.

I love that he asked for the product by name and love even more his excitement at finding it in our shop. This is a $2.95 destination purchase to remember.

Everyday in our shops we have engagements that provide us with a reward that can be more valuable than profit. I love it.

Magazine distributor Network Services is shutting its help desk at 1pm today because its Netonline website is closed for maintenance from 1pm.

I don’t see any connection between Netonline availability and the ability of Network Services people to provide service.

Through my newsagency software company I have oversight of a help desk and it runs rain hail or shine – regardless of whether technology is online or not.

Customer services businesses are about serving your customer. Shutting your doors for half a day does not make sense. Newsagents are being let down here.

I can’t recall this happening prior to Bauer taking over the business.

I love this sign at Coffee Republic in Launcestion, Tasmania. While other coffee shops have a minima  spend for cards and some have a fee for EFTPOS, they have gone the other way, showing off a point of difference and giving customers another reason to love them. Based on their pricing I’d say they are funding it out of a higher than usual margin. But their coffee is the best in Launcestion so the price could more reflect than than to hide their EFTPOS fees.

It’s refreshing seeing a sign in a retail business telling you what you can do rather than what you can’t, a sign saying things here are free where usually there is a sign saying the same things cost extra.

Nice.  If you’re ever in Launceston, try their coffee … it’s excellent.

I love this idea I saw of a small rack of business cards for local businesses. A newsagent keen to better connect with local businesses and better serve the local community should find a place for a rack – with newspapers, near the entrance – somewhere shoppers can see the cards. The support back to the businesses by the businesses should make this a valuable marketing step by the newsagency.

Shoppers pressing an AFL team button caused that team’s club song to be played. last Saturday I had them all set and for some reason in my outer suburban newsagency nine times out of ten it’s the Collingwood song shoppers selected. Those crazy Collingwood fans! If only they bought more of the buttons.

On checking out of a hotel overseas at 4:30am a couple of weeks ago they gave me this breakfast to go package: yogurt, a croissant, a fruit danish, butter, jam, a bottle of water and an apple. I had a long drive to the airport and the food was a welcome start to the day.

The hotel did not need to provide breakfast, there was no commitment they would. It was a complete surprise. A delightful and delicious surprise.

Here it is a couple of weeks later and it’s memorable to me.

It’s hard for large hotels to provide genuinely personal service. This hotel has 500 rooms. They were at 100% occupancy during my stay yet them had processes in place to know that I was leaving early and would have a bit of a drive ahead and could therefore use a breakfast to go. They provided a service as personal and appreciated as I’d expect from a tiny boutique hotel or a B&B.

How can we do this in our newsagencies? – have systems and processes in place to help us consistently provide extra services that delight our customers. Such memorable service is key to business growth now more than ever.

Zendesk, developers of excellent help desk software, recently released an excellent report on customer service from Clickfox. It’s relevant to any business with a customer-facing component – like newsagencies. Of particular interest is what people do, how they react, to perceived poor service.