Good customer service is what I define as, the good feeling that one experiences, when one walks out of a store – the feeling that he was cared for, the feeling that he would return back again, the feeling that he got his moneys worth – the reinforced feeling that Customer is indeed God.
I went to the Nike shop in Garuda Mall (in Bangalore) today. I found a shoe that I had been looking for, on sale. A young guy in a Jeans, tee-shirt, and ofcourse Nike shoes, came and introduced himself to me, and casually asked me what I was looking for. I showed him the shoe that I wanted and asked him for my size. He asked me to sit down, and went to look for my size. Within moments, I found him sitting down on the floor (in a very comfortable position) and measured my foot size. Just looking at him, sitting down in a comfy position, chatting with me, and fitting the shoe on me, made me feel comfortable, and believe him. That is good customer service. Once I was done, he smiled at my wife, and asked if she would like a shoe for herself. Then very politely, asked if we wanted any Nike apparels. When we answered in the negative, within moments, he was at the billing counter, getting the receipt ready, and packing my shoe.
If you notice, in the above anecdote, there is no mention of stereotyped response messages like “Is there anything else, I may help you with?”, or “Welcome to the store, what can I help you with?”. These are not what define good customer service (even though sometimes, it may be the minimum criteria). It is going beyond that, and making the customer feel comfortable. Thats what makes the difference.
Very well said, but you were lucky that the size you were looking for was available. It is easy to say yes in customer service, saying no is very difficult. The same person might not be able to respond well when he has to say no. I guess you would agree with me !
Thanks for stopping by!
That is a good point! However, it did not happen in this store. I tried on size 6 (which is what he suggested). I asked him for a size 7. I wanted to try it out – just in case it was more comfy. He did go in and rummage, and could not find size 7. He still was the same composed self. Maybe this was a rarity 🙂