The Nordstrom Way to Customer Service Excellence E-Book

Robert Spector

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 301

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2012

Beschreibung

The Nordstrom Way shows the direct link between empoweringyour employees and creating a long-term relationship with yourcustomers. More businesses should follow Nordstrom's example. --Howard Schultz, Chairman, Starbucks Coffee Virtually every company wants to be the Nordstrom of theirindustry. Nordstrom is one of only five companies to make Fortune's"best companies to work for" and "most admired" list every year thesurveys have been taken. Despite its position in the hard-hitretail sector, Nordstrom, with 193 stores in 28 states, neverexperienced a quarterly loss during the recent economic downturn.The Nordstrom Way to Customer Service, Second Editionexplains what every business can learn from the world's most famouscustomer-service-driven company. New material in this revised edition includes: * "How To Become The Nordstrom Of Your Industry" * Tools for creating a customer-driven culture * Chapters on Nordstrom's online customer service and theinnovative social commerce features of its website * Breakthroughs on Nordstrom's multi-channel approach to customerservice Nordstrom follows a set of principles that has made it a leaderin its industry. Discover what endears Nordstrom to its customers,and learn how to apply those same standards to your company.

Leseprobe

Contents

Introduction

Phase I: Culture

Chapter 1: Tell the Story: How Nordstrom Became Nordstrom

Seattle: City of Opportunity

Everett, Elmer, and Lloyd

Third Generation: Bruce, John, Jim, and Jack

Betting Everything on Southern California

A Crisis of Confidence

Sales Are the Truth

Chapter 2: Hire With Care: Finding the Right Fit for the Culture

Welcome to Nordstrom

Values and Practices

Hire Motivated People—Who Are Also Nice

Bob Love

It’s Not a Job for Everyone

Inverted Pyramid

Empowering Managers and Buyers

Managers’ Responsibilities

Buyers’ Responsibilities

Feedback

Using Experienced “Nordies” to Spread the Culture

Promoting From Within

New Employees in New Markets

Diversity

The Nordies Versus the Clock Punchers

Good Place to Work

Hiring for Customer Service

Chapter 3: Nurture the Nordie: Mentor, Support, Praise, Recognize, and Reward

Product Knowledge

Appreciation Promotes Motivation

Mentoring

Recognition and Praise

Recognition Meetings

John W. Nordstrom Award

Everyday Praise

Heroics: Inspirational Tales of Teamwork and Legendary Customer Service

Chapter 4: Empower Entrepreneurs to Own the Customer Experience

Ideas From Empowered Entrepreneurs

Empowered to Take Ownership of the Customer Experience

Don’t Judge a Customer by Her Shoes

Inverted Pyramid

Return Policy

Empower Employees to Make Good Decisions

Cross-Selling

Dump the Rules: Tear Down the Barriers to Exceptional Customer Service

Chapter 5: Compensate According to Results

Commission Sales Versus Customer Service

Goal Setting

Top Performers

Loyalty and Ownership

Chapter 6: Communication and Teamwork: We’re All in the Customer Service Department

Communication

In Person

Teamwork and Competition

What Does Teamwork Look Like?

Teamwork Across Departments, Business Units, and Geography

Customer Service Behind the Scenes

Tailoring to the Customer

Impressing the Boss

Chapter 7: Citizen Nordstrom: Doing Well, Doing Good

“Nordstrom Cares”

Recycle, Repackage, Reuse

Supplier Diversity

Contributing to Communities

Phase II: Experience

Chapter 8: Create an Inviting Place: Brick-and-Mortar Still Matters

What’s Inside

Let’s Get Comfortable

Nordstrom Innovation Lab

Food for Thought

Something Extra

Selection

The Right Choices at the Right Time

Nordstrom Rack

Chapter 9: Touchpoints: Multichannel Customer Service

A Multichannel World

Single View of Inventory

Order Online/Pick Up at Store

Create a Customer Community

Social Media

Call Center Customer Service

Answer the Telephone!

The Nordstrom Family: Leading by Example

Chapter 10: The Sale Is Never Over: Establish, Nurture, and Sustain Long-Term Relationships With Your Customers

Customer Loyalty

Personal Stylist

Listen to the Customer/Stay in Touch

The Personal Book

Nordstrom Weddings

Relationships With Vendors

Phase III: Applications

How to Become the Nordstrom of Your Industry

Acknowledgments

Index

Copyright © 2012 by Robert Spector and Patrick McCarthy. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

Phase III—Applications: How to Become the Nordstrom of Your Industry Copyright © Robert Spector Consulting. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone], or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, [phone], fax [phone], or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

For general information on our other products and services or for technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at [phone], outside the United States at [phone] or fax [phone].

Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Spector, Robert, 1947–

The Nordstrom way to customer service excellence : the handbook for becoming the “Nordstrom” of your industry / Robert Spector, Patrick McCarthy. — 2nd ed.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-118-07667-5 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118-22266-9 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-23653-6 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-24309-1 (ebk)

1. Customer services—United States—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 2. Nordstrom (Firm)—Management. 3. Department stores—United States—Management. I. McCarthy, Patrick D. II. Title.

HF5415.5.S626785 2012

658.8'12—dc23

2011039735

In loving memory of my parents,

Fred and Florence Spector,

who taught me The Spector Way:

Work hard, be good, do well.

R. S.

In memory of Ray Black,

who first showed me The Nordstrom Way

P. McC.

Introduction

This is not a book about selling shoes or clothes or cosmetics or jewelry.

This is a book about creating a corporate culture that encourages, motivates, and compensates your employees to consistently deliver a superior customer service experience for your customers.

Customer service is like the weather. Everybody talks about it but nobody (well, almost nobody) does anything about it.

And yet each one of us is an expert on customer service. At one point or another during the course of our day, we are all customers. We know good service when we see it, and we know bad service when we see it. You don’t have to read a book to have it explained to you.

Picture a metaphorical customer service counter. On one side of the customer service counter is you, the customer. You know exactly what your expectations are: a good product or service at a fair price. If there’s a problem, you want it taken care of as quickly, seamlessly, and painlessly as possible. Simple stuff. We all know this.

So, then, why is good customer service so rare?

Because a funny thing happens to people when they are on the other side of the customer service counter or the front desk or the reception area or on the the other end of the telephone or Internet—when they are in the position of having to give service as opposed to receiving service. Most often, their only concerns are the rules, the process, the manual, the bureaucracy, the way it’s always been done. It is as if they hit the “delete” button on their customer service memory. They forget about the Golden Rule, about empathy, about the customer.