I had pretty much given up on retail. I hadn’t had a remarkable retail experience in I don’t know how long. In fact, I found myself so convinced that retailers couldn’t meet my needs as a consumer that I found myself making excuses for them . . . they are under-paid, under-staffed, under-something. Even worse, I convinced myself that I was the problem – I am too demanding, my standards are too high, I am unreasonable. And as we descended deeper into this recession-that’s-not-a-depression I was continually surprised that even those that were still employed weren’t able to provide a level of service that made me take notice.

Until this weekend. Two retail experiences, two home runs. One for Nordstrom’s and one for Apple.

Very briefly . . .

Nordstrom’s: I bought a pair of shoes. I wore them around the store. They felt pretty good. I wore them around the house. They still felt pretty good. I wore them to a party on saturday night (snow/rain/mud) and they killed my feet. I had to return them. I couldn’t wear them again. Nordstrom’s took them back. No question. No problem. Thank you Nordstrom’s for empowering your employees to make it easy for me. By the way, I bought another pair. More expensive.

Apple: I bought a new computer on Thursday. Today I woke up and realized I needed a printer. Went back to Apple and saw that they had printers with a $100 rebate when you buy it at the same time as a computer. I mentioned that I had bought one on Thursday, could they accommodate me? 2 minutes later they had printed out a duplicate copy of my receipt (I didn’t have the original with me), sold me the printer with the rebate and made me aware of two other promotions that are currently offered at a discount with a new computer. Thank you Apple for empowering your employees to make it easy for me.

So the weekend is over and I’m once again hopeful for you, Retail. Not to mention that you’ve reminded me of a few things about customer service that will serve me well as I begin my work week tomorrow. Thanks.

Posted via email from holland-mark posterous

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There’s a deli I go to 2-3 times a week just around the corner from the office. People ask where I’m going for lunch and I tell them, “the bad deli.” They look at me kinda confused and usually wonder aloud why I’d ever go to a bad deli.

It’s because I really like their sandwiches.

What’s bad about the deli is the process through which my sandwich is prepared. I feel rushed in ordering and the woman who takes my money says “thank you” to me with the exact same sing-song tone and lack of eye contact that she offers to every other customer. But what really bothers me is that my sandwich is manufactured in an assembly-line process in which 3 or 4 different people touch it — or, more precisely, slap at it — the dressing, the cheese, the meat, the lettuce, the tomato. Each item is slapped in place by a different person. None of them seems to care. But the sandwich tastes good, so I eat there regularly.

My experience at the deli is not unlike many customer experiences I have. Organizations — and the people in them — seem to believe that if they deliver a good result (deliverables met, on-time and within budget) that they have succeeded; that the customer should be pleased; that they have done their job well. It’s not true. They may have a satisfied customer that day but they haven’t created a customer for life.

It’s the experience and a successful outcome that produces customers for life. It’s why the Disney teacups trump those at any carnival. It’s why Best Buy trumped Tweeter. It’s why I go to Legal over all other seafood restaurants.

So I’ll continue to go to the “bad deli” for now, but I am always on the lookout for an alternative, for a deli that makes an equally delicious sandwich with the same care and attention to detail with which they’d make their own lunch.

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