Servicing Your Customers. Four Different Mindsets (3 of 4)

While at the mall, my wife and I left Nordstrom and had some time to kill before our dinner reservation at a nearby restaurant. We walked into Dillard’s women shoe department when my wife noticed the boots she got several weeks ago were significantly discounted and on sale now. The sales person explained that even if the boots are still brand new in the box, since they were purchased three weeks ago she couldn’t credit my wife the price difference. Her option would be to return them for full credit, which will put them back into stock and then attempt to repurchase them assuming the proper size is available in stock.

I shared with her the great service experience we just had at Nordstrom and the no-questions-asked and friendly price adjustment policy they had. “We are not Nordstrom” She said. “I noticed” I replied.

I mentioned to her why this is illogical and does not make any business sense. Forcing the customer to return the boots for full credit while waiting for the salesperson to put them back in stock and then allowing the customer to repurchase them seemed absurd.

She thought about it and then said: “Bring your boots tomorrow and I will process the credit on one register. You will then have to wait 20 minutes so I can then process the sale on another register so I don’t get in trouble.”

It’s amazing for me to see how two different organizations (Nordstrom and Dillard’s) empower their employees to make the proper decisions to serve their customers.