Successful Retailers Have One Thing In Common - Great Customer Service

One of the first jobs I held was with K-Mart. Back then K-mart was one of the top retailers in the country. I was proud of the fact of all the people working at our store, I generated more sales than any other person.

My success was based on one thing. I was good at announcing the "Blue Light Specials." Most people reading this probably won't know what a Blue Light Special is, but when I made my announcements shoppers came running to my department with money in their hand. That was a long time ago and things have really changed since then. Now K-mart is at the bottom of the heap.

In May 2007, Quality Digest completed a customer satisfaction survey of the best and worst retailers as ranked by consumers. Here are the results.

TOP 10

Wegmans
Trader Joe's
Nordstrum
Publix
Amazon.com
Kohl's
Whole Foods Market
Costco
Barnes and Noble
Bath and Body Works

BOTTOM 10

Dick's Sporting Goods
Sears
Best Buy
Albertson's
Big Lots
Circuit City
7-Eleven
Home Depot
K-Mart

In addition to ranking the best and worst retailers, the survey analyzed the primary reasons shoppers choose one retailer over the other. As a business consultant who specializes in hiring, service, and employee retention, I consider this as the most important aspect of the survey.

Consumer trends and brands change rapidly. What is popular today becomes history tomorrow. However, there are two factors that consistently build customer loyalty, no matter what business you are in.

Which is more important--the price of the product, or the shopping experience? Quality Digest asked people to choose between two factors that would cause them to recommend a store to others. The first factor was "value" which equates to the feeling they "got their money's worth." The other factor was the "shopping experience" which included a gamut of elements such as friendliness, helpfulness of employees, checkout lines, cleanliness, and location of the product.

Front Line Employees Provide the Key to High Customer Satisfaction Scores

In the end, the number one reason people choose a retailer is the "shopping experience." The survey further showed the major contributor to the shopping experience was "employee helpfulness." Value and price are important, but in this survey as well as others, the number one reason shoppers come back over and over again is the shopping experience.

Hiring good employees and then training them on good customer service skills remains the driving force of either creating a positive or negative experience.

Trader Joe's is a different kind of grocery store that provides both value and a pleasing shopping experience. Coming in at #2 on the list, these stores are growing rapidly in popularity. One interesting customer service technique one store uses is the Trader Joe's Fearless Flyer. This unique marketing tool generated an additional $40,000 of business during one weekend.

Author's Bio: 

GREGORY P. SMITH
Experience and Contributions

Greg shows executives and managers how to create high performance work environments that attract and retain their workforce. Greg is the founder and President of Chart Your Course International, a talent management firm located in Atlanta, Georgia. He has addressed organizations in nine countries and has developed strategies and training programs for some of the "Best Companies to Work For in America," such as, Yamaha, Delta Airlines, Maxell, Turner Broadcasting, Rollins Inc., King and Spalding, Merrill Lynch, Ace Hardware, State Farm Insurance Company, AFLAC, Sweetheart Cups, KMPG, Alltell Corporation, the U.S. Army, Chicago Federal Reserve Bank, The Young Presidents Organization, Wyndham Hotels, UNISYS, and Hallmark Cards.

Prior to starting his own company, he built his career on the front line as a U.S. Army Officer. During his career he went from 2nd Lieutenant to Lieutenant Colonel. His career culminated as a consultant to the U.S. Army Surgeon General. As the Director of Quality Management and Strategic Planning for the U.S. Army Medical Department, he played a major role in “Reinventing the Government” efforts spearheaded by the Vice President of the United States.

Greg served on the Board of Examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. This award is presented by the President of the United States each year and is the nation's highest honor for business excellence. Greg has received many awards and honors including being listed in Harvard University's Profiles in Business and Management: An International Directory of Scholars and Their Research. The Human Resource Executive Magazine selected him as one of the nation’s Top-Ten "Rising Stars" in Human Resource Management. Other awards include the Legion of Merit from the U.S. Army, the Order of Military Medical Merit, and the Eagle Scout award. He is listed in the Who's Who of Professional Speaking, and holds both a B.S. and M.S. degree in Human Resource Management.

Greg believes the pen is mightier than the sword. He has written over 350 articles and five books including, The New Leader: Bringing Creativity and Innovation to the Workplace and Here Today, Here Tomorrow: Transforming Your Workforce from High Turnover to High-Retention has helped organizations worldwide with their retention and talent management efforts. He has been featured in hundreds of newspapers, magazines and websites including HR Magazine, Business Week, President & CEO, Boston Globe, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, USA Today, Training, Christian Science Monitor, and Exame, South America’s largest business magazine. He has appeared on numerous television programs including Bloomberg Business News and PBS television.

When he is not traveling or writing, he is a happy husband to his college sweetheart and father to his three children. On his best days you will find him sailing, biking, scuba diving, and raising bonsai trees.