FSB Small Business
September 11, 2007, 2:36 pm

Best customer service

What company offers the best customer service you have ever experienced? Comment here. To find out more about companies that are going to incredible lengths to keep their clients happy, see “6 companies where the customer comes first.

Categories:   marketing
Your Answers
From A Wheeler

Sir or Madam: Finally getting around to a note about the cover headline and tenor of your story about “extreme customer service.”

You describe entrepreneurs willing to provide in-depth customer service as “stealing sales from big impersonal sites and stores.” On the contrary, when Bernie
Marcus shared the helm at The Home Depot, he consistently hammered home the notion that if “Mom & Pop” would stop wringing their hands long enough
to evaluate and fine-tune their own operation, they could thrive even in the shadow of his big-box down the road at the new shopping center. Although they
could no longer use the “shooting fish in a barrel” approach to their customers, they could carve a unique niche in the marketplace that The Home Depot neither
could nor cared to serve.

The revival of moribund downtowns is evidence of this welcome trend, from hardware to shoes to toys and beyond. Business as usual is not the answer: in a
phone call yesterday, my rural-dwelling sister described the discouraging hassle of post-holiday returns to her local bookseller, rather than the savings she could have realized at the chain bookstore 10 miles away. Based on her experience with her neighbor’s independent book store, where do you think she’ll shop next November?

As you know, service is the Achilles heel of large operations such as The Home Depot and Lowe’s. Mom and Pop need to roll up their sleeves to reclaim what was
theirs all along.

We enjoy your excellent magazine. Thank you, A Wheeler

Posted By A Wheeler : January 8, 2008 10:50 am
From R. White, Atlanta, GA

Banana Republic in Vinings Jubilee, Atlanta, GA has the BEST customer service of any retail store I have ever been in. I originally stopped shopping at Banana Republic because of the rudeness of sales associates and managers at the store closest to where I work, but when I happened upon this location, I was VERY pleased with the service. They’re not at all pushy, but they don’t ignore you. They’re very knowledgeable about their products, about what is online and when it will be available in stores. They seem to love their jobs and have very pleasant demeaners. And they offer great advice as to how to mix and match their clothing.

Posted By R. White, Atlanta, GA : September 21, 2007 5:22 am
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