I was totally floored by a blog post by Jackie Huba of Church of the Customer.
In her post, Huba recounted how Nordstrom – a beacon of premium customer service in the US – upped the ante by replacing her worn-out loyalty card with a new one sent to her home without any prompting. All it took was for Huba to remark that her card was old and presto! A new card was delivered.
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Customer service is one of the most talked about topics in Singapore. Hell hath no fury like a Singaporean customer scorned. At the same time, we have this incredible obsession to share what we eat, wear, buy and do, often with “value-added” comments (“yay” or “nay”).
Unfortunately, retailers and F&B operators are often oblivious of what their customers think. While a few do trawl the web to search for answers (good or bad), most continue their operations in blissful ignorance.
Courtesy of HotelManagement.Net
The world has changed. Customers now have all the information they need to decide where they wish to visit, what they want to buy, and what services they require.
With an attention span of 90 seconds or less (at 140 characters each time), business as usual isn’t going to cut it for the Facebook and Twitter generation. The game has changed from word of mouth to world of mouse.
Robinsons is an icon of service in Singapore (image courtesy of goodcitydeals)
What is the best way to trigger positive and enduring word of mouth?
Is it…
Great food, environment and service made Banff’s Wild Flour our favourite dining place
Finally, its Friday night! After a stressful work week, you can now let down your hair and party the weekend away.
The first item on the agenda? A slow dinner at the latest fine dining restaurant.
Let your customers “own” your brand (courtesy of Thaeger)
In a world overflowing with “me-too” goods and services, consumers are seeking ways to assert their individuality. In an overcrowded marketplace teaming with repetition and homogeneity, they crave personalised products and experiences that reflect their individual identities.
This phenomenon of personal expression is catalysed by the rise of social technologies and networks such as blogs, forums, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and other community channels.
Leading investor and serial entrepreneur J. Christopher Burch has more than 30 years of experience in various technology and luxury brands, including Aliph (Jawbone), NextJump, and Tory Burch. At a talk given at the Asia Fashion Summit recently, he shared about his experience with C. Wonder – a fast growing apparel, accessories and home décor retailer, and how he built a strong retail brand focused heavily on delighting customers and meeting their lifestyle needs.
Predicated on the concept of the customer being “our girl”, the customer experience in C. Wonder stores are predicated on “service credos” such as the following:
In an age which some may term as the “experience economy”, companies and businesses can ill afford to focus solely on quality products or low prices. The entire spectrum of engaging and enrapturing a customer through every single touch point – both online and offline – becomes critical.
It isn’t just the transaction itself that matters. Rather the entire customer experience journey becomes important. This includes reading/hearing about your product online or offline, browsing your stores/ websites, speaking to a retail associate, purchasing the product, experiencing the product, and after sales customer service.
Contrary to our initial perceptions, Canada (well at least the Vancouver-Banff-Jasper stretch) generally offered a decent dining experience. While the variety and pedigree of their cuisine can’t quite match that of Singapore, I do enjoy the experience of dining out in Canada.
First, almost every place offered a vegetarian, vegan, or healthier dining option. This was great for a semi-veggie like me trying to eat more healthily, ethically and sustainably. Many of the restaurants or cafes were also quite flexible and willing to make changes to their menu to suit your taste.
Enjoying a veggie sandwich and a vegan burger at a pub-diner in Jasper
Tony Hsieh, CEO and Chief Happiness Officer of Zappos.com (courtesy of Sunni Brown)
UPDATE: 28 November 2020 — Tony Hsieh has tragically passed away in a house fire at the age of 46. May he rest in peace.
Few companies are as zealous as Zappos in ensuring that excellence is ingrained into every single process, person and policy of the organisation.
Radical and almost ruthless in their quest for the holy customer grail, Zappos is famous for legendary strategies which few of their competitors dare to take up.
