Brothers In Blog

Less than stellar customer service is common place during the Christmas shopping season. Just how bad, or how good, the experience depends entirely on the retailer and their basic understanding of “customer service.” Here are three recent shopping experiences exemplifying the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Old School Shopping Experience at Toys-r-Us

Starting in reverse order my recent experience at Toys-r-Us represents “the ugly” of customer service. At this monster sized toy reseller I attempt to purchase Madden 2008 for the Wii only to find it’s out-of-stock. Here’s the actual dialog that followed my discovery:

Me: Do you know when you’ll get more?

Sales Associate: We get new shipments daily and there is no way to know what each shipment contains. You’ll need to come back or call.

Me: Can you order the game and call me when it arrives?

Sales Associate: No.

How is it that in this day of just-in-time-inventory a company like Toys-r-Us not know what is on its way or worse not place a special order for a customer?

Experience Just as Bad at Guitar Center

One step up from Toys-r-Us is Guitar Center and “the bad” of customer service. At Guitar Center I showed up on Black Friday to take advantage of a 20% off coupon. What I wanted I saw on their web site and have seen in the store on previous visits. I inquired about the item and was informed it was out-of-stock. Here’s the actual dialog that followed my discovery:

Me: Can you order the guitar today so I can use the 20% off coupon and I’ll pick it up when it arrives?

Sales Associate: Sorry the coupon is good for in store purchases only.

Me: Okay. Can you still order the item for me?

Sales Associate: No, but you can go home and go to our online store and order it yourself.

I left the store disappointed that my 20% off coupon was useless, but relieved to know that I could go home and do it myself. I did just that, but of course I ordered it from someone else.

Model Customer Service Found at Barnes & Noble

I’m shopping for some books at Barnes & Noble. I couldn’t find what I wanted so I asked the sales associate for some help. Here’s the actual dialog that followed my discovery:

Me: Can you help me find this book set? (point to paper with book set title)

Sales Associate: I’m pretty sure that hasn’t come out yet, but let me double check the computer (associate types away on keyboard). Yes, I’m sorry but that series won’t come in until Monday. If you’d like, I can order it for you now and have it shipped to your home at no additional cost.

Me: Sure. That would be perfect

Sales Associate: (enters my name and address into the computer and hands me a print out of the order) Just take this up to front register to pay and you’ll receive an email notification that the order was received and another email when the order actually ships. It should only take a couple of days.

I received each of the emails described by the sales associate and a few days later the books arrived at my door.

Unlike Toys-r-Us, Barnes & Noble did NOT tell me to come back and try again later. Also, unlike Guitar Center, Barnes & Noble did NOT tell me to go home and order it online myself. Instead they used the same technology I could have used from home to make my in-store visit a positive one. What was acceptable customer service practice at two other big name brick-n-mortar establishments was not acceptable at Barnes & Noble.

Making the Sale 101

When someone comes into a store looking for a particular item, you have an almost guaranteed sale. If you have it, and the price is right, it’s sold. Barnes & Noble seems to understand this simple sales concept. Toys-r-Us is clearly still living in the dark ages and Guitar Center…well, it’s run by musicians still waiting for their “big break.”