A Personalized Customer Experience Is No Secret

2013091275It was time for some new “undergarments” so I took a trip to visit Victoria and all her pink stripes at the mall.

I tend to feel overwhelmed at this particular store with all the frills. I just want the basics and don’t want to spend a lot of time in there.

After walking around aimlessly for a while, a representative approached me by welcoming me to the store, introducing herself as Jessie and asking for my name. She shook my hand. Then, she asked what I was looking for today. I gave her the run down of my dilemma, what size I was looking for and she was ready to help right then and there. We walked to two different spots in the store where I had the size options that I thought I needed. She grabbed a few for me to try on and then walked with me toward the direction of the fitting room, sending me on my way.

When I arrived at the fitting room, I was greeted with a smile by the attendant, who already knew my name (through a walkie talkie system that the store has and Jessie sent a message to the attendant) and she said, “We have your room waiting for you to try on your items.” She opened the door for me and said that she’s going to look for a few more options as well.

I begin to try on the items and it turns out, they are the wrong size. I go to leave the fitting room and Jessie is back there to check on me. Talk about perfect timing! I explain to her how I was wrong with the size and she then begins to measure and offer assistance. She picks out the proper size for me, hands me several options to try on and asks me to let her know how they fit.

After trying on a few, I realize that this is the proper size. I don’t buy just one–I purchase two. As I leave the fitting room with my items, Jessie approaches me again with a smile saying she was so happy to help and hope that I have a great day.

The thing about this experience that sets the bar even higher is that the store was busy. It was packed! There were women all around, asking questions to representatives and trying on items. However, thanks to Jessie’s personal attention, we were all treated as important individuals that felt like a million bucks in a store that can definitely cause some insecurities. Wait, or is that just me?

I’ve shopped at this store for many years because I like the product but have never had this personalized of an experience before. While the representatives are usually friendly, the experience is rarely one to remember.

But, now I wonder–am I going to expect this every time and be let down if I don’t get it? 

It’s no secret that the customer experience is the biggest key to keeping your business in the mind of your consumers. So, why is more focus not placed on this? Why are there not more representatives like Jessie in every store to provide this level of an experience to everyone? Would this be better for business all around? You tell me!

I think back to the Un-Bursting Bubbles In Customer Service SodaStream story about a story my aunt shared with me of a positive customer experience. I’m not even a customer of this company BUT if anyone ever asks me about what is a go to brand for this type of product, you can bet I’d recommend SodaStream just on the story alone.

Today I urge you to think about how you can tailor your customer experience on a more personal level for your customers–even in one tiny way. What would it be? How would it impact your client base? Would it be difficult to implement? I’d love to hear your comments about what has and hasn’t worked for you.

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2 comments

  • Nice post. It’s a tough store to walk by without noticing the allure of all the stripes, bright colors and visual signals . I had to buy a gift a while back from Vic’s and I do recall the salespeople being very attentive. I love the personal approach and certainly when salespeople call me by name, I feel even better about my experience. I am all about the CustExp and (as for my biz) I send little email messages, text messages, goodie boxes and other creative acts over the course of my customer relationship to make them feel special. It comes back in the form of referrals, tips and more business. I can assure you my customers love the attention. xo

    • Thanks for your comment, Doug! Ooo–love all of the personal things you do! Where do you get ideas of what to say in your messages and what to include in the goodie bags? Do you take notes on the likes of your customers and go from there? Would love to hear more about this process!

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