I work with Customer experience, and as such I’m always interested in knowing what people think a good customer service is and in which stores and places you thought you had an exceptional customer service. From our experience where I work, customer service is about the customer having trust, confidence and a relationship with the company. Every company seeks for loyalty from customers, but many have different ways to try and approach that. Some companies known for having good customer service are Starbucks, Walgreens, Tesco and Nespresso. I only ever had contact with Starbucks and Walgreens, and I do think they have good customer service! So I wanted to know from you guys, which stores or companies ever surprised you with how they treated you and their customer service?
I haven't had exceptional customer assistance consistently from one place or another. I think exceptional customer assistance depends on the person working at the counter. For example, the other day we had someone at Starbucks who was very friendly and vocal. He interacted with my 3 year old (who was there to get his free birthday treat), my husband and myself. He was funny and drew a doodle on my son's cookie bag of a train (my son was wearing a train shirt). I don't know if I would call it exceptional customer assistance, but there was a wonderful cashier at wal-mart this morning. I was using the self check-out and I had my children with me (ages 3 and 10 months) and my daughter was just shrieking. She was crying because she was upset, just shrieking for attention. I was struggling to check out and keep her shushed at the same time. The lady working the self check outs came over and played with my daughter, asked me questions, and kept her occupied so I could continue checking out. I thought that was absolutely wonderful. Most cashiers give you a dirty look, but this one came over to help. As a mother, though, I am pretty bias. Anyone that interacts with my kids in a friendly manner, instead of giving them the stink eye, rates as exceptional customer service for me.
I've always had a really good experience at Men's Warehouse. I know there was another thread on here from a few weeks ago with someone else's bad experience there, but all the times I've gone there have been very positive experiences. Me being a relatively thrifty person who only buys clothes off the clearance rack, I wasn't used to being pampered by employees there like that. Normally I avoid sales people in clothing departments, but if I am investing in a suit I need someone to make sure it fits me properly. Since I am a bigger guy this is not always easy as most department stores only carry a limited selection of different sizes for different body types. Men's Warehouse has a much bigger selection for less common proportions, so they can find something that looks much more tailored on you. Of course every time I go there I end up spending over $1,500 - $2,000 even with their discounts, but I go the whole nine yards and buy all the shoes, belts and accessories too. Another place I recently had a really good time at was a local Beer and Wine place near where I was living. It's a huge place that carries one of the largest selections of beer and wine I've seen under one roof anywhere. The employees there pay close attention to who comes in and out of there, and know who their regular customers are. If you are a newbie, they will offer to give you a grand tour of the place, as well as point out how much cheaper they are for stuff like cigarettes too. Admittedly they do have awesome prices, and they saved me like $10 of each carton of smokes I was buying from them.
Publix ! The best customer service by far is Publix here in Lakeland, Florida. I love to shop there and it is always a pleasant experience. They have more than enough people working and you can always find someone if you need help. I have actually asked for certain products and if they don't carry them on a regular basis they have offered to order them for me. Check out is always a breeze and they even help you to the car with your groceries. The best place to shop... ever
I agree with another poster who mentioned that a lot of the time it might not necessarily be across the entire company but rather just individuals who provide exceptional customer service. Some places do seem to either attract more of those individuals and/or encourage that kind of behavior consistently though...I have had pretty good, friendly customer service from Starbucks and walgreens, though not so much exceptional as just consistently good. Amazon has always provided exceptional customer services...there have been 2 times I've had an actual issue with an order (out of hundreds of orders, mind you) and once where I just had a question- both times I received help quickly and completely, and they went above and beyond to make sure that the issue was resolved.
There is a local bakery that I go to where the customer service is excellent. No matter how many people are there, they are always nice and helpful. They speak to you when you come in the bakery. They always help you when you need help and never show their frustrations when you need help. They even thank you for coming in the place. I always go in there because they are such nice people. It is rare that I experience that kind of customer service in the stores I go to because they are nowhere near as friendly.
There's this one company I won't name. I had issues with my account. I emailed customer support explaining what my problem was. The person who got the email, responded almost immediately and suggested ways I could fix the problem. I did as she'd suggested and I got the solution I was seeking. The next day, I got a call from someone in the company saying they'd seen my email and wanted to know if my issue had been dealt with. I've never had/seen such kind of customer service. It's the best ever.
