RH Macy & Co creating “service trust” and giving customers “magic moments”
I was in New York recently. My son and I were at the downtown Macy’s looking for a business suit for him. The prices were quite precious and we were about to take a call whether to go ahead or not when we spotted a salesman on the floor. We asked him if there was anything on sale. He seemed a bit distracted and brushed us off with a summary no! As we turned, a sales lady who had happened to overhear our conversation, came up to us. She asked us what we were looking for. I said a beginner suit for my son, preferably on sale. “Sure!” she said cheerily. I mentioned that her colleague said otherwise. “What does he know”, she retorted dismissively, “I do the tagging, there is a sale in two weeks and no reason why we cannot find you something.”
She went briskly about the aisles came away with the right size and asked my son to try it out. While my son went to try the suit she accompanied me to see the floor supervisor at the nearest till. She explained the situation to him and left with a broad smile. He very politely said to me that he could give us the suit on pre-sale discount of 50℅ but that we could pick up the suit on the day when the official Sale commenced. My son had joined us by then. The suit was excellent and fit well, we gratefully accepted the offer and paid.
We sought out the saleslady who helped us thanked her profusely, and expressed our delight for all her help and walked out.
That day all that defined RH Macy & Co, one of the oldest retailers in the US, was embodied and made alive in the service experience and help offered to us by that sales lady in the men’s suit section.
Having worked in the services sector throughout my career I can say that:
The quality of the imprint any brand leaves with the consumer is only the result of actions by an individual or team.
Great service is not about technology or advertising, or the physical bits & bobs ...It is about people consistently delivering on the organisation’s values without regard to its size.
Service quality creates and drives the brand. When brands become strong they forget what got them to their position of strength in the first place.
A great brand does not necessarily mean great/consistent service or quality
For any great brand its people offering superb service experience and customer delight, must exceed in number those who do not.
RH Macy & Co like most bricks & mortar retailers buffeted by changing consumer buying behaviour and dynamics still has gems on their roles that keep creating customer delight and giving customers magic moments.
It is these gems that will ensure RH Macy & Co stay relevant in any retail situation.
