I just read Tig's post on the "Nordstrom Way" and I'm reminded of my days working for the company. I recently visited the Nordstrom store here in San Diego where I worked in the children's shoes department... Someone asked me if I missed working there and I admitted to actually missing the kids and seeing their faces when they put on a pair of sneaks they've been saving for...or seeing the toddlers attempting to walk in their first pair of shoes.
One of the things I learned from working at Nordstrom - and Tig's post reminded me of it - is that when you have a customer, you give them your full, undivided attention. We were not allowed to help more than one customer at a time - at least in the children's shoe department. The exception were those crazy sale days. We had to sit with the kids and measure both feet, help them put on the shoes, lace them up, and check to make sure the shoes fit good. You couldn't just hand the shoes to the parent and leave them be, unless it was crazy busy and the parent insisted on putting the shoes on the child. Most people were understanding that there were other customers waiting to be helped.
My lesson for the day: Give your customers your full, undivided attention. They'll remember you for it!
I remember interviewing, many years ago, one of the Nordstrom brothers back when they were first breaking into the So. Calif. market...service was the name of their game then as it is now...no one believed "another" store could make it in the "saturated" California market...they proved them all wrong...customers want and deserve great service and Nordstrom delivers.
Posted by: gina | July 28, 2006 8:29 PM | Permalink to Comment