I made a purchase at the Fossil watch store on 5th Avenue in New York last Friday. As it was raining heavily outside they offered a plastic bag cover. TI had never heard of such a thing. hey had a box of these covers behind the counter, for weather like that day.
The cover easily slipped over the Fossil shopping bag, protecting it as if it itself was valuable.
I have never been offered a shopping bag protector before. I was amazed.
The experience was a lesson in excellent customer service – the business and the employee going beyond my expectations and delivering a level of service I am happy to talk about.
In the bag covered by the bag cover were two tins and in the tins were the items purchased. So, there was little chance of the actual items getting damaged by rain. Their concern was for their bag and since their bag is all about their brand, it makes sense.
Delivering unexpected good customer service is a differentiator for any business, especially a retail business in a competitive situation. We have opportunities in our businesses every day for doing this. Key to success with unexpected good customer service is to have the processes in place to make it commonplace for the business to go above and beyond.
In the Fossil example, they had the bag covers at the counter and had trained employees on knowing when to offer them.
Newsagents selling gifts, especially with gifts worth more than $20, have excellent opportunities to go above and beyond because of the margin dollars available for investing in this level of customer service.
This type of service is disruptive. It challenges how shoppers view the business and what they expect from you. It’s why it is good for business and especially good for newsagencies where shopper expectations about our businesses are so rooted in history.