The other day I spent an hour in the Asheville Mall. I rarely go shopping there anymore (not like the “old days” when I had 4 children still at home) but family was visiting from out of town and my granddaughter LOVES the mall!
While there, I made a quick visit to Payless Shoesource where I found 2 pairs of shoes reduced from $24.99 to $10 a pair….my kind of sale. I was so impressed with the customer service I took a few moments to chat with the saleswoman ringing up my purchase. I thanked her for the wonderful service I had received. She replied, “I try to treat people the way I would like to be treated.” I told her that her comment was the #1 comment the hundreds of people I’ve interviewed through the years (working in the sales and service industry) have expressed about how they treat customers.
She also mentioned that the parent company was a pleasure to work for and it made coming to work each day so much nicer. I asked her what she liked about the parent company and she said, “They care about their employees and treat us well.”
I decided to do a little research on my own and see what the corporate office defined as good customer service. This is what I discovered on their website.
Together as a team, and individually as team members, we will…
- Delight the Customer — We will act with the Customer in mind and deliver a great experience by anticipating the marketplace and exceeding expectations.
- Show Respect — We will value everyone in all aspects of our business and embrace differences to cultivate an inspiring, fun and productive atmosphere.
- Inspire Possibilities — We will deliver creative and innovative ideas in order to continuously improve; and by embracing change we will learn and grow.
- Deliver Excellence — We will be accountable to achieve results through consistent execution and quality in everything we do for our stakeholders.
- Do What’s Right — We will act with courage, demonstrate honest and ethical behavior and be responsible to our Customers, our shareholders , our communities and each other.
I believe that good customer service can be a two way street. Before my conversation with the saleswoman, I had been helped by another employee…a young woman with a very pleasant personality. She stopped what she was doing to come over and help me search for my $10 “finds” in other colors. Discovering that those were the last 2 pairs, I thanked her for taking the time to help me. When I went to pay, I made sure to mention how helpful the young woman was to the saleswoman ringing up my purchases. Her reply was, “She’s great and I hope she never leaves us!” The young woman was standing steps from the register and heard it all.
Seeing her smiling face as I left the store was the icing on the cake for a really great shopping experience!
My Fabulous New Red Shoes
