TeAM YYeP G Digitally signed by TeAM YYePG DN: cn=TeAM YYePG, c=US, o=TeAM YYePG, ou=TeAM YYePG, email=yyepg@msn.com Reason: I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document Date: 2005.05.20 03:11:48 +08'00' THE NORDSTROM WAY to Customer Service Excellence Also by Robert Spector The Nordstrom Way: The Inside Story of America’s Number One Customer Service Company Lessons from the Nordstrom Way: How Companies Are Emulating the #1 Customer Service Company Amazon.com: Get Big Fast Inside the Revolutionary Business Model That Changed the World Anytime, Anywhere: How the Best Bricks-and-Clicks Businesses Deliver Seamless Service to Their Customers Category Killers: The Retail Revolution and Its Impact on Consumer Culture THE NORDSTROM WAY to Customer Service Excellence A HANDBOOK FOR IMPLEMENTING GREAT SERVICE IN YOUR ORGANIZATION R OBERT S PECTOR AND P ATRICK M C C ARTHY John Wiley & Sons, Inc. This book is printed on acid-free paper. Copyright © 2005 by Robert Spector and Patrick McCarthy. All rights reserved. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey. Published simultaneously in Canada. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008. 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HF5415.5.S626785 2005 658.8′12—dc22 2004028848 Printed in the United States of America. 10987654321 In loving memory of my parents, Fred and Florence Spector, who taught me The Spector Way: Work hard, be good, do well. R. S. In memory of Ray Black, who first showed me The Nordstrom Way P. McC. Acknowledgments T he names on an author’s page cannot accurately reflect the vast number of people who helped make this book possible. As The Nordstrom Way has gone through several versions—in- cluding two hardcover editions—more and more people have made vital contributions. For the original book, deep and heartfelt thanks to the following: Ⅲ Pat McCarthy for his belief in the Nordstrom way of doing business. Ⅲ Bruce Nordstrom, Jim Nordstrom, John Nordstrom, and Jack McMillan for their cooperation and trust, and for the use of two privately published family histories, The Immi- grant in 1887 by John W. Nordstrom, and A Winning Team: The Story of Everett, Elmer & Lloyd Nordstrom by Elmer Nordstrom. Ⅲ Elmer Nordstrom, John Whitacre, Ray Johnson, Jammie Baugh, Len Kuntz, Barden Erickson, David Lindsey, Patrick Kennedy, Bob Middlemas, Van Mensah, David Butler, Kellie Tormey, and all the Nordstrom salespeople and man- agers who put a human face on the company. Ⅲ Betsy Sanders for her thoughtful reading of the manuscript. For this book, I would like to thank: Ⅲ Bruce, Blake, Pete, and Erik Nordstrom for sharing their insights in interviews with me. VII Ⅲ My deepest appreciation to Brooke White of Nordstrom for her invaluable help in ensuring the integrity and accuracy of this manuscript. She responded to every request with speed, thoroughness, and good humor. Thanks also to Keli Fox and Jeanne McKay. Ⅲ Richard Narramore, my editor at John Wiley & Sons, shep- herded this project with the utmost professionalism and gave it an exciting new format for the twenty-first century. Ⅲ Elizabeth Wales is the best agent (and friend) any author could ask for. Ⅲ My wife Marybeth Spector sustains me every day in every way and is the ideal spouse for an author—at least this one. R OBERT S PECTOR Seattle, Washington ACKNOWLEDGMENTS VIII IX Contents Introduction xiii P ART I: What Managers Can Do to Create Nordstrom-Style Service 1 1 The Nordstrom Story: How a Century of Family Leadership Created a Culture of Entrepreneurship, Consensus, and Service 3 Exercise: What Is Our Company’s History? 22 2 Spreading the Service Culture: Publicly Celebrate Your Heroes; Promote from Within 25 Exercise: Tell the Story of Your Company’s Heroes 37 Exercise: What Do We Stand For? 38 3 Line Up and Cheer for Your Customer: Create an Inviting Place to Do Business 41 Exercise: You’re the Customer 65 Exercise: Call Your Company 66 Exercise: Surf Your Company’s Web Site 67 4 How Can I Help You? Provide Your Customers with Lots of Choices 69 Exercise: Expand Your Customers’ Choices 84 P ART II: What Supervisors Can Do to Create Nordstrom-Style Service 87 5 Nordstrom’s #1 Customer Service Strategy: Hire the Smile 89 Exercise: Hiring Questionnaire 111 6 That’s My Job: Empower Employees to Act Like Entrepreneurs to Satisfy the Customer 113 Exercise: What Does Empowerment Mean? 140 Exercise: Empowering Compensation 140 [...]... Legendary Customer Service Notes Index X 17 1 18 9 19 1 211 2 31 253 263 265 Introduction S oon after Nordstrom opened a mammoth 330,000-squarefoot store in downtown San Francisco, a man purchased a dress shirt at the Emporium, a competing department store that was then adjacent to Nordstrom on Market Street, south of Union Square As he headed toward the exit, the sales clerk suddenly called out to the customer: ... connected to the customer, the customer keeps you humble because we’re not perfect at it If you are really looking to the customer, if you’re really sensitive to the customer, and sensitive to the people on the frontline, you are aware of your shortcomings That keeps XIV Introduction us focused on the things that are necessary in order to give customer service. ” When my book The Nordstrom Way was first... they forget about the Golden Rule, they forget about empathy, they forget about the customer When they are on the other side of the sales counter or the telephone or the front desk or the reception area, they think about the rules, the process, the manual, the bureaucracy, the way it’s always been done That’s a recipe for terrible service All of us customers only care about who is going to take care of... that store and region of the country The best Nordstrom sales associates will do virtually everything they can to make sure a shopper leaves the store a satisfied customer XIII INTRODUCTION After all is said and done, the simplest explanation for what makes Nordstrom Nordstrom is that Nordstrom salespeople put themselves in the shoes of the customer They do whatever they can to make life easier for their... for their customers All of us are experts on customer service because all of us— at one point of the day or another—are customers We know good service when we see it, and we know bad service when we see it You don’t have to read a book to have it explained to you But a funny thing happens to people when they are in the position of having to give service as opposed to getting service Suddenly, they forget... lobby of the Nordstrom corporate offices, which is connected to the f lagship store in downtown Seattle, a visitor is greeted first by the Nordstrom history and culture On the walls adjacent to the elevators is a grainy, 10 0year-old picture of founder John W Nordstrom and his original partner, Carl F Wallin, proudly standing outside their first tiny shoe store; and another shot, circa 19 10, of the interior... Stop!” The puzzled customer wondered what the trouble was “Can I have your bag back?” pleaded the clerk The compliant shopper immediately handed the bag to the clerk, who proceeded to reach in, fish out the sales slip and scribble a quick “thank you” on it “Ever since Nordstrom came to San Francisco,” he complained, as he returned the bag to the customer, “we have to do that.” Seven years later, the. .. the kind of all-encompassing customer service that has fed the Nordstrom mystique But the future is for later On this orientation day, these men and women are here to immerse themselves in that culture and its history The History of Nordstrom: After the Gold Rush, a Store Is Born Johan W Nordstrom, like the founders of most of America’s retail dynasties, was an immigrant The middle child of five, Nordstrom. .. expands on the principles that were laid out in Lessons, and also adds implementation and training resources to help your organization become the Nordstrom of your industry The Nordstrom Way to Customer Service Excellence is divided into three sections Ⅲ Part I: What Managers Can Do to Create NordstromStyle Service looks at how an organization creates an identifiable and sustainable culture the way Nordstrom. .. your customers more reasons to do business with your organization Nordstrom is a company whose managers constantly reinforce its history, its culture, its reason for being, and its unwavering dedication to think like the customer This is the essence of a great customer- service company 1 1 The Nordstrom Story How a Century of Family Leadership Created a Culture of Entrepreneurship, Consensus, and Service . attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document Date: 2005.05.20 03 :11 :48 +08'00' THE NORDSTROM WAY to Customer Service Excellence Also by Robert Spector The Nordstrom Way: The Inside. connected to the cus- tomer, the customer keeps you humble because we’re not per- fect at it. If you are really looking to the customer, if you’re really sensitive to the customer, and sensitive to the. of The Nordstrom Way (par- ticularly the brief history of the company) and a follow-up book Lessons from The Nordstrom Way: How Companies Are Emu- lating the #1 Customer Service Company. The