Purpose to give Nordstrom people a standard to aspire t

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The Nordstrom Way
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The Nordstrom Way

• What can we learn from a department store?
• Customer Service 101!
• 1. HUMBLE You need to be humble to do service
• 2. Everything begins with the customer!
• 3. Think like the customer!

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The Golden Rule

• Always think
• How will it affect my customer? If I was in the
  customers, how would I feel?
• Do whats right for the customer and you have
  done whats right for the organization.

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The Nordstrom Way to Customer Service Excellence

• The book is divided into three parts
• Part I What Senior Managers Can Do in an
  organization to Create an identifiable and
  sustainable culture the way Nordstrom has done
  it.
• Part II What Frontline Managers Can Do to
  provide in an atmosphere where staff are giving
  great customer service.
• Part III What Employees Can Do explores what the
  role of those individuals in giving great
  customer service

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The History of Nordstrom

• John Nordstrom was born in Alvik Neder Lulea,
  Sweden, in 1871
• Partnering with Carl F. Wallin, the original
  small shoe store opened in 1901 on the corner of
  Fourth and Pike in Seattle
• First named Wallin Nordstrom, then Nordstroms,
  and lastly, Nordstrom.
• offer the customer the best possible service,
  selection, quality and value.

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Part I What Senior Managers Can Do

• Managers create, maintain, and support the
  corporate service culture. They consciously
  spread the culture of service throughout the
  organization and among new hires

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Part I What Senior Managers Can Do -Tools to
Value Your Employees

• Heroics Employees who witness a colleague
  giving excellent customer service are encouraged
  to write up a description of what they saw and
  submit it to their manager.
• Purpose to give Nordstrom people a standard to
  aspire to and to surpass.
• Outstanding acts of customer service are rewarded.

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Part I What Senior Managers Can Do Keys to
Success

• Make customers feel comfortable by paying
  attention to every detail of the experience
  bricks and mortar or virtual. You must create an
  inviting place to do business
• Make your public voice or face a pleasant one
• Create an atmosphere of helpfulness
• Create an atmosphere of professionalism
• Educate your customer to make sound choices

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Part II What Supervisors Can Do to Create
Nordstrom Style Service Keys to Success

• Nordstrom believes it is frontline supervisors
  that must create the atmosphere and the customer
  culture service to support senior managers. How?
• Hiring the right people
• Empowering staff
• Mentoring employees
• Praising and rewarding employee successes or
  services

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Part II What Supervisors Can Do to Create
Nordstrom Style Service Keys to Success

• Hire The Smile Train The Skill
• (Is This A Problem For Librarians, Why?
  Perception)
• Hire The Personality And The Confidence

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Part II What Supervisors Can Do to Create
Nordstrom Style Customer Service Keys to
Success

• Leo Kuntz VP Washington/Alaska stores says
  people work at Nordstrom because
• Opportunity for growth
• Freedom (There are almost no barriers to doing
  your job)
• Feeling that you are apart of something
  meaningful
• Feeling valued

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Part II What Supervisors Can Do to Create
Nordstrom Style Customer Service Keys to
Success

• The Nordstrom Way includes hiring good people and
  keep working with them, nurturing them, and
  giving them the tools to succeed
• Empower employees Nordstrom gives its people on
  the sales floor the freedom to make
  entrepreneurial decisions and management backs
  them on those decisions. (store of Van Mensah and
  the shirts washed in hot water)

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Nordstrom Inverted Pyramid

• The Inverted Pyramid represents the companys
  philosophy and structure, placing customers at
  the top. Next are those who directly serve
  customers

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Part II What Supervisors Can Do to Create
Nordstrom Style Customer Service Keys to
Success

• Hire people who are looking to assume
  responsibility and ownership of their work
• Trust the people you hire, trust their judgment
• Give them freedom to make decisions
• Push decision-making responsibility and authority
  down to the lowest level possible
• Encourage employees every step of the way.

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Part II What Supervisors Can Do to Create
Nordstrom Style Customer Service

• The Nordstrom way includes hiring good people and
  keep working with them, nurturing them, and
  giving them the tools to succeed
• Mentoring Nordstrom encourages employees to
  find a successful salesperson to watch how he or
  she does business. (You can observe a lot just by
  watching)
• The atmosphere of mentorship starts with the
  store manager, who understands the culture.
  Managers lead by positive example.
• Employees are also encouraged to find their own
  style, niche, their own way of taking care of
  business.

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Part II What Supervisors Can Do to Create
Nordstrom Style Customer Service Keys to
Success

• Find ways to motivate employees
• Treat employees with dignity and respect
• Utilize as training tools people who have grown
  up in a culture
• Provide a culture where people encourage each
  other.
• Recognition reinforces the areas that should be
  continue Recognition meetings

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Part II What Supervisors Can Do to Create
Nordstrom Style Customer Service Keys to
Success

• Recognition reinforces the areas that should be
  continue Recognition meetings
• Praise employees for great acts of customer
  service
• Reward those great acts
• They encompass four key aspects (Kunz)
• Demonstrating sincere, authentic appreciation
• Emphasize the team spirit
• Teach people something new
• Perpetuate the culture

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Part III What Employees Can Do to Create
Nordstrom Style Customer Service Keys to
Success

• Staff must understand that they are on the
  frontlines in making an organization a
  customer-service culture.
• Frontline people must have a thorough knowledge
  of the products and services an organization
  offers because it is through those products and
  services that relationships are created,
  nurtured, and maintained.
• Building and maintaining relationships with
  customers are essential elements to a good
  customer service philosophy.

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Part III What Employees Can Do to Create
Nordstrom Style Customer Service Keys to
Success

• Relationships are the essence of customer
  service.
• Service Sell Relationships
• People like to do business with people they like!
  How?
• Know the product
• Know your resources

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Part III What Employees Can Do to Create
Nordstrom Style Customer Service Keys to
Success

• Relationship Building Principles
• Give clients more than they expect
• Leave clients something to remember you by
• Think the project (problem through)
• Ask yourself If I were the client would I pay
  for this
• Dont give reasons why it cant be done Tell
  how it can be done and the consequences.

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Part III What Employees Can Do to Create
Nordstrom Style Customer Service Keys to
Success

• Relationship Building Principles
• Dont wait to do it if it can be done now
• Service the client not the project
• You dont know if you dont ask
• Start a conversation with one new person every
  day
• Write ideas being discussed in front of clients

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Part III What Employees Can Do to Create
Nordstrom Style Customer Service Keys to Success

• Listen to the customer
• Understand customers needs
• Emphasize knowledge of your products and services
• Be honest and sincere
• Track your sphere of influence
• Service the client not the project
• Become a source for new ideas
• Take responsibility

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The Nordstrom Way Combines

• Customer Service
• Sales (results-oriented company)
• Teamwork
• Nordstrom believes that teamwork brings
  individuals closer together

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Gees Seven Keys to Delivering Great Service

• The Right Attitude
• Maintain a positive frame of mind
• Prepare yourself
• Think about why you are there
• Pay attention

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Seven Keys to Delivering Great Service

• Understand the Customers Needs
• Prepare for a customer interaction
• Listen with an open-mind
• Understand what a need is
• Verify and clarify needs
• Be honest

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Seven Keys to Delivering Great Service

• Communicate Clearly
• Be clear
• Stick to the point
• Be honest
• Avoid the following phrases when giving
  information
• Ill be honest with you
• I cant
• Ill let you know. Tell When

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Seven Keys to Delivering Great Service

• Communicate Clearly cont
• How to give unwelcome information
• Accept responsibility
• Be direct
• Good news Bad news approach
• Dont tell them do you want to hear the good news
  or the bad news first
• Encourage the customer to participate in finding
  the right solution
• Acknowledge the customers feelings

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Seven Keys to Delivering Great Service

• 4. Reach Agreement
• Working with diversity, not against it
• Looking for the win-win solution
• Company policy
• Whether the customer needs training on product
  use
• The cost involved

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Seven Keys to Delivering Great Service

• Reach Agreement cont.
• Build on the customers proposal
• Explain to the customer why you offered the
  solution and how it will help the situation
• Ask questions to gain a better understanding of
  the situation
• Check you understanding by explaining the problem
  in your own words
• Incorporate the customers ideas into your
  solution
• Build and communicate on the joint ideas
• Be creative
• Promises

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Seven Keys to Delivering Great Service

• 5. Check Understanding
• Steps
• Make sure the customer understand the solution
  youve offered them
• Be prepared for customer input
• Verify the facts
• Check for agreement plan
• Accept responsibility
• End on a positive note dont brush off customer
• Manage customer expectations

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Seven Keys to Delivering Great Service

• 6. Take Action
• Turning negatives into positives
• Right thought comes before right action
• Behavior is what customers remember
• When the company is used as an excuse for bad
  action

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Seven Keys to Delivering Great Service

• 7. Build on Satisfaction
• Be helpful
• On the front line