What turns you on or off about a company’s customer service?
I recently had a disappointing experience with a grocery chain here in Central NY. Let’s call them Poor Service Groceries. (PSG)
I purchased a food product from PSG which didn’t agree with my system. I experienced dizziness, heart palpitations, etc. I didn’t feel well. So, I did what most consumers would do with an unhappy purchase. Return the product for credit or an exchange.
As I approached the customer service counter at PSG on Wednesday at 7am, I stood there with the kryptonite-like food product in a plastic bag, waiting for someone to offer me assistance.
A customer service person finally arrived and I explained my dilemma. She gave me that up and down stare from stomach to head and down again as if I were an alien.
The apprehensive woman asked me what was wrong with the item and I told her it made me sick. She asked if I had opened the item. OMG! Didn’t she just hear me say it made me sick! Poor listening skills.
She took the product out of the bag and looked at it like it was going to inflict pain on her system. She took a beat, gave me a momentary stare and said “OK, we’ll take it back… this time.” Her attitude was so demeaning, she transformed my 6’5″ frame down to the 4’5″ stature of Peter Dinklage; the short bad dude on the Game of Thrones!
PSG clearly doesn’t value their customers.
My gut tells me this employee is being told what to do in this situation. So, it all points to lack of exemplary leadership.
That’s why 99% of the time, I shop at Wegmans. They’ve been rated the #1 supermarket in the country based on customer satisfaction.
To be numba one, you must do everything right!
I’ve lived in CNY for 30 years and I’ve never had a bad experience at Wegmans.
I’m lucky to be surrounded by numerous Wegmans locations here in Central NY.
What makes Wegmans unique?
- Warm friendly employees including the shopping cart retrievers
- Great selection of organic and health food products
- Freshly made sushi on a daily basis
- Return a product for a refund or exchange, no questions asked
- Freshly made pesto
- No unnecessary fees for debit card purchases
- Customers can taste test products a few times a week
- Unique foods from around the world
- Plenty of checkout lines available at all times
- Yummy baked goods on the premises
- Wide selection at the hot and cold buffets
- Best sub sandwiches EVA!
- Spacious sit down cafes to enjoy your meal
- Trail Mix Bar
- Cable TV and Wi-Fi available in the cafe
- Feature films in the cafe once a week
- Olive Bar
- Horizontal aisle that splits the vertical aisles in two, making for easier maneuvering throughout the store
- Fresh take home dinners for $6
- Consistently competitively priced
- Inviting presentation of product
I could go on and on about this wonderful company. They’re the standard by which all other grocery stores are measured.
Wegmans provides the best customer experience from food, to choices, to value, to presentation, to quality staff.
Just when you think they’ve rested to go on vacation, they shock you with another innovation that puts a smile on your face.
Is your company the Wegmans of it’s industry? The leader?
What would it take for your customers to say: “I’d be out of my mind to do business with anyone but “Your Company Name.”
Photo by Seuss.
This Summer I had my MBA class do a team project about best companies from a human capital perspective (how they treat their people), values, policies, benefits, programs. One of the best companies selected by the students “Wegmans.” Coincidence? I think not.
Unreal!