Microsoft plans deploy a team of 155 customer-service “Microsoft gurus” in retailers such as Best Buy and Circuit City by the end of the year. The gurus will be answering questions about personal computers and Microsoft products as well as demonstrating how the company’s products work together. Microsoft hopes that this will get customers thinking about their products.

This is a great move by Microsoft. It’s time that they finally responded with something to compete with Apple’s “Genius Bar” which provides great customer service on Macs and Ipods while giving the customer a “hip” experience. Hopefully Microsoft can provide a great experience as well by translating the technology into a language consumers can relate to and feel comfortable with.

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Verizon Wireless aims to improve the wireless retail experience for customers by incorporating a new store design. Features to enhance the customer experience include a greeter kiosk that allows customers to check in once they enter the store and list their wireless needs so representatives can quickly assist them. In addition, the new store layout will have customer service and technical support departments, making it easy for customers to get account information, customer service and address technical issues from trained in-store staff.

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Fewer and fewer people have the time to sit down and eat for breakfast. Jack In the Box is now offering convenient breakfast bowls that are “easy to pick up and transport”. The breakfast bowls consist of a meal of eggs, meat, hash browns, and cheese. The suggested price is $2.99.

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The first Biggby coffee shop was founded 13 years ago. Now the chain has 100 stores in nine states: Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Florida, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. Biggby’s franchise-based model gives it an advantage over other regional coffee chains by lowering the cost for the company to expand and it gives each store local connections.

Bob Fish, the East Lansing-based chain’s chief executive officer and one its co-founders said,

“We are a franchise company and Starbucks is not. Most of our operators are people from the community…There’s a big difference between an owner running the store and any other restaurant chain with many, many units. They’re not just an employee; they own the business. It adds energy, excitement and enthusiasm.”

Because each store has local connections, this contributes to more meaningful customer engagement and greater customer service.

So far Biggby’s business model has been working. They expect to grow to 250 stores by 2010.

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Last year, Circuit City laid off thousands of its best-paid and most knowledgeable sales staffers, only to see them snatched up by Best Buy. Circuit City sales have plummeted while even in this weak economy, Best Buy is thriving because of its emphasis on customer service.

Across many industries, we’ve seen that the retailers that grow customer-service ratings the fastest have greater sales growth,” says Chris Denove of J.D. Power and Associates. “Prices have come down dramatically on electronics items, and at the same time, the complexity of the products has increased. Expert advice is more important than ever.”

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Verizon’s small- and medium-sized business customers participating in the Business Link Rewards program are now eligible for discounts and special promotions every time they shop at the Verizon Business Links Online Mall.

Small- and medium-sized business customers who use the Online Mall can get discounts from more than 350 retailers, including Best Buy, Dell Computers, Office Depot, Expedia, eBay and Target

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There was a recent discussion on RetailWire  regarding Apple’s customer service. In the last few months, they have boosted the number of “concierges” that meet and direct customers in its stores. If better customer service and more frontline staff can help boost sales then why aren’t more
retailers increasing their frontline staff? Apple can afford to hire more workers because they have the margins to do so. This is not the case for most retailers, especially with the current economic state.

Let’s say a retailer can afford to increase their frontline staff. Is that enough? What drives customers to Apple Stores in addition to customer service are the ambiance, layout, and design of the store. All these components make up the customer experience.

Cross Country Automotive Services will provide emergency roadside assistance to for customers beginning with model year 2007 Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury vehicles.

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Recent studies indicate that outsourcing customer service is most likely to have a negative effect on customer satisfaction.  The study analyzed the offshoring and outsourcing activities of 150 North American companies and business units from 1998 to 2006. As a group, those that outsourced customer service saw a drop in their score on the American Consumer Satisfaction Index, or ACSI, a measure created by the National Quality Research Center at the University of Michigan. The study did show that declines were roughly the same whether companies outsource customer service domestically or overseas.

Companies that saw their ACSI score decrease also saw their companies’ share prices
move in the same direction with. Market capitalization dropped roughly 1% to 5%.

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Research indicates that a four minute wait at a grocery store line can jeopardize customer loyalty. Shopper’s satisfaction remains high when in line four minutes or less in all store categories. Club stores are the only exception where an average wait time slightly over four minutes was accepted. One study found that 43% of consumers said long lines would affect their decision to shop a particular retailer in the future.

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