According to the STORES Top 100 Retailers ranking, the most successful retailers in the industry are constantly reinventing themselves to stay one step ahead of the competition. Susan Reda, Executive Editor of STORES, the official magazine of the National Retail Federation, states, “It’s not enough anymore for retailers to carry the same merchandise as their competition. From their own brand of food to an exclusive line of tools, today’s retailers will get ahead by differentiating their merchandise and offering products that consumers cannot find anywhere else.”

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Did you ever have a customer experience that went so badly in one store but so well in another? Did it make you wonder where the disconnect was? How could two stores selling the same basic merchandise do such different jobs in customer satisfaction? And did you tell your friends afterwards? One woman had such an experience, and the results are truly telling when it comes to providing stellar service.
It seems this young woman was waiting in line at a well-known department store and couldn’t help but overhear the conversation of three people in front of her. One woman was complaining about her experience with an equally well-known car dealership. While at the dealership, she commented to the manager that she would like to look at cars without a salesperson popping up in front of her every 10 seconds. His response was, “That’s our policy.” Upon which, the woman walked out. She then went to another well known dealer, where she had a similar experience. The gentleman in the group then commented on a dealership he went to recently. He questioned his logic in going there because of their astoundingly bad TV commercials. Once there, he had an equally bad experience. However, he did find a car he liked and he purchased it. To his surprise, he got a call from the salesman shortly thereafter, asking him to bring the car back to renegotiate the price, because they had made an error in the price. That gave everyone in the group a good laugh. And it caused the 3rd person in the group to comment she was not surprised this had happened, since their commercials were so badly done.

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Ever have this experience?: You’re waiting in line at the grocery store, when a new line opens up. The cashier yells, “I’ll take the next person in line!” And the 10 or so people waiting behind you rush over before you can even react. Frustrating? Shoppers think so.
But a recent article in The New York Times highlights how customer-friendly Whole Foods Market is working to change that frustrating experience by moving customers through the lines quickly and efficiently. Customers have commented that, even with 50 people in line, checking out is a fast and pleasant experience.

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