I had a EUREKA moment yesterday when shopping at Norstrom at Southpark Mall in Charlotte, NC - I thought "What if ALL Realtors Provided Nordstrom-level customer service to ALL of their clients?" Now THAT would quickly move us real estate agents up higher in customer approval ratings!
Although I always strive to provide the best customer service as a listing agent and a buyer agent, the Nordstrom model hardly has a peer, IMHO. If you've ever shopped at Nordstrom, I would bet that you've experienced a "Nordstrom moment." Here's what happened to me recently:
On Black Friday, my sister and I went shopping at Nordstrom. We happily tried on clothes, enjoying each other's company as much as the shopping experience. I finally found a pair of jeans that actually looked pretty good on this 52 year old body, and I bought them. Well...they had lycra in them, and within 15 minutes of wearing them, they were saggy and uncomfortable. I went back to Nordstrom yesterday, hoping to buy the same pair in a smaller size. A sales lady not only brought the pair of jeans to me, she said "If these work better, I'll just exchange them for the ones you bought!" What? I asked if there were hidden cameras, because I had already washed the jeans about 4 times, TRYING to shrink them, PLUS they were ON MY BODY at the time (i.e., USED) She said no problem, we want you to be happy. And happy I was! Sure, Nordstrom costs a little bit more, but for me, it's worth it to have such great customer service!
A few Christmases ago, my sister-in-law from Colorado gave me a watch for Christmas - YAY! Only thing was, I wanted a watch to go running in - something plastic - like a Swatch Watch. Sweet gal that she is, she gave me a leather Swatch. She'd bought it at a CO department store that wasn't available where I live. I took it to Nordstrom to see if they would exchange it for a cheaper plastic Swatch. They didn't even carry the leather Swatch, but they took it anyway (NO RECEIPT), let me pick out a plastic one, AND....drum roll...they GAVE ME CHANGE BACK. I was dumbfounded! I probably have 6 more stories like this!
So....being a person who always enjoys finding parallels in life (see my blog on the parallels between fly fishing and selling real estate), I started thinking about the ramifications of providing Nordstrom-level customer service to all of my clients - where would this take my business? I already do quite a bit (I've trimmed bushes and planted flowers at vacant listings, bought knickknacks and small furniture to stage listings, paid for home warranties or pre-inspections, made videos of homes and neighborhoods for out-of-town buyers), but what if I find ways to take my customer service to the next level.
I think I've found myself a New Year's resolution! I hereby resolve to provide Nordstrom-level customer service to all my buyers, sellers and prospects! Care to join me? Let's brainstorm on ActiveRain and share ideas on how to rachet it up a notch!
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