Thursday, January 14, 2010

Giving Praise

Last night I was running errands and stopped in at Sephora in JCPenney to pick up a free eye cream sample from the coupon I received in the mail. This was at 8:40pm and they were closing at 9. I had planned on just sweeping in to get my sample and bolting out to do more errands at Target. (Obviously, I had no children with me. Wed night is my night out to dink around.)

Well, I didn’t leave until 9:20. Julie, the wonderful girl at Sephora, was so pleasant and helpful that she and I chatted about skin care and perfume for 40 minutes! She answered all my questions about the Korres line (it’s all natural) and recommended other products for my beauty issues (like the lip gloss from Juicy if you have flakey lips – gives you a slight mint plump too) and which fragrances really stay on and which smell like your great grandma. All the while, Julie made up tons of samples for me to take home and try.

This was an example of super-over-the-top customer service! So today I called her manager, Kathy, at the store as well as left a compliment on the corporate website. I wanted those in charge to know how great of an employee they have.

We can all find the time to register a complaint, but how often do you take the extra minute to return the go-beyond treatment someone gave you? Whether the sales/customer service rep works on commission or not (Sephora does not) doesn’t matter. All people want to be recognized for their good work and money isn’t recognition.

When I worked at the Brass Buckle (now just The Buckle) in high school, I had the lowest sales on my team. I rarely ever made enough in sales to bonus above the legal minimum wage of $3/hr. But, I also had the lowest returns in the company. My customers were always very satisfied because I was nice and honest. I was proud when the company reports would come in…though I was told to try to sell more.

Your challenge for this week is to pay it forward with compliments. Look people in the eye, stop, and sincerely speak to them. Call or send notes to managers and corporate offices. Pass along this challenge to all your friends. Let’s lift the spirits of those who service us! Be the pebble that starts the wave!!

Heather

1 comment:

  1. So true! Will do! Gosh, $3 an hour for minimum wage! I remember those days too! I was so happy when they bumped it up to $3.50 too! Haha!

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