My local Nordstrom recently sponsored a Kids Shoe Tying Class where children worked one-on-one with a shoe department associate to learn the “secret trick” to tying a shoe. Afterward, children received a “Real Knotty Behavior” certificate and a balloon to recognize their newly acquired skill.

This event illustrates seven simple ways to raise customer service quality from ordinary to extraordinary and provides insight into what differentiates Nordstrom from typical retailers.

By hosting the event, Nordstrom:

1.) expressed genuine interest in helping children to learn a school-ready skill

2.) shared unique knowledge by revealing the “secret trick” to tying a shoe

3.) conveyed authentic enthusiasm for serving children (and their parents)

4.) provided sincere and specific compliments by recognizing children for their newly acquired skill

5.) used appropriate humor by providing “Real Knotty Behavior” certificates

6.) provided pleasant surprises by presenting children with balloons

7.) delivered service heroics by freeing up 30-minutes of unencumbered shopping time for parents

As a result of its customer focus and creativity (as illustrated by its Kids Shoe Tying Class), Nordstrom is making positive lasting impressions on current and future generations of shoppers, earning a spot on this year’s “Knotty” list.

Happy Holidays!

Many companies use terms like “guest” and “partner” to convey the intimacy they have with their customers but the reality is that most employees, when given the opportunity, do not behave as though they are serving a valued guest.

If you’d like to test this assertion, simply show up at your choice of retailer after it has closed for the day. Assuming you can make eye contact with an employee through the locked glass door, see if she is willing to do more than point at her watch and mouth the words, “We’re closed.”

Now, this is where corporate types jump in using words like: policy, procedure, overtime, security, protocol, etc. While all of their points are valid, it doesn’t mean they’re right.

To illustrate, imagine that you had planned a baby shower at your home from 1:00 to 3:00pm and that one of your guests was delayed for some reason and didn’t arrive until 3:15pm—after the event had officially ended and the other guests had left.

Would you refuse to open the front door and simply make eye contact with her through the glass side light panel, point to your watch, and mouth the words, “The party’s over”?

Of course not.

Then why is it acceptable to treat “guests” like that in a business setting?

If you’re going to cite the above list of policy, procedure, overtime, security, protocol, etc. as your justification for this behavior, at least stop referring to your customers as “guests.”

Instead, call them what they really are to your closing staff: a nuisance—an interruption; someone we accept money from during business hours but whom we’d prefer not to see after closing time until the next business day.

Just last week I was in Logan, UT. Being a coffee enthusiast and having read about the mountain grown, Triple Certified coffee at Caffe Ibis, I made it a point to stop by on the day of my arrival.

I showed up at 6:45pm and learned that the store closed at 6:30pm. I peered through the glass door and made eye contact with an employee who pointed to her watch and mouthed the words, “We’re closed.”

Before I returned to my car, however, an energetic employee named Natalie unlocked the front door and engaged me.

I mentioned that I was in town for one night from Denver and had hoped to try a cup of Caffe Ibis coffee that I had read so much about and pick up a pound of beans to take back home.

She said, “The machines are off and the register is closed but let me see what I can do.”

A few minutes later, she appeared with a steeping (literally) cup of coffee and a pound of Double French Roast Blend coffee beans.

I thanked her, paid her $15 in cash, and enjoyed a delicious cup of coffee back in my hotel room.

The following day, on my way out of town, I returned and spent another $28.05 on a latte, ground Espresso Roast Blend, and a Caffe Ibis t-shirt. That’s $43.05 in revenue from a guest that many employees would have labeled a nuisance—an interruption in their day.

And my purchasing hasn’t stopped. I’m back in Denver but enjoyed the coffee so much that I’m planning a repeat purchase of Double French Roast Blend coffee beans from their website. My potential future value to Caffe Ibis is significant.

If the first employee was my only impression of Caffe Ibis, I would have left empty-handed, kept my $15, and may or may not have returned the following day to spend another $28.05. And if I hadn’t experienced its coffee in Logan, I certainly wouldn’t be ordering it by the pound on-line.

This is key: Did the first employee do anything wrong? No. She was following policy. I get that. She was also behaving in a way that is usual, ordinary, and expected by most customers.

Natalie, on the other hand, treated me like her guest. She behaved in a way that was beyond what is usual, ordinary, and expected by most customers. She was refreshing and unique. As a result, she not only made a positive lasting impression, she made a sale!

More key points:

1.) Natalie recognized that, while her job function was to complete the closing checklist, the essence of her job—her highest priority—was to serve her guests.

2.) Her decision to open the locked door and engage me, unlike the completion of the closing checklist, was optional.

3.) And finally, her willingness to go the extra mile cost her employer nothing—it was free! In fact, it resulted in $43.05 in additional sales (and counting…).

Natalie created a promoter (that’s me).

Promoters are customers who not only buy your products/services, they wear your t-shirts, are less price sensitive, and recommend your business to others (as I’m doing now).

While the first employee’s service was ordinary, expected, and made me feel like an interruption in her day, Natalie’s was extraordinary, unexpected, and made me feel like a valued guest.

Care to comment? Be my guest.

I’ll skip the introductory paragraph about how bad the economy is and how smart business people are constantly looking for new and innovative ways to offer more value to their customers because—assuming you haven’t been riffed and the lights are still on—you already know this.

The point of this post is to reinforce the importance of exceptional customer service that transcends the ordinary and approaches the extraordinary.

In today’s economy, consumers increasingly scrutinize the “value for price paid” of a product or service. While exceptional customer service adds value, most service organizations fail to deliver it.

In some cases they fail because managers either don’t recognize what exceptional customer service is or have not adequately communicated it to frontline staff. And when they do recognize and communicate it, they often fail to consistently model the behavior themselves.

Here are three truths about exceptional customer service that all service organization managers should recognize and communicate to every employee:

• It is the essence—the most critical aspect, the highest priority—of every employee’s job role.
• It is always optional. An employee chooses to deliver exceptional customer service.
• In most cases, it costs no more to deliver than poor customer service. In other words, it’s free.

And it’s not enough to simply recognize and communicate these truths. You must model exceptional customer service at all times.

If you’re reading this post and are responsible for customer service outcomes in your company or department, I challenge you to take the first step toward enhancing the quality of customer service that you provide to your customers and model for your staff.

Simply answer the following question and then pose it to members of your staff:

Q: What “little extras” can you offer customers that will add value to the product or service you provide and reinforce your highest priority: exceptional customer service?

Here are some examples of “little extras” that I have experienced as a customer:

• Chick-fil-A, a quick service restaurant, provides a mint with each order—similar to full service restaurant.
• The General Motors dealership that services my car always washes it before pulling it around front and delivering it to me.
• Our garbage collector always brings the trash cans from the curb to the top of our driveway.
• Papa Murphy’s Take ‘N’ Bake Pizza gives me a two-stamp head start on my pizza loyalty card. Now I’m 17 percent closer to a free pizza!
• Starbucks Coffee on occasion offers complimentary samples of ground coffee, pastries, and specialty coffee drinks.
• Tony’s Market in Denver, CO includes preparation instructions on its meat packaging (e.g., oven/grill temps, meat temps, etc.).
• The Wine Experience in Aurora, CO serves its coffee tableside in French presses.
• I recently worked with a hotel in New York City whose front desk clerks spontaneously send guests “Connection Cards” intended to welcome them, acknowledge something they shared during their check-in (e.g., reason for their hotel stay, the Broadway show they plan to see, the restaurant they plan to visit, etc.), and provide the clerk’s name and extension number for further assistance.
• The professional waiters at Sparks Steak House in New York City are adept at changing the table linens between entrée and dessert courses without removing your wine glasses or exposing the tabletop.

Sometimes these “little extras” are tangible (e.g., Chick-fil-A’s mints) and other times they are intangible aspects of the service experience (e.g., the changing of table linens at Sparks Steak House). In most cases they are unexpected and transform an ordinary experience into one that’s extraordinary!

Once you identify the “little extras” that will add value to the product or service you offer, don’t keep them a secret. Communicate the importance of exceptional customer service to anyone who will listen and share the ideas that you and others generate to fulfill this standard of customer service. Most importantly, model these “little extras” for all to see—employees and customers alike!

By doing so, you will elevate the quality of customer service you currently deliver and will be providing enhanced value to your customers.

The difference between ordinary and extraordinary really is that “little extra.”