#667 in the Project is taken from a blog post by Ron Kaufman at ‘Up Your Service’
“A sales clerk at Nordstrom in the United States sold my friend a new pair of shoes. Measuring his feet, the clerk discovered my friend’s right foot was size 9.5 and the left foot was a smaller 9.0. The clerk gave my friend the shoes he needed to achieve a perfect fit: one 9.5 and the other 9.0. I have no idea what the clerk did with the remaining mismatched shoes, but my friend’s loyalty to Nordstrom has been secured. Talk about going above and beyond to improve customer satisfaction!”
I’ve also experienced this signature lagniappe. Back in 1996 I bought a pair of Doc Martens at Nordstroms in Portland. I distinctly remember it was the first time I spend $100+ of my own dollars on a pair of shoes. Doc’s doesn’t make half sizes and I couldn’t get the right fit between a size 11 and a size 12. My feet are about a 1/2 size apart. The salesperson offered to split the pairs. One word: SOLD.
Marketing Lagniappe Takeaway: Do the unexpected little extra to satisfy your customers. Splitting sizes speaks volumes about Nordstrom’s beginnings as a shoe store and its commitment to the customer experience.
Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra) – Rod McNealy shares a legendary Nordstrom customer service story involving snow tires:
Lagniappe defined: A marketing lagniappe, i.e. purple goldfish, is any time a business goes above and beyond to provide a ‘little something extra’. It’s that unexpected surprise that’s thrown in for good measure.
How do you stand out in the sea of sameness? How do you win repeat customers and influence word of mouth? Are you Giving Little Unexpected Extras?
What’s Your GLUE?
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