Comments on: Customer service during bad economic times.

By: Josh

Josh — Tue, 26 May 2009 00:33:56 +0000

Bad economic times are great times for businesses like Walmart and others like them to try and gain new customers through impressing them with low prices and good customer service. Where customers might tolerate bad customer service during bad economic times they are going to stop giving those companies their business when times get good. It is a mistake for any company in my opinion, to slack on their customer service.

By: Service Untitled

Service Untitled — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 00:36:56 +0000

Glenn, you’re right. It is more about being friendly and it all falls under the general idea of providing great customer service. Black Friday has traditionally been one of the busiest shopping days (in terms of volume of shoppers), but you are right, not always the busiest and not always resulting in the most sales.

Larry, you said it nicely. You have to let customers know how you can help them and they will typically appreciate your service more.

Joe, commodities are almost always about price, so you definitely have a point there.

Thanks all for the comments!

By: Joe Rawlinson

Joe Rawlinson — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:02:59 +0000

I think with commodity products, price will be the deciding factor. The more expensive an item, the more that great customer service will play in influencing the customer to purchase from any given business.

By: Larry Streeter

Larry Streeter — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:10:38 +0000

Great point you bring up in this blog. As we market to small business owners, the downturn of the economy is something we’re watching very closely as many small businesses struggle to stay afloat. All the more reason why we continue to invest in our customer service efforts to create loyalty amongst our customer base! Helping our customers understand the value our service provides them in retaining their customers and driving repeat business has always been the key to our success and is even more important today!

By: Glenn

Glenn — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 00:08:50 +0000

A customer’s experience extends well beyond employees being friendly. While that’s important, it’s not the whole meal deal. What happens when the store is out of the product the customer wants? Will the employee attempt to order it from another store or from the store’s Web site? Will the prices offered in store and on the Web be the same?

Or is the culture of the retailer such that each store manager holds back merchandise so that each can sell it? Do they put their store over the health of their company? Is this due to the culture of the company and its rules, rewards, and recognition?

BTW, you mentioned that Black Friday is the busiest day of the season. I don’t think so. It never was for me. The three days prior to Christmas were always much busier. Other stats from the retail world seem to bear me out. Although I did hear one JCPenney manager say that yesterday was his busiest. I hope he is mistaken.

Regards,

Glenn

By: Meikah Delid

Meikah Delid — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 06:38:08 +0000

Hi, Doug, I just read on the news that stampede in one Walmart store. It was sad that people had to scramble for cheaper things. Hard times, I guess, do that to people.

I wrote about Black Friday and customer service, too. Just go check out my site.