A Big, Old, Wrinkly, and Real Thumbs Up for Customer Service

For many of us “thumbs up” has become just another icon on our Facebook profile.   That’s not the case for folks of a different generation, and the other day I got a very non-virtual thumbs up that was worth 100 “likes.”

These days I am on the front lines of customer service:  I’ve taken a seasonal job at LL Bean’s flagship store in Freeport, ME.  Yes, things are slow in the marketing and consulting world and I can use the income, but it also seemed that getting a look inside a company with a great brand and world-class customer service could be very educational.    So nearly every day I am at the cash register greeting customers, helping them find what they need, and checking them out as efficiently as possible.

One day an older gentleman came to the register with his middle-aged daughter.  They had a classic plaid shirt in one hand and a catalog in the other.   They were a bit frustrated. Clearly the guy had fairly simple tastes; just a few key items in his wardrobe, and he was used to simply walking into LL Bean every couple of years and stocking up. The plaid shirt was one but the other were some long-sleeved T-shirts with a breast pocket.  In another time these probably held a pack of Lucky Strikes, but these days the pocket was for his glasses and cell phone.

The rep in the Men’s department had told them that they weren’t in the store and they would have to order them online or by phone, and sent them over to me to check out.    I could tell that neither of them relished the idea of having to take the time to make another call when they got home or use the daughter’s computer to shop online.  They were here and they wanted to get it over with!  I seemed to remember something from my training about placing catalog orders in the store, so asking a more experienced rep next to me I found out where the nearest phone was and how to get connected.

I walked the gentleman and his daughter over to the phone and got on with the sales rep, giving them the item numbers from the catalog they were holding. Then turning the phone over to the customers for their shipping and billing info, I went back to my place at the register bank.

A few minutes later, I saw the gentleman and his daughter heading for the exit, he looked over at me and held up one gnarled paw with his thumb extended and smiled.    It only took me about 3 minutes of extra effort to interpret and meet this customer’s need, but it turned a frustrating experience into a positive one that they will remember. And so will I.

We keep talking about how the community aspect of social networking brings us back to the character of the mom and pop store and allows us to provide  personalized service to customers on a broad scale.  Well that’s what it looks like in the real world and I’m afraid the icons are still no match for a real “thumbs up;” age spots and all.