In my typical flurry of New Year’s resolutions, I decided to upgrade my look so I invited my wife Ellen on a mission to find a new suit at the flagship Nordstrom store in downtown Portland, Oregon running its Half Yearly Sale for Men. I wasn’t the only who made this resolution as the men’s department was packed.
After wandering about for ten minutes without even hearing a single “hello,” I finally located a salesperson and requested assistance in finding a two-piece suit that could accommodate my extra long arms. While he answered my questions directly, he didn’t give me reason to hope that I would find a suit in my size. I left the store feeling especially disappointed as I had a lot of luck at past Nordstrom sales and I was surprised that I couldn’t find anything in my size.
However, with the power of a freshly-made resolution coursing through my veins, I couldn’t give up the search. I cajoled Ellen to accompany me to Portland’s Lloyd Center Nordstrom to see whether I would fare better – a good call since I had a completely different experience which landed me great clothes and a valuable customer service lesson.
At the Lloyd Center Nordstrom’s, three people in the men’s department greeted us promptly in a friendly yet non-pushy manner. We requested time to look around and this was honored. When we asked a salesperson for help to find a navy blue two-piece suit, he suggested that we consider a charcoal gray one since it could serve me better in formal and non-formal uses and he thought the color would go better with my skin tone. He was right – the suit looked great. And, he reassured me that it could be altered to fit my frame.
As the tailor measured me for alterations, Ellen recommended shirts that might go well with the suit. She said that I should consider a trimmer cut in a color (purple) that I never seriously thought about because my grandmother had loved dressing in it from head to toe as often as possible.
The salesperson, who certainly heard our conversation, suddenly appeared holding three dress shirts with purple elements. To my surprise, I actually liked two of them. The store didn’t have either model in the extra-long size I needed but the salesperson called around to other stores until he found my size while we waited. Then, he arranged to have the shirts shipped directly to our house at no additional charge.
Now, one suit and two shirts later, my confidence in Nordstrom as a place for quality goods and great service has been restored. However, if I had given in to my initial inclination to give up on the brand after my disappointing experience in the first store I visited, I’m sure that a lot of time would have passed before I shopped at Nordstrom again – especially since I’m moving to more online shopping.
Special sales and offers are effective at attracting past customer and prospects; however, they don’t guarantee success. The key is to have well-trained employees with friendly attitudes who treat buyers well and show them how to find what they want even if it means doing little things like tracking down shirts to fit a guy with excessively long arms.
