The Nordstrom Way
Author: Robert Spector and Patrick McCarthy
UK Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0471161608
Soundbite: “You know an organisation has achieved service heaven when its customers consistently spread positive stories about it. Nordstrom is one of the few to have reached that status.” Nigel Barlow, founder, Service LegendsOne sentence summary: Poor immigrant strikes gold, invests in a shoe shop, knowing nothing about selling, and he and his descendants ‘grow’ Nordstrom into the world’s No.1 customer service-driven retail success story, with a $4billion turnover. What’s so special? The combination of Spector’s journalistic and writing skill and access to the inside knowledge of Nordstrom’s senior management team, PLUS the ‘hands-on’ experience of co-author Patrick McCarthy, make this a compelling tale, well told. McCarthy provides the reality check, having been Nordstrom’s star salesman for years. The practical experience he brings to the book grounds it in the real world, giving the reader a sense of ‘I’m learning from the people who actually did this and made it work’. This is a warts and all book, avoiding the ‘feel good’ trap so many books on good customer service fall into. As such, it is a useful antidote to the widespread and asinine assumption that great customer service is about being nice and smiling at colleagues and customers. The Nordstrom culture is intense and ruthless in its devotion to service quality. Non-achievers who can’t conform to it soon leave its employ. But, the end result is staff and customer loyalty to die for. Example of a Nordstrom legend: Man walks into a Nordstrom store. Wants to get a refund on the tyres he bought there. Store manager listens to the customer’s reasons, agrees with them and gives him a refund, even though the tyres were bought from the building that was on that lot BEFORE the Nordstrom store was built there.
Status of this legend: Lost in the mists of time. We doubt its veracity the more we hear it, but the beauty of it is that people tell this story because it is the kind of thing Nordstrom WOULD do. Quote we like: “When a customer walks into a Nordstrom store, the first person they encounter (whoever that person is) is the customer service department.” Co-author and Nordstrom’s most successful salesman, Patrick McCarthy (nb Can’t recall if these exact words appear in the book, but we heard him say it in person…The Bookworm) Links:
You’re going to begin to think we’re plugging this book to stimulate your interest in Patrick McCarthy, whom we’re bringing to London to explain how to emulate Nordstrom’s success. But, it’s the other way around. We sought out Patrick McCarthy to head up our workshop BECAUSE this book is so good and he’s a recognised contributor to Nordstrom’s success. Find out more about Patrick’s London workshop in our eEvents Store
Author Robert Spector’s latest book, Amazon.com, is similarly successful in laying bare the secrets of a customer-centred company. Robert has written an article on Amazon for us to give you a taste of what to expect. Read it exclusively in eCustomerServiceWorld, the on-line Magazine buy UK() buy US($)
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