Comments on: Sartre, at Staples

By: james sherman

james sherman — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:38:41 +0000

The “did you find everything you were looking for” strikes me as very intrusive. After all i’m and adult; does this suggest that items are hidden, that I have to go “looking for them”? . To be honest i’m tired of been patronized in stores anymore. The point is we give out too much information about ourselves. My response to “did you find everything you were looking for” is “this is what i’m purchasing”.

By: Ellen

Ellen — Fri, 11 Aug 2006 02:35:52 +0000

Great post and thanks. When the goal is to reduce the time and cost of business … does that factor in the time and cost to callers who wait after long menues and often get cut off at the end of many numbers punched in. It seems to me a better solution would be one person to route the call to the many efficient handlers. What do you think?

By: Parley Kennelly

Parley Kennelly — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 20:44:12 +0000

It wasn’t at a Staples, nor looking for staples, but I have been asked that question, “Did you find everything you were looking for?”. More than once, I’ve answered, honestly, “No, I was looking for …. and I’ve determined you don’t have it.” I’ve never been told, “Oh, we have that on aisle ….”

By: Tom Ehrenfeld

Tom Ehrenfeld — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 15:43:08 +0000

Say, thanks for the comments! And on the serious side, for a good analysis of the costs of poor customer service and a way to think about going far beyond good service, I recommend the book Lean Solutions by Jim Womack and Dan Jones. In particular, read the portions about Fujitsu Services.
The key point is that the goal of call centers, for example, should not be to reduce the amount of time spent on individual calls–rather, the goal should be to have the operators solve the problem at such a root cause that these calls eventually stop happening. In other words, the goal should be to reduce the number of calls overall!

By: Ann Handley

Ann Handley — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 15:32:14 +0000

Very funny observation, Tom E. And Tom V W — thanks for picking up the post on your blog.
I hear you Lewis — I’ve had the same experience at Staples. What I often wonder is — why are some retail employees genuinely good with service, while others — like Staples — less so? I was in Trader Joe’s yesterday, for example, and it struck me that the employees there are helpful and friendly without being overly solicitous or unnecessarily chatty.
Are Trader Joe’s employees better motivated? Incentivized? Trained? And why don’t other places get it?
(There’s my existential question for today, I guess!)

By: Lewis Green

Lewis Green — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 14:52:28 +0000

Good stuff Tom. How many times have I stood helplessly staring at a tier of shelves, while a Staples employee stood alongside doing inventory or pricing items. If even once I had been asked, “Can I help you find something?” I would not now be writing this post. Instead, I would be a happy customer because basic (not good nor great) customer service had been provided.

By: Tom Vander Well

Tom Vander Well — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 14:06:30 +0000

Thanks for a good laugh this morning, Tom! And thanks for the inspiration for a post. As someone tasked with helping drive consistency into the service experience, you’ve given a great illustration of what we DON’T want it to become.