Nordstrom | Human-Centered Change and Innovation

Your Legend Defines Your Company Culture

GUEST POST from Shep Hyken

It was about 50 years ago, in or around the mid to late 1970s, when a brand’s legendary story was born. This true story perfectly articulates this brand’s culture. It perfectly demonstrates how empowered employees should act and defines how customers should be treated. The story is Nordstrom’s legendary tire story.

The short version of the story is that a customer brought a pair of tires into a Nordstrom store in Fairbanks, Alaska, and asked to return them. He insisted he purchased them at that location. Craig Trounce, the store associate who was working that day, gave the customer a refund.

Obviously, Nordstrom doesn’t sell tires—and never did. However, in 1975, Nordstrom purchased three retail stores owned by Northern Commercial Company, which did sell tires. Once Nordstrom took over the stores, it restocked them with its own inventory, which didn’t include tires.

According to the story on the Nordstrom website, “Instead of turning the tires away, Craig wanted to do right by the customer, who had driven more than 50 miles with the intention of returning these tires. Knowing little about how tires are priced, Craig called a tire company to get their thoughts on how much the tires were worth. He then gave the customer the estimated amount, took the tires and sent him on his way.”

That story became the legend that defines Nordstrom’s culture. So, as a leader of your organization, what story does your company or brand have that defines your culture? If you don’t have one, maybe it’s time to find it. And it’s never too late.

John W. Nordstrom and his partner, Carl F. Wallin, opened their first store, a shoe store, in 1901. It wasn’t until 22 years later that they had their second store. In 1963 the store expanded beyond shoes and started selling clothing, and in 1971, the company went public and officially changed its name to Nordstrom.

The point is that it took almost 75 years for a company that already had a reputation for delivering an excellent service experience to create its legend. This single act of customer service has been told countless times in training sessions, books, articles and keynote speeches. It’s not just about tires or refunds. It’s about empowering employees to make good decisions. It’s about emphasizing a company’s culture. And if you could monetize it, how much money would a company have to pay to generate the positive PR this created for Nordstrom?

Many other companies have similar stories. Some of the more recognizable brands with “legend status” stories can be found through a Google search and include the Zappos 10-hour phone call that some say is an all-time customer service call record, the story of how empowered employees at the Ritz-Carlton are allowed to spend up to $2,000 to solve guest problems and many more.

So, what’s your legend? And if you don’t know, how do you find it?

I’m going to bet there is some account of how someone in your organization responded to a customer or did something of note that is worth sharing and turning into your version of the Nordstrom tire story. That’s the place to start. And the best way to go about it is to simply ask every employee to share their favorite story about how they created an amazing experience for one of your customers.

In this first round, don’t make this a huge writing assignment. Just ask for a few sentences. From there, someone (or a team) will sift through the responses and look for five or 10 that stand out. You’re looking for:

moments in which employees went above and beyond
situations that perfectly demonstrate your values
stories that are simple to tell but powerful in impact

Then go back to the sources of these stories and ask for more detail. In a short time, you’ll have several great stories to consider. And in the process, you’ll also discover ideas based on these stories to turn into “best practices” examples that other employees can learn from and emulate.

Your service legend doesn’t need to involve tires or thousand-dollar gestures. It simply needs to authentically represent who you are as a company and what you stand for. The best legends aren’t manufactured. They’re discovered in the everyday actions of employees who truly understand and embrace your culture. When you find your story, celebrate it, share it and let it inspire the next generation of customer service excellence in your organization. After all, somewhere in your company today, an employee might be creating the next legendary story that will define your culture for years to come.

Image Credit: Pexels

This article originally appeared on Forbes.com

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Eliminating Customer Anxiety

GUEST POST from Shep Hyken

If you have been to a Disney theme park, you know about standing in long lines. There are also signs that tell you how long your wait will be. Guests like this.

When you use Uber or Lyft for transportation, they not only tell you how long before your driver arrives, they also show you a map where you can track how close (or far) the driver is from where you are waiting.

When you order anything from Amazon, you receive at least three emails. The moment you place an order, you receive an email confirmation. Another email shows up in your inbox to let you know your order has shipped. And then, another email is sent once the order arrives, sometimes with a picture of the box sitting on your porch. This is one of the reasons customers love Amazon.

Let’s stick with Amazon for a bit longer. It’s not really the multiple emails that customers love. It’s the information. And why is this information important? There are two (at least) byproducts from these emails that can’t be ignored.

The first is confidence. Without confidence, why would a customer want to do business with a company again? Confidence also comes from a predictable experience.
The second is eliminating – or at least reducing – anxiety. This takes confidence to a higher level. The sharing of information gives customers a sense of control.

In all three examples – Disney, Uber and Amazon – there is communication. Even if it’s over-communication, customers are drawn to companies that provide information that reduces their anxiety, whether they know it or not. And once a customer experiences the pleasure of an anxiety-free experience, again, whether they know it or not, they may question why they would consider doing business with a competitor.

Shep Hyken Customer Anxiety Cartoon

Not all customers will realize this right away, unless you tell them. Consider making it part of your value proposition. Nordstrom did this with their extremely liberal and hassle-free return policy. Lifetime warranties on products give customers confidence and reduce anxiety because they know will be taken care of if there is a problem.

For my entire career I’ve preached that good customer service and customer experience sets you apart from the competition. Customer Experience (CX) is table stakes. Customers want to do business with nice, knowledgeable people. Take that to the next level by being easy and convenient to work with, in essence, eliminating friction. And now I want you to consider the next step. Find ways to reduce and eliminate anxiety. When you put all three of these together – great service, convenience and low or no anxiety – you have a CX triple threat!