NACCM 2010: The Customer Is ALWAYS Right!

Presented by: Stew Leonard, Jr., President, STEW LEONARD's

Rule 1: The customer is always right. Stew Leonard’s strives to have their customer leaving happy. The customer is not always right, but they should leave happy. Figure out what they want and let them leave the story happy.

At the entrance of the story, there is a rock that says “The Customer is always right.” A customer wanted to purchase one, so Leonard had them produced. They didn’t do their research, and found out that not many of their customers wanted them either.

Opportunity with customer service: No way to monetize it, but if they are happy, customers will keep giving back to your store.

Goal: Get the person who is paying to walk out with a smile.

Start something in a small part of your business and let it grow. This goes for the new ideas and customer service. A customer suggested that their fish weren’t prepackaged, so they did so and their fish sales tripled. The same happened when they allowed loose strawberry sales.

Teamwork is a very important part of great customer service. It can’t be a great place to shop unless it’s a great place to work. This involves listening to your employees. It’s important to build a respect for the management within your organization to improve upon your customer service. Growth from within is also key. By promoting from within, the employees understand the values that Stew Leonard’s is based on.