Building a Customer Service Culture: The Case of Nordstrom Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) is a Seattle-based department stor
Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2022 11:41 am
Building a Customer ServiceCulture: The Case of Nordstrom
Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) is aSeattle-based department store rivalling the likes of Saks FifthAvenue, Neiman Marcus, and Bloomingdale’s. Nordstrom is a Hall ofFame member of Fortune magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For”list, including being ranked 34th in 2008. Nordstrom is known forits quality apparel, upscale environment, and generous employeerewards. However, what Nordstrom is most famous for is its deliveryof customer service above and beyond the norms of the retailindustry. Stories about Nordstrom service abound. For example,according to one story the company confirms, in 1975 Nordstrommoved into a new location that had formerly been a tire store. Acustomer brought a set of tires into the store to return them.Without a word about the mix-up, the tires were accepted, and thecustomer was fully refunded the purchase price. In a differentstory, a customer tried on several pairs of shoes but failed tofind the right combination of size and color. As she was about toleave, the clerk called other Nordstrom stores but could onlylocate the right pair at Macy’s, a nearby competitor. The clerk hadMacy’s ship the shoes to the customer’s home at Nordstrom’sexpense. In a third story, a customer describes wandering into aPortland, Oregon, Nordstrom looking for an Armani tuxedo for hisdaughter’s wedding. The sales associate took his measurements justin case one was found. The next day, the customer got a phone call,informing him that the tux was available. When pressed, sherevealed that using her connections she found one in New York, hadit put on a truck destined to Chicago, and dispatched someone tomeet the truck in Chicago at a rest stop. The next day she shippedthe tux to the customer’s address, and the customer found that thetux had already been altered for his measurements and was ready towear. What is even more impressive about this story is thatNordstrom does not sell Armani tuxedos.
How does Nordstrom persist in creatingthese stories? If you guessed that they have a large number ofrules and regulations designed to emphasize quality in customerservice, you’d be wrong. In fact, the company gives employees a5½-inch by 7½-inch card as the employee handbook. On one side ofthe card, the company welcomes employees to Nordstrom and statesthat their number one goal is to provide outstanding customerservice, and for this they have only one rule. On the other side ofthe card, the single rule is stated: “Use good judgment in allsituations.” By leaving it in the hands of Nordstrom associates,the company seems to have empowered employees who deliver customerservice heroics every day.
Case Study Materials extracted from:Berrin Erdogan and Talya Bauer to accompany Bauer, T., &Erdogan, B. (2009). Organizational behavior (1st ed.). New York:Flat World Knowledge.
(15marks)
(15marks)
(15marks)
Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) is aSeattle-based department store rivalling the likes of Saks FifthAvenue, Neiman Marcus, and Bloomingdale’s. Nordstrom is a Hall ofFame member of Fortune magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For”list, including being ranked 34th in 2008. Nordstrom is known forits quality apparel, upscale environment, and generous employeerewards. However, what Nordstrom is most famous for is its deliveryof customer service above and beyond the norms of the retailindustry. Stories about Nordstrom service abound. For example,according to one story the company confirms, in 1975 Nordstrommoved into a new location that had formerly been a tire store. Acustomer brought a set of tires into the store to return them.Without a word about the mix-up, the tires were accepted, and thecustomer was fully refunded the purchase price. In a differentstory, a customer tried on several pairs of shoes but failed tofind the right combination of size and color. As she was about toleave, the clerk called other Nordstrom stores but could onlylocate the right pair at Macy’s, a nearby competitor. The clerk hadMacy’s ship the shoes to the customer’s home at Nordstrom’sexpense. In a third story, a customer describes wandering into aPortland, Oregon, Nordstrom looking for an Armani tuxedo for hisdaughter’s wedding. The sales associate took his measurements justin case one was found. The next day, the customer got a phone call,informing him that the tux was available. When pressed, sherevealed that using her connections she found one in New York, hadit put on a truck destined to Chicago, and dispatched someone tomeet the truck in Chicago at a rest stop. The next day she shippedthe tux to the customer’s address, and the customer found that thetux had already been altered for his measurements and was ready towear. What is even more impressive about this story is thatNordstrom does not sell Armani tuxedos.
How does Nordstrom persist in creatingthese stories? If you guessed that they have a large number ofrules and regulations designed to emphasize quality in customerservice, you’d be wrong. In fact, the company gives employees a5½-inch by 7½-inch card as the employee handbook. On one side ofthe card, the company welcomes employees to Nordstrom and statesthat their number one goal is to provide outstanding customerservice, and for this they have only one rule. On the other side ofthe card, the single rule is stated: “Use good judgment in allsituations.” By leaving it in the hands of Nordstrom associates,the company seems to have empowered employees who deliver customerservice heroics every day.
Case Study Materials extracted from:Berrin Erdogan and Talya Bauer to accompany Bauer, T., &Erdogan, B. (2009). Organizational behavior (1st ed.). New York:Flat World Knowledge.
(15marks)
(15marks)
(15marks)