Exemplary Commitment to Service: Vermont Country Store

To demonstrate to its customers their strong commitment to service, Vermont Country Store offers 100% customer satisfaction guaranteed. But what makes them stand out from the crowd in terms of their obsession to giving the best service is their cleverly written formal Customer Bill of Rights.

The Customer Bill of Rights lists nine (9) rights of the customer -- from expecting polite and courteous service to expecting the company to stand behind their merchandise. Their Customer Bill of Rights takes the satisfaction guarantee to a whole new level.

What their Customer Bill of Rights convey is that this is a company that really wants to make their customers happy -- and with their Bill of Rights accessible to every page of the site (located at the bottom navigation), they want this promise to be visible to all online customers.

How to Provide Excellent Customer Service: Learning from Nordstrom

Nordstom, the successful Seattle-based retailer catering to middle-to-upper income men and women, is famous for excellent customer service. The retailer has become a yardstick of other companies in terms of its legendary customer service. It has a unique commitment

The key to Nordstrom is their unique commitment to customer service. Their sales associates will do their utmost to make sure that customers leave the store satisfied and happy.

How can your business provide the same level of excellent customer service such as Nordstrom?

• Hire the right people. As Robert Spector in his book "Lessons from the Nordstrom Way: How Companies Are Emulating the #1 Customer Service Company," you can "hire nice people and teach them to sell, but we can’t hire salespeople and teach them to be nice."
• Provide customers with choices. The more choices you offer your customers, the more likely they will do business with you, rather than your competition
• Honor and reward outstanding acts of customer service. Employees at Nordstrom are encouraged to report to their manager customer service that goes above and beyond what is expected. Called "Heroics," the stars are featured in the Customer Service All Stars with their pictures proudly displayed in the customer service area. This gives other employees the standards to aspire to, while rewarding those who gave excellent customer service
• Go the extra mile for customers. Called "NPLUS: the extras you deserve," part of the program Nordstrom stands behind everything they sell and customer. They have expert tailoring and alterations available for any purchase, and offers complimentary gift boxes. If the item you want is not in stock, they will help track down the item in their other stores and give you a call when the item is available
• Empower employees to take ownership. Nordstrom gives its people on the sales floor the freedom to make entrepreneurial decisions, and management backs then on those decisions.