Captus Business Consulting

Well, I must apologize. It has been a while since I have posted but for good reason. I have been working on 2 major projects that I have just wrapped up. For details, click on the Current Projects link on the right side of the navigation pane. I promise to post more frequently and I must say, do I have some good ones to share with all my readers. Check back very soon for the latest! Don’t forget to check out www.retailwire.com where I post regularly. I have also been invited to participate in a stock market portfolio challenge (retail stocks of course) and it should be very interesting. Click on www.retailwire.com for more info about it. Thanks and keep reading….

I have seen the light! On a recent visit to a Wal-Mart (not my local one), I noticed a new setup they had with the cash registers and I found it extremely effective. Instead of having all the registers facing the exit, they turned about half of them 90 degrees and then used a roped off area to maintain one line and have that line feed these turned registers. These registers were for customers with less than 10 products (the majority of customers I think) and there was a voice prompt that would direct customers to the next available register. Excellent idea and a good way to keep the lines moving and customers happy. Also, while in the roped off section, customers were exposed to an array of impulse buys and last minute products. A merchandising coup if you ask me! Innovative thinking Wal. Now if they can only get out of their sales rut…

I just heard that Apple will be reducing the price of the IPhone to $399US from $599US. What does this mean to all the customers that purchased the phone at the original price? Apple will be crediting them $100. Is that enough? Or should there be a value on having the latest technology available? In terms of customer service, I would say that Apple should refund $200 to all the customers that purchased the phone at $599 and here is why: The roll out of this phone only occurred on June 11th 2007 and this price reduction is based on slow sales, not a decrease in the cost of production. If the price reduction happened 8 to 10 months from now, I would say that is the cost of having IPhone bragging rights. But to maintain customer satisfaction, Apple and AT and T (the only carrier that handles the IPhone) should credit $200 to each of its subscriber’s bills. From what I understand, customer would easily eat that credit up when using all of the IPhone’s innovative features. I know that if I purchased the phone at $599 and the price was reduced by $200 shortly thereafter, I would be screaming mad!

I’ve been noticing something lately. When visiting the major chains of convenience stores or gas stations, the level of customer service has really surprised me. Starting off with a friendly greeting to actually offering a bag for purchases, I have seen a vast improvement of the level of friendliness at these types of stores. Even thought the transaction is small and fast, I am impressed with the attitudes of some of the cashiers I have seen. Two chains I would like to identify are Mac’s and Petro Canada. They really take customer service seriously and kudos to them!

Retail sales in the U.S. came in at 2.9% over last year when the industry was expecting a 3.9% increase over last year. Many analysts attribute this reduced statistic to the credit woes that are currently going on down south. I have another explanation. Poor or non-existent customer service! Think about how easy it would be to get another 1 percent in sales if retailers actually took care of the customer. I’m not saying all retailers are guilty of providing poor customer service, but it seems that the customer’s needs have become secondary in the operational scheme of things. Let’s put the focus back onto the customer and sell sell sell!

The worst thing a major retail chain can do is be inconsistent. I’m finding that product selection, service and even sometimes pricing can be different from store to store in the same chain. This scares me and should scare OPS people as well. It means that their store managers or directors are not following the company standards laid out by home office. More importantly, it confuses the customer and does not inspire confidence while shopping. Think about how much more money retailers could make if customers knew they would receive the best service, selection and pricing from a chain at all its locations.

Just an FYI, I have been invited to be a Braintrust Panelist at www.retailwire.com. This is an exciting website that offers ideas and comments on the whole retail industry. You can see some of my comments there plus there is my complete profile as well as various resources. Enjoy!

We just recently purchased a brand new Kia Rondo which my wife absolutely loves. When we put our stroller in the back, because of the way the seats are setup, the wheels scuff up and mark the upholstery. No problem with that! I figured my dealer would have a multitude of accessories that would alleviate the problem. My salesman recommended a rubberized liner that is custom fit for the Rondo. It’s also non-skid and will definitely save the seats from further markings. Intrigued, I asked to see it and the price and I also wanted a paint stick for all the scratches my wife put on the car since getting it. My salesman trotted off to the parts department to find out. He returned empty handed and told me that the parts supervisor was off for a few days and he couldn’t get any info or product until he returned. I was honestly shocked. Here is the one department of this organization that makes at least 100% markup and they couldn’t sell me anything. Add to that the inconvenience of me driving down here unable to get any product. Wow - non service at a car dealership? Who would have thought? Sarcasm aside, I told my salesman I was going online to buy it and that I really question their ability to service my needs. He asked me to wait for the ‘parts person’ to return and he promised me a great price. I will give him another chance but at the rate the backseats are scuffing up and the paint is being scratched, my wife (even thought it’s her fault) may kill me in the interim.

Bill Bartmann would say yes. He made his billions by revolutionizing the collections industry. Offering excellent customer service and an understanding tone, his representatives were able to collect the most amount of money possible from the bad debt his company purchased. So why talk about the collections industry? A friend of mine told me this story of his interaction with a collection agency and I had to make some comments about it.

My friend, we’ll call him Frank, had run into some credit troubles in the past. He was hounded and hounded by collection agencies night and day. Eventually, his business took off and he was able to pay all his outstanding debts and all claims against him were settled. A few weeks ago, Fred decided it was time to renew his mortgage and he contacted his mortgage broker. To his amazement, his broker said he couldn’t renew until this outstanding claim was settled. He was shocked to learn that one of the collection agencies put a lien on his home even though the debt was paid over 3 years ago!

Frank decided to take it upon himself to clear this matter up and he figured it should be a simple task. He paid the debt, therefore the collection agency should have no problem notifying the court to lift the lien. When Fred contacted the agency, they were neither helpful nor willing to do anything in a timely manner. In fact, the ‘legal’ expert who was in charge of processing claims and such was quick to quote his firm’s legal obligations. How is that for customer service…

The lien was eventually pulled off, but not until 5 phone calls were made and Fred eventually had to pick up the release letter himself and run it up to the courthouse in rush hour traffic. Truly a customer service nightmare!

Here is a challenge to the collections industry. Take a cue from Bill Bartmann. You will always earn more business when you deal with your customers and clients with respect and dignity. Needless to say, Fred closed out all his accounts with the bank that employed this agency and moved them to a competitor. When asked why he was moving all his business and personal banking needs, his reply was ‘Any company that employs a firm with such low standards of customer service has no right to my business!’. Obviously the point never was understood as Fred told me that the representative that he was dealing with gave him a blank stare and offered no solace to his issue.

Purchasing a new monitor for my mother in law was harder than I thought! In keeping up with the latest trends, my mother in law decided she needed a new LCD monitor for her computer so I was charged with the task. Browsing the weekly big box  store flyers, I found a brand name 19 inch widescreen LCD which would be perfect for her. It was at great price so I figured I would go to the store on Saturday to pick it up before they all sold out. I went to my local store in the morning and of course they were sold out (in fact the last one was leaving the store right before my eyes). I asked the associate (who was outstanding) to call around to see if there were any left. Sure enough, he found one at a store about 30 kilometers away. Quite a drive on Saturday considering the major thoroughfare was closed because of some festival. I did not want to get trapped so I asked him to ask the store to hold one for me so I wasn’t driving out there for nothing. He did as I asked but the manager at the other store conveyed the chain’s policy on holds to him which he informed me of.

Here was a customer, with cash in hand ready to by and the other store refused to hold one for me. ‘It wouldn’t be fair to other customers’ was his way of justifying it. So the question is, what am I? Not a customer? I came to the store with the specific objective of buying this product. Therefore I am a customer! Firstly, not having enough stock on hand on an advertised item is always the lament of any busy retailer. But it is really an inconvenience for the customer and reducing the level of service provided. Secondly, refusing to hold a product at another location is equally bad customer service. What if I drove the 30 kms through Saturday shopping traffic to find that they too were sold out? I would probably never shop there again. Luckily they did (after speeding most of the way) and the mother in law is happy with her new screen.

Major chain retailers need to rethink their no product hold policy. Customers that have cash in hand are sales in the waiting and it is awful customer service to turn away shoppers. Yes you can have a ‘posted’ policy on holds. But each situation needs to be evaluated on its own merits. I was ready to buy and I would have felt a lot more comfortable about the sale had they held the product for me. Even if they put a time restriction on it (like an hour), I would have accepted that. We must do what we can to please each and every customer that walks in the door!