Purpose Trumps Task - Recounting a Recent Great Customer Experience

My eldest son recently needed to broaden his wardrobe, beyond jeans and t-shirts, as he begins his career in public accounting. So last weekend, enticed by television advertising, we headed to Buffalo, NY to check out some new suits. Value was the shopping theme - good quality at great prices - after all, he is still stinging from being the starving student. What we didn't expect was the unexpected moment of delight that awaited us.

At one of the popular malls, we toured through several men's clothing shops, without much success. Before the hunger for wings overtook our shopping tolerance (a low threshold might I add), we visited one last store. They had a few suits, but were dedicated primarily to formal wear rentals. After my son spoke with the sales person and described his needs, the rep suggested we visit their nearby location where they had a much broader suit selection. He gave us rough directions, and that was it. Well, almost.

We did go to that other location, just by chance. As we walked in the door, we were greeted by a sales rep who, with a large smile, welcomed us with a genuine, "so you must be the Canadians here looking for a few suits". . . "Oh, and yes, this is the size you need, the colours you prefer, and the style you wish, . . . and oh yes, flat front pants - no pleats. And by the way, congratulations on your new job!" This was a sheer moment of delight - unprompted, unexpected, and highly effective. Needless to say, my son made the purchases he needed and moreover has a memorable brand he will surely be loyal to going forward (needless to say the countless referrals and re-telling of the story).

I frankly can't recall any retail visit in recent memory that remotely comes close to this. There was no policy, no procedure, no directive to follow - just one sales rep who saw his purpose well beyond the nuisance of a customer interrupting the passing of his day until closing.

This is an example where purpose trumps task and optimism for a world filled with great retail customer experiences still prevails.

I'd love to hear about your experiences. Michael