David Jones' third quarter sales update saw readers lash out at customer service standards in Australian department stores. One reader offers a very different version of events. Do you agree?
I love how everybody is always so quick to point at “poor customer service” for poor sales results. Customer service, customer service, customer service, that is all you hear these days.
The reality is, you do not buy Coca Cola because the service attendant gave you wonderful customer service. You buy it because it is a great product and priced correctly.
So does this mean that if you received poor customer service when buying Coke, you would stop drinking it? Or does it mean you would drive to a different service station to buy it?
Are we so shallow that we need a sales assistant to treat us like a handicap and help us find a garment or our size? Do we really need someone to be smile and be friendly to us in order to commit to a purchase? We think you do, but we don’t. If you need this kind of treatment, go to a day spa.
The problem is the product offerings full stop. These department stores regularly announce these “shake downs” of the various segments of their businesses, but you never hear of them “shaking down” their buying departments.
Often their own buyers are so out of touch with what the average punter wants, it is ridiculous. Their decision to take on brand entirely revolves around how cool it is, and not whether it will sell well or not. Picking a “cool” or “in” label is simple, picking a winner requires a very different skill set.
Give me 12 months in any one of these department stores, and by the time I am finished the likes of international like Zara would cease to exist. Whilst this may sound over ambitious, the reality is DJs and Myer have the scale, and resources to make this a reality.
Problem is, the resources are being put to use in all the wrong places. They employ these so called “retail executives” who on paper appear to have all the right experience and skills, but the reality is, if they were so good, why don’t they have their own businesses?
Why, because those skills in real terms are useless, and the only thing which they appease, are recruitment firms hiring criteria. These businesses need born entrepreneurs, people who can think outside of the box.