The view from here

True stories about sales ethics that have lessons for us all

Our friend, the author B.R. O’Hagan, recently shared this story about sales ethics

“Some years back, when I was living way, way out in the country at the end of a long gravel road in the middle of a forest, I drove into Salem, Oregon, (1 hour drive) to buy a suit for a wedding. I went to Nordstorm's, and laid down what for me at the time was a considerable sum of money. They had to hem the trousers and the jacket sleeves, and said they would send the suit to me via UPS the next day. So far, so good. When I received the suit and tried it on, however,only one trouser leg had been hemmed. The other leg was a good 36" long. This was Friday morning, and the wedding was Saturday afternoon.

I called the store and spoke with the salesman who had assisted me. "Sorry," he said,"the best we can do is that if you bring it in today we can have it by Monday." In other words, tough luck, pal. This from a store that prided itself on having the best customer service and highest business ethics in the retail industry. I thought about it a bit, and called back to speak to the men's department manager. He wasn't available, so they put me through to the general manager's office. He took my call, and listened to my story. "What's your address"? he asked. I told him, and he said not to worry-they would take care of it.

Two hours later, just after dark, a car pulled into my drive. (Keep in mind I was in the middle of nowhere, no neighbors for a mile, no street lights, nothing.) It was pouring rain outside, windy and miserable. A minute later there was a knock on my door. It was the Nordstrom store manager. Not a salesperson. Not a clerk or delivery person. The manager. Six figure position. He apologized, and asked if he could take the suit. I handed it to him, gave him a cup of coffee to go, and he said the suit would back the next morning. Then off he went in the rain.

The next morning about 10 AM a different car pulled in. This time it was the manager of the men's department. He had the hemmed trousers, and also a gift certificate as a way of apologizing. I was astonished, and I told him so. "Well,” said the manager," this is who we are."

By doing the right thing they received in return my respect, and a customer for life who has told the story dozens of times. You can't calculate the ripple-effect value of what they did, and I'm not sure you could even translate their action into a store training policy statement. A lot of businesses say they will 'make it right,' but in my experience their adherence to that promise is paper-thin. Nordstrom actually did make it right.