Consumer Power (blog 6)

There are several strong opinions floating around about various retailers and service providers. Legendary stories about Nordstrom’s (like the one about replacing a man’s flat tires because he was a valued customer and complained to them) make it stand out in the minds of many consumers. On the other end of the spectrum, there are horror stories about waiting on the phone for two hours to report one’s cable being out to Time Warner and still receiving no help. But which type of stories do we hear the most?

It has been said that one negative experience can be multiplied by 10 because that’s how many friends the unhappy customer shares their story with. On the other hand, a positive experience may be multiplied only once or twice. Is there something in the human psyche that makes us more apt to complain than be thankful? Or is it just easier to recall bad experiences because they tend to be more traumatic? Perhaps the service level across all consumer industries has increased so much that we expect more today.

Let’s go back to Wal-Mart. When brought up in marketing classes today, Wal-Mart is noted as a powerhouse. Many attributes like power over suppliers, efficient inventory technology and sheer mass come up when discussing the super-store. However, people no longer associate Wal-Mart with great customer service. Almost anyone I ask seems to appreciate the customer service at places like Target over Wal-Mart. But what about the little old man in the blue vest? The guy with 32 pieces of fleer, ready to hand you a shopping cart? This friendly Wal-Mart trademark seems to get overlooked for low prices and monstrous selection.

Target may not have a greeter, but they do have personnel throughout the store to answer your questions and actually walk you where you’re trying to get. Target has established itself as a higher quality retailer, with higher pricing points and better quality goods than Wal-Mart. This may be part of the reason people associate it with better service. Ultimately from a PR perspective, it is often worth the extra wages paid to store clerks to ensure your brand does not become the next retail horror story.