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Never a Customer, Always a Guest 69

followed the two women out to the street and politely asked what had hap-
pened to them in the store.
The ladies laughingly explained, “It’s not the store. The problem is that
we have champagne taste on a beer budget. We fell in love with a dress and it’s
way too expensive for us.”
Now, at virtually every other department store in the world, we would bet
that the sales associate would have made a mildly sympathetic comment and
wished the ladies a good day. But not at Nordstrom. This associate escorted
the two back into the store to a department where they each bought two
dresses that cost less than the original find.
Equally important was what happened when Bruce Nordstrom returned
from his meeting: He made a point of finding the sales associate to ask about
the two customers. By indicating his interest in the outcome, the top man
sent the employee a strong signal that service is of paramount importance to
the Nordstrom’s of Seattle. In the words of Bill Gates, chairman and chief
software architect of Microsoft Corporation, “Your most unhappy customers
are your greatest source of learning.”

Solving Customer Problems Sparks Innovation
A few years ago, Ken Thompson, chairman, president, and CEO of Wachovia
Corporation, said in his introductory remarks for Bill Capodagli’s keynote
address to Ken’s staff, “We must rededicate ourselves to solving customer
problems. That means we must do what our customers ask of us unless it is
illegal, immoral, or unethical. Just do it. Execution is the key.”
Customer service is more than just taking care of customer-expressed
needs and demands. Companies must also investigate and solve customer
problems in the areas of product, process, and service. Before that can hap-
pen, however, an organization’s leadership has to create an environment that
encourages everyone to listen to customer problems and try to accomplish
the impossible. It takes effort to do this well.
As we outlined for you in Chapter 3, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts is
one company that does this extremely well. Known throughout the world as a
luxury hotel chain, Four Seasons is very sensitive to the needs and problems of
its guests, as an incident at Four Seasons Hotel New York amply illustrates.
Just as a guest was being whisked away in a cab, the doorman noticed
that the man’s briefcase was lying by the curb. Checking inside the briefcase,
the doorman located the phone number of the man’s firm. He called the
guest’s secretary and told her what had happened.