An Inconvenient Truth About Bad Customer Service

by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting

What if you could get the least engaged staff member to actually care about your customers?  What kind of difference would that make to your business? In this…

Fifty cents could have been really special

by Sharon Goldman — Senior Director, COLLOQUY

One of the trickiest parts of building loyalty is making sure that your front-line employees are empowered to make customers feel special. After all, you…

Abercrombie & Fitch: Sex Obviously Doesn't Sell

by Bob Phibbs — CEO, The Retail Doctor

If “sex sells” then why have they lost so many of their customers? Sure their Manhattan store sells $100 million a year to gawker tourists, but how about the…

Pricing and Policy Decisions

by Dale Furtwengler — President, Furtwengler & Associates, P.C.

The Art of Waiting

by Mike Wittenstein — Customer Experience and Service Designer, Storyminers

When Apple Computer announced the Apple Store, more than one industry pundit predicted the project’s demise. "Apple is a technology company," they said. "They…

Does Starbucks’ new free Wi-Fi offer really raise the loyalty bar?

by Sharon Goldman — Senior Director, COLLOQUY

No one who loves Starbucks doesn’t love the fact that they’re now offering free Wi-Fi in its over 6500 locations, right?  My question is: How much will this…

Why Your Best Managers Have To Drink

by Bob Phibbs — CEO, The Retail Doctor

Driver personalities are the natural leaders.  When they are second-guessed, their motives and methods questioned and they are not allowed to shine, or made to…

Flying Blind

by Dale Furtwengler — President, Furtwengler & Associates, P.C.

How FTD lost a customer for life

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

My heart sank yesterday morning when I went to check my Facebook feed and saw this message from a friend:

Curves: Lessons in Creating a Community

by Annamaria Turano — Executive Director, MCAworks

One summer, not too long ago, I joined a 2nd gym as I was out of town most weekends.  A charming low-frills outpost of Curves. 

The Value of Employee Experience

by Mike Wittenstein — Customer Experience and Service Designer, Storyminers

Now is the time to focus on all aspects of your employee experience. 

Fuel perks plus retail equals savvy loyalty play

by Sharon Goldman — Senior Director, COLLOQUY

With an economy that is recovering slowly and still keeping millions of Americans unemployed and in a recession-based, purse-strings-tightening mode, it’s…

Zappos takes the high road once again, bites a $1.6 million bullet

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

For some companies, a mistake is an opportunity to shirk responsibilities and start passing blame around (*cough* BP *cough* Transocean), but for others, it is…

Should You Recruit Gay Men To Sell Your Merch? Maybe

by Bob Phibbs — CEO, The Retail Doctor

The Expressive is the spark-plug to your crew. They are the one that adds color, excitement and fun. Is that a gay thing? No, Bob Phibbs says it is an…

The difference between customer experience and customer service

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

"Customer experience" remains a nebulous term for many people, akin to when Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart admitted that he couldn't define what made…

Let's Call Customer Service Counters What They Are: Damage Control

by Bob Phibbs — CEO, The Retail Doctor

Customer service to me happens prior to the sale. Damage control is what happens after. Frequently it is run by people dis-empowered to do anything but cut…

Best Retail in Romania...Hard Rock?

by Mike Wittenstein — Customer Experience and Service Designer, Storyminers

Great brands don't just deliver a great experience. They deliver a great experience everywhere!

Going "Beyond" Customer's Expectations

by Annamaria Turano — Executive Director, MCAworks

On New York's east side, there’s a store with exceptional customer service.  It's not on Madison Avenue. It's not on 5th Avenue. It starts with a “B” but it’s…

10 Reasons Your Retail Competitors Have More Business Than You

by Bob Phibbs — CEO, The Retail Doctor

If I hear one thing over and over from small business owners its, "I just need more customers." Heard it before 9/11, heard it after, heard it during the…

April Quote

by Mike Wittenstein — Customer Experience and Service Designer, Storyminers

Are the experience you offer customers and the stories they share about you the same?