Why good customer service is like billiards

Retail Doc Bob Phibbs explains why customer service staff need to scatter around the customer, like pool balls reacting to the cue.

Three reasons customer service is so bad

August 3, 2009

New York Times blogger Jay Goltz says in his blog that even though people usually blame poor customer service on a particular generation, it really is caused…

Opinion: Why customer satisfaction surveys don't work

With 95 percent of our cognitive processing handled by the subconscious, how much value is there in surveys that probe the other five percent?

Best Buy's new laptop sales model includes Internet service, steep discounts

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

July 26, 2009

Electronics retailer Best Buy has tried a lot of strategies in recent months to stay ahead of its discount competition, everything from expanded Geek Squad…

What the Amazon/Zappos deal means for customers

Amazon has acquired Zappos.com in a deal that exceeds $800 million. From the customer's standpoint, is this a marriage made in retail heaven?

Jeff Bezos apologizes for Kindle/Orwell incident

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

July 23, 2009

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos knows his company raised a lot of eyebrows last week with its remote deletion of Orwell's "1984" and "Animal Farm" from Kindles of users…

AT&T completes makeover of 2,200 retail locations

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

July 20, 2009

The Apple Insider blog reports that the massive makeover of more than 2,200 AT&T U.S. retail locations is complete. The stores now offer netbooks in…

Retailers can weather economy by focusing on basics

Trusted brands and an enlarged pool of skilled workers provide leverage.

New research dissects what makes a 'wow experience'

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

July 8, 2009

A new survey from The Verde Group and the Retail Council of Canada says that most shoppers — just slightly more than 50 percent — have had a great retail…

Fighting online shopping cart abandonment

While most e-commerce sites measure conversion, many do not take a structured and proactive approach to abandonment.

The five myths of customer service: What you don't know is hurting your business

A wiser approach than just pushing sales is to harness word of mouth and improve customer experience.  

Is customer experience relevant in tough economic times?

Certain trends lead to the growth in customer experience attention and investment.

Column: Younger generations expect less customer service

June 23, 2009

Kansas City Star: "Most teens and college students, I think, have become accustomed to dealing with salesmen whose only job seems to be ringing up your…

Blog: Apple's magical retail experience in its global stores

June 22, 2009

Information Week: A professional investor who's used PCs for 20 years relates the superb retail experience he had at the Apple Store in Tokyo, and emphasizes…

Opinion: The fine art of reading customers

June 18, 2009

Publisher's Weekly: Training staffers to read customers' signals can lead to much better, more successful experiences for both customer and retailer. Though it…

Hispanic foods moving out of the ethnic aisle

June 14, 2009

MSNBC: Several major chains are expanding their specialty offerings to capture business from Latinos, the country's fastest growing population and already…

Loyalty segmentation needs to extend into the store

When front-line employees are left out of the loyalty process, points programs miss the point.

Whole Foods offering free rides home — via rickshaw

June 9, 2009

Supermarket News: Whole Foods Market stores in Manhattan this week are offering to take shoppers home for free — via rickshaw.

RetailWire Discussion: Most loyal customers aren't profitable

A recent Harvard Business Journal article suggests that few customers are profitable — and of the ones that are, most are not loyal.

Three specialty stores that stand out from the pack

When times are tight, experience counts more than ever. Here are three small retailers with singular in-store experiences.