Moving the needle on satisfaction

Like a moth to a flame, I took the time again this year to experience America’s single greatest consumer-driven display of free-market madness by rising out of my quasi-comatose, tryptophan-induced post-Thanksgiving-meal sleep, strapping on my most comfortable running shoes and heading to the mall to pay tribute to the Black Friday gods. As my wife so kindly reminds me every fourth Friday in November, “You are truly crazy, my dear!”

What’s so crazy, I ask, about wanting to get an early jump on Christmas shopping—especially when it means realizing seriously mind-numbing savings of the magnitude of 60% to 70%? Who wouldn’t put up with a little mayhem for such savings? I mean, isn’t it safe for retailers to assume that shoppers are willing to deal with a less-than-perfect customer experience if the trade-off is a great deal?

Believe it or not, that’s a question I often ask myself as I’m walking through messy stores, surrounded by out-of-stocks and surly cashiers. From the humble perspective of this consumer, nothing can ruin a good sale faster than a bad in-store experience. And when it comes to the holiday season, when shoppers are chasing “door busters” and “early birds,” the need for a little peace of mind while shopping is all the more heightened.

To relieve the headaches of holiday shopping, nothing is quite as effective as a trouble-free customer experience. It’s what Paco Underhill calls the ultimate form of “consumer advocacy.” Yet it turns out that not all retailers choose to heed Underhill’s advice. Not all retailers are providing a good shopping experience—despite the lip service being paid to such phantom practices as the “10-foot rule,” “three-in-a-line” and “the customer is always right.”

If these companies believe the consumer hasn’t picked up on the shortfall in their ability to deliver a good in-store experience, they may want to think again. Not only is there mounting evidence that consumers do, indeed, appreciate good service and, in turn, reward those retailers with their loyal business, but there’s every reason to believe that the same market dynamics that have pushed consumers to buy eggs and milk at a warehouse club are now redefining the very concept of customer satisfaction.

Take the recent report by Forrester Research called the Consumer Experience Index (CxPi) that identifies those companies, across all industries, to which consumers give credit for delivering consistent and reliable service. (It also identifies those that are not so good at it.) Built around three principle measurements, Fulfilling (how “useful” their interaction was), Convenient (how “easy” the company was to work with) and Satisfying (how “enjoyable” their interaction was), the Forrester CxPi drew some rather unconventional conclusions.

For instance, despite the general perception that the best customer experiences can only be had at luxury retailers, today’s consumer may be putting more weight behind the overall value equation. When asked to share their overall perception of 112 service-oriented companies across nine industries, the nation’s three largest warehouse club chains were among the top 10, with Costco earning top honors as the company that delivers the overall best customer experience—this despite the fact that they don’t use anything but the most basic in-store signage, they don’t have dressing rooms, their merchandise is often displayed on nothing more than a pallet and they don’t even use shopping bags.

Does this mean that Costco, and the other retailers on the top of the 2007 CxPi—despite all the perceived shortfalls in traditional measures of “good service”—are pumping their P.A. systems with barely audible subliminal messages designed to convince shoppers they’re having a “useful,” “easy” and “enjoyable” experience? I don’t think so.

Rather, the 2007 CxPi is a testament to the fact that today’s successful big-box retailers are moving the needle on the scale of in-store satisfaction away from traditional measures, such as baggers and on-the-floor associates, in the direction of efficiency.

And that’s something every consumer could use—especially this time of year.