I went to Menards, the home improvement store, and received great customer service, compliments of the security cameras. I also bought too much stuff. Not only did I buy too much, I didn’t make it home with everything I paid for.
When I checked out, my cart was full. The clerk scanned the garden fencing and posts right in the cart and never took them out. The small stuff was taken out, scanned, and ended up in a bag. The problem occurred when I went home with just the stuff in my cart.
The next day I realized what happened and when back to the store and told the manager that I’d left my bag behind, and described what was in the bag. She asked if I had my receipt. “No,” I said.
“Did you pay by credit card?” the manager asked. “If so, I can print your receipt.” After handing her my card, she printed the receipt, and noted the day and the time of my purchase. “Let me check the video and see what happened. Hang on.”
Two minutes later she came out of her office and walked over to isle 6, saying, “Here’s where the video shows it ended up.” She pulled open a drawer under the register, retrieved my bag, and handed it to me. “Have a nice day.”
Total elapsed time: about 7 minutes. That’s pretty fast and cool customer service.
Do you think that the store installed those cameras, recorders, and video search software so that it could help forgetful customers? Of course not. But the manager was well trained on the system and sharp enough to apply what she learned regarding theft control to solve a customer service issue.
Are your security controls and training programs designed to do that? Do they have other benefits besides solving security problems? If so, you might keep your customers happy and save big money.
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