Because Great Customer Service Matters

If I wasn’t an Anthropologie addict before, I certainly am now.

Customer service is everything in my opinion. Great companies, albeit many of them small such as Sea Milligan Designs and Alaina Marie, have won me over with their graciousness, helpfulness and of course the customer is always right philosophy.

Bigger companies are a little harder. It is that corporate feel. The fact you are one of thousands buying products. You really are the little person. You have a problem? They don’t care. You are an ant they will happily squash and move on to the next person.

For me, that is a huge turn off. Yes I am looking at you Abercrombie.

Thankfully, my favorite clothing store has lived up to my sky-scraper expectations of great customer service.

Somehow the Gods must have known that Anthropologie would have their annual sale in June and decided it would be a perfect time for me to have a birthday. Armed with gift cards from great friends and family, who know to nourish my Anthro habit, I perused the site like a kid in a candy store. Finding great deals, I added to my shopping bag and once I fulfilled my fashionista heart, I hit buy.

I will say my one pet peeve – and I can not fault Anthropologie for this, because every company does it, Amazon being the biggest offender of them all – is that companies ship items in multiple packages, almost all arriving on the same day. I get it, they come from different factories, different stores etc. But it still gets annoying, especially if you have to juggle and carry packages up three flights of stairs.

Without fail that is what happened. I shrugged, lugged them up and giddily ripped my packages open, like it was Christmas day. The only package to ship together, was a dress and earrings. The dress was there, the earrings were not. I began to go through all the paper, positive that they must have gotten lost in the melee . They didn’t. I double checked the packaging slip. They were suppose to be there. But they weren’t.

I sighed realizing I wasn’t having a blonde moment, they truly weren’t there.

While many companies including my own bank thrive on making you listen to eighties songs and elevator music (not that there is anything wrong with those, but seriously for an hour?) Anthro does not. When I had a previous delivery issue, they had answered promptly and fixed the problem.

This time was no different. I didn’t even hear the phone ring, before a friendly woman answered politely asking how she could help me. With-in five minutes, the problem was resolved. She was sending me the earrings, she had apologized profusely, and we had hung up. I looked at the phone feeling a bit like I had just left the Twilight Zone. The only confirmation the conversation had in fact occurred was from my caller ID.

No if ands or butts.

The Customer is always right.

I have had stores that have interrogated me so thoroughly, I could be in a CIA Black Site, and even after the grilling nothing would happen.

Not with Anthropologie. It was what can WE do to make it better. How can WE help you.

It is incredibly nice to see, that in a company that owns two hundred and sixteen stores through out North America as well as the UK, they care. They fix it.

That is a company that has made me a customer for life and to proudly say I am an Anthro Addict.