This case study highlights how the upscale retailer Nordstrom has managed to build strong relationships with its customers using its conflict management strategy over the many years since its founding. The case studies look at how Nordstrom handles dissatisfied and disgruntled customers on a case-by-case basis and tries to respond to the demands and rectify issues no matter how unreasonable they may seem at times. This unique approach has allowed the company to establish a great image and mutual respect among its customers while also building and fostering a loyal customer base.
Analysis
Nordstrom‘s approach to customer service and customer relationship management is an appropriate way to defuse or prevent potential conflict situations.
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According to Nelson and Quick (2017) accommodating is the appropriate situation when the relationship is very important. Being in retail the customer relationship is what can determine whether a company stays in business. The accommodating approach empowers the company to win the trust of customers, which in turn builds strong personal relationships with the customers. In this case, the company feels building relationships with customers is worth more than trying to win a little fight with the customer here and there. This approach also helps Nordstrom to avoid negative outcomes such as losing the customer to a competitor or even worse have a negative viral moment that takes a toll on the company’s reputation. With social media dominating today, it only takes one bad PR blunder to hit a reputation a company has been building for decades. One of the disadvantages of using the accommodating approach in dealing with conflict in that the company may not get an outcome that is fair or just to it. Since, this approach includes placing the needs of the customer first, this approach usually ends up benefiting the other party and coming at a cost to the company. At the end of the day Nordstrom is a company whose sole goal is to make a profit, accommodating can at times go against this goal and even chip away at it. It also may affect employees’ morale. Working at a place where you must constantly bite your tongue and bend over backwards to customers who may be rude, pushy, and demanding can take a toll on
You can de-escalate a tense situation with ease and grace—working through a tough issue or bug with an upset customer not only doesn’t scare you, it’s a challenge you’re eager to take
With concern which gets used in having a resilient usage as would be inspiring to have effective and required assuage which will change overall perception you have about this store and a way that it functions as. It is an important need and resources are called the way there is a recollection of capital investments you want to attain using online means when you imply with Nordstrom coupon codes.
Nordstrom’s main focus is all about customer satisfaction. When customer satisfaction is high so are the
In working in the work force I have come up close and personal with situations with customers that need to be resolved in a professional way. Situations with customers handled properly and resolved hastily leads customers with a good feeling ;so that they will continue to come to your area of business. For example, when I was working at Hobby Lobby I became upon a very distraught and upset customer. The Customer wanted to make a return on merchandise but was missing her receipt. The customer began to yell at me and said that she just wanted to easily make the return and go on with their day. The person was unhappy because the product did work the way she expected it to for her project. I looked at the merchandise and it was worth more than twenty dollars meaning without the receipt the customer had only two options. One was exchange the product for a product that wasn’t defective like this one, or I could give the person store credit.
(-) By being too aggressive, it counters their value of relationships and good customer service, and can tarnish their brand with a bad reputation
As someone who has never had the privilege of living near a Nordstrom’s I’ve always seen going to the store as a treat. Because of where I’ve lived I had never seen an advertisement. What I do find interesting however is their influence over Google and other search engines. I online shop more than I care to admit and anytime I google an article of clothing described a business, or semi-formal their brand pops up in the top 5.
Another top stakeholder within Costco’s organization is its customer clientele. After careful research, the author noted several variables that contributed towards Costco’s highly-rated customer service and satisfaction ratings that speak from sales in addition to positive feedback. The author will briefly dissect this stakeholder group and display, in writing, why this group aids Costco in providing low prices on select items, its continuous service method which has proven, both financially and through praise, to be one of the more successful methods in retail, and to demonstrate why Costco
As for “personnel”, customer service at Nordstrom is priority one. They firmly believe that word of mouth advertising is the best kind of advertising. Their committed personnel go above and beyond what is expected of employees to make the shopping experience a great one at Nordstrom. The example in the case study of the lady that only needed one shoe is a great example of how Nordstrom goes above and beyond to meet its customers’ needs.
The company’s structure was said to be an inverted pyramid : the customers and store managers on the top and the top management at the bottom. This showed how everyone’s beleifs and opinions were aligned towards customer satisfaction and extreme personal involvement with the customers and the store.
Nordstrom’s employees and management are the company’s most valuable resource. An article written in the Seattle PI describes exactly why this is true. It states that, “Nordstrom salespeople make decisions as if managing their own business; they are trusted to do what is right. Everyone else in the company is there to help the sales staff make the sale and please the customer” (Mulady, 2009). The way the employees are treated and valued is a perfect portrayal of the company’s mission of providing the best possible customer service and value to the customer.
Time value of money. With the initial $700 million expansion investment, and growth projected at 3% year-over-year for the next five years, the best-case scenario would be most beneficial for Nordstrom to pursue. Whereas, the best-case scenario’s cash flows are 20% higher than the average-case scenario, and the worst-case scenario’s cash flows are 20% less. The conclusion that the best-case scenario is the most lucrative investment opportunity for Nordstrom is based on the factors of Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR), and pack back values, with a discount rate of 10%, and a payback goal of five years. Together, NPV, IRR, and payback values, shed light on factors based on predictability, and are outlined in Table 2. However,
During research on this final project, the author found an example of Wal-Mart's communication in backing customer service. A Wal-Mart customer returned a completely thawed turkey including all the fixings for a dinner because her relatives could not make it due to car trouble (Now That's Customer Support, 2006). Wal-Mart returned the customer's money which was $19 plus some change and the customer returned the complete turkey dinner which included two boxes of stuffing, some cranberries, stuff to make pumpkin pies, green beans and a package of rolls (Now That's Customer Support, 2006).
(P1.1) In formulating a business strategy, it is a crucial factor to determine what the organization’s mission, vision, objectives and core competencies are because it sets an idea on what the organization should do and what purpose do they have in the industry to contribute to their customers. It also helps what markets should they target and what action should they plan to have a competitive advantage.
Nordstrom is an organization that practices constructive conflict. This form of conflict “refers to conflict in which the benefits exceeds the cost.”