Customer Service: It's In Our DNA

Why do so many Texans buy their furniture and electronics at Gallery Furniture? Why is Gallery Furniture so good at customer service?  These questions were asked of me by a customer today who is trying to make his business totally customer-centric.

Here's the answer to the first question.  Texans by the thousands buy their furniture and electronics at Gallery Furniture for three reasons:

1. Great products
2. Great prices
3. Over the top customer service!

The answer to the second question is a bit more complex.  Gallery Furniture is good at customer service because it is in our DNA, it is who we are.  From Day One in April 1981, Gallery Furniture has delivered our customer's furniture the same day.  Twenty-seven years later we still do -- only bigger and better! 

Peter Drucker said "The purpose of any business is twofold.  First, keep your current customers happy and buying more.  Second, recruit new customers."

At Gallery Furniture we take Mr. Drucker literally so every policy, every rule, at Gallery Furniture is in favor of the customer.  That's why you can buy furniture at 10 PM and still expect same day delivery.  This promise to deliver today is not the most cost effective way to operate the business, but it is certainly the most customer friendly way to run the business.

Stanley Marcus said "If you take care of your merchandise it won't come back.  If you take care of your customers they will."

Gallery Furniture is good at customer service because we learned from Mr. Drucker and Mr. Marcus that the only business is the customer business and our business is to delight our customers twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

It is in our DNA.

Want proof?  Here's an example.

Yesterday a customer came into the store and said he had purchased furniture some time back and was ready for delivery.   It took a few minutes to find his sales ticket -- he bought the furniture in March of 2001!  During all that time he had not picked up his furniture.  Gallery Furniture tried to find him, making phone calls, sending letters, even registered letters, but nothing worked.

Now we know what happened.  The customer paid for his furniture when he bought it in 2001, and asked us to hold it until the floors were finished in his new home.  Before the house was ready, a little storm called Allison came through.  That was in June of 2001.  The customer's house wasn't in the flood plain and he had no flood insurance.  The house was flooded, with several feet of water in every room.  The customer and his wife had to move out for a while -- that's why they could not be found -- and they have been rebuilding their house ever since.  Yesterday, he was finally ready for it.

Some stores might have said "Sorry, you're out of luck.  We tried to contact you but you never came back to claim your furniture."

Not Gallery Furniture.  It took a few minutes to call up the original order and then we credited him with what he had spent and told him to pick out what he wanted.

Today, I got an email from the customer.  He thanked me for taking care of him and called me a "stand-up guy."

I say thank you for the kind words, but it is what Gallery Furniture does -- take care of the customer.

Comments

[Louis Vuitton Outlet]

Great post Nate and an awesome couple of days hanging out! Learned a lot from you and from Andy too! Looking forward to hear how the rest of your time in Scotland goes.
Burberry Scarf