A Wren Says

While in Atlanta, I was walking through Phipps Plaza and decided to wander into the Byredo store. I was greeted when I walked in. There was another woman in there who was picking up an order. She raved about the candles. I for my part wanted to just smell everything.

At the counter, the associate patiently led me through a sniffing adventure. He asked what I wanted to smell, the types of scents I gravitated towards. I wanted to smell Mojave Ghost for sure to see if I could understand the hype. (I could not). And from there I followed his recommendations and smelled the best sellers. Then I steered towards the darker, sultrier selections, despite the contrast with my personality and just how I move through the world. He wasn’t pushy at all but provided some purchase options at various price points. It was one of those days where I just wanted to make some purchases. (For the record, I recommend you let yourself experience fragrances for a few hours before you go ahead and buy, but I was feeling financially reckless that day.) I decided to go with a three piece travel set with Blanche, Bal D’Afrique, and Mixed emotions. He suggested I get a travel case. I declined. In hindsight, I should have. I definitely broke one bottle from a different brand. Surprise, who knew glass breaks when dropped?

He went off to package my items and offered me a seat on the couch and a glass of champagne while I waited. I will continue to play with the scents and hopefully give a good review of at least one of them next week. Today my focus is just on the experience of shopping in the store. All I have to say is that I want to go back. Yes, because I just enjoy fragrances, but more so because of how I felt as a shopper. I felt taken care of. I felt like I mattered, not as a sale but as an encounter.

Now, I am not a fool and am well aware that the associate was not solely treating me well just so I could have a good time. He did so because it was good business. I see that as completely different from my recent encounter at the department store fragrance encounter. In the previous example, I felt pressured to buy, even it if didn’t suit my needs, and received inaccurate information. At Byredo, I felt valued in a way that allowed me to actively make decisions for myself, and not just to help someone make their commissions target.

It is very possible that the two different approaches boiled down to different personality types and have nothing to do with company policies. But it is, admittedly, that my perceptions of these experiences are more about me and what I want as a customer. Whereas someone else wants to go quickly through the fragrance purchase process, I want to take my time and experience and learn about all the elements of a fragrance. I expect a knowledgeable and patient associate, someone else just might want a point of sale.

As I think about what makes a good customer service experience, I realize that it is biased in the direction of what I value. I am getting more excited about this area of research and want to learn more best practices that work overall. But I am leaving it to you. What do you look for in a customer service experience. What do you expect?