In today’s highly competitive retail environment, the quality of customer experience can make or break a brand. As someone who’s passionate about great customer experiences and products, I often find myself analyzing everyday interactions, observing how companies either excel or falter in their service delivery. This past weekend offered a perfect opportunity to witness firsthand the impact of customer service on brand perception.
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It was the end of a summer Sunday, almost time for our family to get back into routines and the school year grind. Sunday afternoons typically involve ticking off to-do lists, planning, and prepping. On this particular afternoon, we needed to handle a few errands: return shoes for my son, pick up prescriptions, and hit the grocery store. Our brand choices for typical things like groceries are guided by convenience, selection, and, lastly, price.
The journey for our Sunday to-do list started with shoes. As the summer winds down and school begins, I realized I had forgotten to order my son a new pair of sneakers. In a spur-of-the-moment decision last week, we went to Dick’s Sporting Goods to pick up a pair. Like many parents with school-age kids, we’ve started giving our son the reins on selecting his shoes—sizes, fit, and all. We made a choice that seemed logical at the time, but unfortunately, the shoes caused blisters and needed to be returned.
Our return trip to DICK'S Sporting Goods resulted in an outright poor customer experience, which, sadly, was consistent with our previous visit. What stood out was the lack of acknowledgment as a valued shopper—whether upon entering the store, during the return process, or at checkout. Simple statements such as, “Hi, I’m [Name]. How can I assist you today?” or “If you need help with shoes, just let me know,” could have made a world of difference. Instead, it felt as though I was the one driving the entire process, rather than being assisted by knowledgeable staff. This experience reflects a common trend among large retailers who lean heavily on self-service options, perhaps under the assumption that it's what consumers prefer. While self-service may work in some instances, it often isn't what customers want or need. Companies are paying for labor, so why not ensure that employees are well-trained to engage with customers effectively? My curiosity led me to look up Dick’s training and what people say. Reviews on Indeed suggest that training at Dick’s is minimal, which might explain the inconsistency in customer service.
Leaving Dick’s Sporting Goods, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed by yet another subpar experience. Unfortunately, this trend continued as we moved on to our next errand—picking up prescriptions at Walgreens . Again, there was no engagement or acknowledgment of me as a valued customer. The first words spoken to me were, “Name?” This terse interaction lacked any sense of connection to Walgreens’ mission of helping people live healthier lives—such a shame. Similar reviews on employee training at Walgreens suggest a broader issue with service training. Most seem to indicate it’s a matter of watching videos and checking the box.
Our final stop was the grocery store. Most of our quick trips are to our local Kroger , as it’s more convenient than trekking to Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods. Typically, these visits are uneventful—little to no engagement, with me often initiating conversation. However, this visit was different. We met Kylie at checkout, and her fantastic engagement was a breath of fresh air. She drove the conversation, and within minutes, I knew her story. She’s worked at Kroger for three years, and although it’s taken her time, she now knows how to direct customers to the right aisles, complete with anecdotes. She even personalized her name tag with the local university’s logo. Kylie’s interaction was memorable and engaging. Whether Kroger developed her skills or she did it herself is unclear, but what matters is that I’ll be seeking out Kylie for checkout from now on.
So, what does all this mean? The key takeaway is that what sets companies apart, elevating them from commodities to loyalty-driven brands, is often the people and the investment in their training. Employees can be an asset or a liability. What’s happening at Dick’s, Walgreens, and, for the most part, Kroger, is a liability. Kylie was the exception—a beacon of hope.
If businesses don’t invest in their service operating model and use it to identify and cultivate outstanding employees, they’re essentially rolling the dice with their customer experience, business results, and potential to create loyal customers. What these companies seem to lack is real, impactful training and a guiding force that creates clarity for their employees. Not just online modules to check off a box, but training that clearly communicates a common purpose and principles that truly inspire employees to go above and beyond their duties to make meaningful experiences.
While I’m sure these companies have some version of this training, it’s unclear what they’re doing to reinforce, coach, and hold employees accountable. Without this, it’s challenging to maintain a consistent experience. One of my favorite people, good friend, and colleague, Amy (Baker) Frederickson (Target, Best Buy, US Bank, Providence Health), said this about creating the right training culture:
Staffing shortages and cost-saving measures have reshaped training in recent years. In retail, companies often focus on getting new hires on the floor quickly, leading to a training approach that focuses on learning the tasks of the job versus how to interact with the customer. This issue is compounded by a focus on speed, with metrics like dollars per hour and transaction times driving peer comparisons and managerial recognition. Further, many retail companies ignore individual customer experience metrics, focusing only on store-wide satisfaction scores while continuing to place an emphasis on speed.
Zack’s experiences show that speed alone isn’t enough; people value interactions with employees who take pride in their work, provided the experience is smooth. Unfortunately, many companies overlook the importance of nurturing this sense of pride. Cultivating a culture where employees are empowered to own the customer interaction can dramatically elevate the experience for both the customer and the employee. Onboarding needs to include training modules on the importance of customer engagement, setting the foundation for positive experiences. However, training is just the start; empowering employees to recognize and uphold high standards—and hold each other accountable—is crucial for true success. Ongoing development with their supervisor or manager, even just 15 minutes a week, reinforces these standards and fosters a shared commitment to exceptional service and customer connection.
Amy is so on point.
To finish up, the difference between a brand that merely survives and one that thrives often hinges on the quality of its customer interactions. Through my experiences, it's clear that companies that invest in their employees’ training and empowerment are the ones that stand out, turning mundane transactions into memorable moments. While it's easy to focus on operational efficiency and cost-cutting, the true value lies in nurturing a culture where employees are not just task-oriented but customer-obsessed. As we continue to navigate the evolving retail environment, the companies that will rise above the rest are those that recognize the power of a well-trained, engaged workforce in transforming a simple exchange into an extraordinary experience. The question remains: will your company take the necessary steps to create lasting loyalty, or will it continue to gamble with its most valuable asset—its customers?
Final thought: If anyone from these companies comes across this post, I’m more than happy to elaborate on my experiences and provide feedback if interested. I’ll also throw this out: Got an experience you want someone to walk through and do a bit of mystery shopping? I’m more than happy to help!
If you want to learn more, please visit our website commodity department store.
[listen instead of read]
First, a commodity is defined as a mass-produced unspecialized product. You might think of something like corn/wheat, but more specifically products found at your local department store. Commodity items do not require a lot of detailed inspection or consideration to compare alternatives and determine if they are worthy of purchase.
Non-Commodity items are more unique, historical, or rare. They are items that potentially are no longer available from original sources. Non-commodity items are things like:
Non-Commodity items are the legacy of manufacturing, the craft of individuals, or available property.
Non-Commodity marketplaces are the locations where people connect to exchange non-commodity items. Non-Commodity marketplaces are:
There are many non-commodity marketplaces both offline and online. Those marketplaces are critically important to the flow of goods and the fulfillment of participants. Those participants gather frequently to buy and sell items. Some of the largest online marketplaces like eBay have millions of active users.
Online marketplaces are interesting because the owner of the website determines most factors regarding the manner in which the marketplace operates. Participants interact with each other and the inventory within the marketplace based on decisions made by the owner. The owners define how information is presented, which characteristics are the focus of attention, and participant behavior within the marketplace. Having that great power and responsibility is a significant opportunity to influence the health and growth of the marketplace.
Discernment is defined as the ability to judge well, and judgement is defined as the ability to make considered decisions or come to sensible conclusions. Most humans exert significant energy in an effort to make good judgement. This is especially true in searching for and purchasing items. Some purchasing decisions are more important than others, but most humans want to leverage their money wisely when purchasing items.
Shopping discernment for non-commodity items requires an increased amount of information and consideration. Frequently a person has to consider:
Discernment is required in those considerations and many other questions. The availability of information, the organization of it’s presentation, and the processing of that information is crucial to efficiently shop online. In online non-commodity marketplaces the website tools are increasingly important to enable effective discernment. Non-Commodity marketplaces have a responsibility to provide shoppers with useful shopping features.
Bidiom is focused on innovating marketplaces. The focus is targeted within the niche of online, non-commodity marketplaces. Many opportunities exists to improve the features that would facilitate enhanced discernment during the shopping process. We are working on a few major areas of innovation.
Enhancing the presentation of information is the first major area of innovation. Items consist of information like title, pictures, description, and other meta data. Currently those informational elements are displayed in relatively primitive ways. Alternative presentations of that information could enhance the shoppers ability to discern items.
Improving the process of examining search results is the second major area of innovation. Most online shopping follows a process of search, view search results, and visit an item detail page. Other alternatives exist for beginning a search process, evaluating the contents of the marketplace, and examining select items for a more in-depth inspection.
Enabling advanced actions within the shopping experience is the third major focus of innovation. Shoppers have a collection of actions possible during the shopping session. Sharing and purchasing are obvious actions however there are many others. Many actions are present within the shopping experience but few of them have been explored to improve the shopper’s capability.
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