Nordstrom - Case Study
Nordstrom's Case Study
1. What type of retailer is Nordstrom? Describe the characteristics it shares with other retailers of this type.
* Nordstom is a retail department store that carries a wide variety of shopping and specialty goods, including apparel, cosmetics, housewares, electronics, and furniture. Purchases are generally made within each department rather than at one central checkout area. Each department is treated as a separate buying center to achieve economies in promotion, buying, service, and control.
Nordstrom shares many characteristics with other retailers such as the generous exchange policy, superior customer service, and product quality. Nordstrom is known for its generous exchange policy, in that if they do not have the product at the store, they are willing to still refund the customer. Nordstrom’s customer service is superior in that they put maintaining a customer relationship their top priority
2. How would you describe Nordstrom’s level of service on the continuum from full service to self-service? Why? Give an example of a store that would be on the opposite end of the continuum and explain their differences.
* Nordstrom increasingly came to be recognized as an efficient, upscale, full-service department store. When customers come into the store to shop, Nordstrom does everything in their power to make sure the customers are happy. Nordstrom goes above and beyond what is expected to help customers. For example, a salesperson selling just one shoe to a customer with one leg, or an employee paying for a cab with her own money to go to the airport to return the customer’s plane tickets so that the customer wouldn’t miss his plane. This, McCarty says, is an example of “heroic service,” and at Nordstrom they expect nothing less. “A customer was allowed to return his snow tires, even though the store never sold auto parts. Some say that it was an urban myth, but it reinforces the company’s reputation for putting
1. What type of retailer is Nordstrom? Describe the characteristics it shares with other retailers of this type.
* Nordstom is a retail department store that carries a wide variety of shopping and specialty goods, including apparel, cosmetics, housewares, electronics, and furniture. Purchases are generally made within each department rather than at one central checkout area. Each department is treated as a separate buying center to achieve economies in promotion, buying, service, and control.
Nordstrom shares many characteristics with other retailers such as the generous exchange policy, superior customer service, and product quality. Nordstrom is known for its generous exchange policy, in that if they do not have the product at the store, they are willing to still refund the customer. Nordstrom’s customer service is superior in that they put maintaining a customer relationship their top priority
2. How would you describe Nordstrom’s level of service on the continuum from full service to self-service? Why? Give an example of a store that would be on the opposite end of the continuum and explain their differences.
* Nordstrom increasingly came to be recognized as an efficient, upscale, full-service department store. When customers come into the store to shop, Nordstrom does everything in their power to make sure the customers are happy. Nordstrom goes above and beyond what is expected to help customers. For example, a salesperson selling just one shoe to a customer with one leg, or an employee paying for a cab with her own money to go to the airport to return the customer’s plane tickets so that the customer wouldn’t miss his plane. This, McCarty says, is an example of “heroic service,” and at Nordstrom they expect nothing less. “A customer was allowed to return his snow tires, even though the store never sold auto parts. Some say that it was an urban myth, but it reinforces the company’s reputation for putting