Don't Underestimate the Power of Customer Service

I had a lot of errands to get done this week.  Get my oil changed, rotate my tires and check out a few beauty products I was interested.  This list is nothing out of the ordinary though the extraordinary customer service I received compelled me to write about why I continue to frequent these retail brands and why its so important that the brand's values are at all levels of the company, whether you're the CEO or the guy behind the cash register.

My first stop was America's Tire.  Now I don't usually interact with this brand unless I need tires which is not very often but what I didn't realize until recently is that they provide free, FREE tire rotations which saves me a lot of money since you're supposed to rotate every 5,000 miles and I drive lots.  I give the guys at the store credit for drilling this fact in my brain and actually taking time to walk me through why this is important and how it affects my car in layman's term.  I give them kudos for not treating me how almost every mechanic and car salesmen treat most women, like a dope.

Next was Jiffy Lube.  I am a die hard fan of theres.  Now why would anyone be a lover of oil change places? Well because like America's Tire they've never treated me as dopey and have taken all of my questions seriously.  "What's an air filter again?"  And I've visited many locations in both North & Southern California and I've always gotten the same treatment. They are always able to give you straight answer on how long things will take vs. the generic mechanic answer of  I won't know til I take your car apart.  They always, ALWAYS walk you through what they'll be doing before they even start the labor so you are fully aware and for those, like me, who don't know why the engine needs flushing or what coolant is, Jiffy Lube has these awesome tutorials with big simple pictures and easy to understand terms.  I always relate them to kindergärtner's picture books and I want them all!  The service I appreciate the most is that they log all of the services completed in their system and regardless of what location you go to they have a history of what you've gotten done.  They even take notes if you said you'd wait until next time for blah, blah, blah service which makes it so convenient given that you only come in a few times a year.  Plus the fact that I got 50% off my service because I've been consistent at that location is definitely a bonus and much appreciated.  They have TV's with news & celebrity gossip in their lobbies with free coffee and water and the fact that they also wash your windows and vacuum your carpets is like the cherry on top.   I know that oil changes can be found much cheaper but its the service that keeps me coming back

Sephora is by far my all time favorite retailer.  They had it right from the first store they opened and they've only gotten better over time.  Sephora is like the Disneyland for women.  You can spend all day in there and come back repeatedly and you'll always find something new you didn't see last time.  I believe the all time fascination with that store is that you can try EVERYTHING.  EVERYTHING!  I sometimes just go in to give myself a make over and not one sales person looks at you weird.  They actually encourage you to try and have all of the tools necessary to facilitate that like q-tips, cotton pads, eye make up remover and so on.  They even offer samples you can take home and test out!  They're return policy rivals Nordstrom's.  You can bring anything back even if you've used it which is rare in the beauty industry and much needed given that products look different on a person's skin than it does on the actual packet.

These extra perks, the helpful attention, and the thought out details always help me make the decision on what place I'm going to go because it makes a REALLY BIG difference.