May
21
The Container Store: Customer Service
May 21, 2006
I’d like to start this blog on a positive note, and discuss the amazing job The Container Store does with customer service.
Recently, I visited The Container Store in Paramus, NJ to purchase an Elfa system. Elfa is a simple way to design and organize your closets; the options and possibilities for one’s space are endless.
On my initial trip, I went to the Elfa section and had to "sign in" with an employee. They told me it may be a half hour and handed me a wireless device, not unlike those at The Cheesecake Factory, that blinked when it was my turn This allowed me to walk the store, or even to the Starbucks next door.
Within 15 minutes my wireless device blinked and, with the help of a Container Store employee (Edie) and their closet design software, we began designing my Elfa closet. Edie spent close to an hour with me designing… and changing…and changing again…my closet. The final Elfa system totaled about $600.00, a reasonable price to make my girlfriend’s entire wardrobe fit in a cramped NYC closet. I promptly paid for this storage panacea and was pleasantly surprised by yet another friendly TCS employee who cheerily schlepped all the various closet supplies out to my car.
At home, I installed the Elfa system in under an hour. However, after seeing it in 3-D, I realized that I wanted to make a handful of changes. Here comes Part II of the TCS saga.
Packing up my car, and driving now to TCS on 6th Avenue in Manhattan, I returned about $170 worth of Elfa components. Again, another happy employee who patiently scanned all the miscellaneous closet pieces- a tedious process indeed.
I then went back to the Elfa section and bought a few new components for my closet- and again, impeccable customer service. This time, with Chris. I ended up spending another $370, for a total of $800… $200 more than the original ticket.
It’s no wonder that The Container Store was named by FORTUNE as one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For".
Did The Container Store make more money from my purchase just by being nice?… maybe. Maybe they lost money because some of my returned odds and ends were unsalvageable. They’ll have to do the math on that one. Either way, their customer service made me a customer for life and earned a spot on Bruner’s Best Businesses.
For a real good article on The Container Store check out Leftovers from the Category Killers BBBT at Brand Autopsy, or check out Seth Godin’s "similar" experience here.
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