UNIQLO is my most preferred store presently. It is a Japanese apparel store which is ubiquitous in its home country with some outlets overseas, but not in Singapore. Although I visited the stall once during my vacation recently, it was sufficient to leave a lasting impact.
The service provided outshined those in Singapore I received for years. The personnel were enthusiastic, compromising and extremely polite. One asked me to sit and put on my shoes willingly after I tried some shirts in the fitting room, which is seldom even in Singaporean shoes shops. (It is a common practice to remove one’s shoes in fitting rooms throughout Japan). He also helped me to look for my size and other designs while I wait in the fitting room, rather than just telling me to go to a corner and search by myself, a situation frequent at home. They gave me unrivalled level of attention despite knowing my intention was to buy something very lowly priced. Another advised me to look at more inexpensive, similar shirts in neighbouring stalls before making the purchase. Nevertheless, she assured me by helping me to hold onto the apparels I had chosen for a day. Sweet indeed.
Furthermore, the stall’s layout was a plus point. It was not pretty, but neat and clean. It had a contemporary, industrial touch to it, with grey floorings accompanied by metallic shelves under white fluorescent lighting. The spacious interior enhanced by wide aisles and high ceilings relieved some uncomforting caused by the crowd on a public holiday.
In addition, the stall attracts almost anyone as it sold a wide array of essentials like undergarments, but its pull was greater on those aged 15 to 35. I suppose it was due to its more youthful promotion, an impression I got after looking at some of the adverts within the shop.
Besides, I believe the stall constantly innovates, so it is able to be so eye-catchy to me. Moreover, I think the company has this concept of serving customers first and earn later. It is not wrong to focus primarily on profit making as it is a key motivation for most businesses. However, I feel that the former is better as it steers closer to a win-win scenario.
It can be viewed as unfair for me to judge based on a single visit and make a comparison. Nonetheless, most first visits cannot be so lucky.
- jameson -
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3 comments:
This will be a little extreme but the impression i get about the store is that it sells highly priced stuff. It is a good thing that customers feel welcome and the assistants willingly offer knowledge of cheaper alternatives. However,it makes me wonder then if the main aim of setting up a store is fulfilled. This is based on the assumption that the main motive of the store should be to profit maximise. Yes I do agree that good service does make our day, but shouldn't the main role of sales personnel to promote what the store sells? As a customer, i would be happy to receive such a service. But as the store manager, I would worry.
-yvonne ong
yet another japanese store! :) i'm not as jap-crazed as to like everything japanese, but really, nothing beats the service you get in japan! it is common knowledge that the japanese serve customers very well, and japanese businesses go out of their way to make things convenient for their customers, which clearly is a winning strategy in terms of creating a good impression and winning loyal customers.
where service is concerned, it all boils down the attitude. with the japanese, they serve with pleasure and service is never a chore to them; with singaporeans, service is.. eh? want to buy then buy faster la don't want to buy then hurry go i'm just here to jagar the goods. generalisation, yes, but not a far-fetched one. service standards here are on the rise, yes, but i do not foresee very dramatic changes that will help us attain a service culture like that of the japanese.
serving customers first and earning later? a noble concept, but to which singaporeans will probably say, no, must serve customers and earn at the same time!
Refering to von's entry, I dont think they serve you just because it sells highly priced stuff and channeling a large chunk of it to their service tax. Rather, I think they have the focus on the interests of the customers. I too share a same experience at my favourite store=> the personal attention. And don't get me wrong, I'm not concluding only due to one outlet, its really consistent throughout all outlets. Also, they definitely do not give you the "BUY SOMETHING OR LEAVE!" feeling.
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