My wife and I have been in Paris on a two week vacation, spending the holidays in one of my favorite cities in the world. While the sights, lights, art, food, chocolate (oh yes), and all else this place has to offer have been fantastic, there was one particular thing I really wanted to share with you.
In our shopping for vegetables we encountered a produce shop and a owner/proprietor I will not soon forget. It’s called “Le Potager Mermoz” on 36 Rue Jean Mermoz in the 8th Arrondissment.
The owner, quite simply, delivered one of the best customer service experiences I have ever received, if not the best.
Here are all the attributes he displayed on our visits there:
Proper Greeting – without fail, a hearty “bonjour monsieur“.
Meticulously Arranged & Attractive Goods – so meticulous, that you were not allowed to touch them. And the fruits & vegetables looked SO fresh.
Proper Attire – He wore a clean, bright white coat that screamed “you can bet that I love these vegetables as much as you will love them on your table“.
One-On-One Service – You pointed out what you wanted, and he actually picked it up.
Great Packaging – He individually wrapped every vegetable like it was a delicate bunch of flowers, and packed them lovingly in our reinforced paper bag with string handles.
Patience – While we knew very little of each other’s language, and there were several people waiting in line, he still exhibited great patience while we deliberated (and stammered through) our selections.
Handling Queues- He was very good about greeting customers as they arrived, even though he was still attending to us, and telling them he’d assist them as soon as he could.
Respect - When an older man entered the store (I would guess in his late 70’s), he immediately pulled up a chair for him, so he could be comfortable while he waited.
Positive Attitude – Smiling, gregarious, pleasant – all through the transaction.
Salesmanship – On our second time there, he showed off his recent acquisition of black truffles by inviting us to smell them (gosh, they smelled good!).
Remembering Past Buying Behavior – On that 2nd visit, he remembered the vegetables we bought the time before, and led us to them.
Valued Return Customer Treatment – He also, haltingly but sweetly, made a bit of conversation with us the second go-round, exchanging pleasantries about our general well-being.
Thank Yous and Farewells – A heartfelt “merci“, “au revior“, and “joyeux noel“, all again with the French “sir” equivalent attached.
Proper Manners – When we left, he opened the outside door for us.
Proper Manners, II – As we were leaving, he noticed that my wife was carrying the bag of vegetables. That was not going to stand – he took the bag and handed it to me, and said something in French roughly equivalent to “hey dude, be a gentleman and carry that bag!”.
It was a totally unique experience, and one that left an indelible impression on me. Why couldn’t customer service always be this way? And here’s the kicker – because we were being treated so royally and so graciously, and the produce was so clearly superior, we GLADLY paid well beyond the supermarket rate.
Customer service, done well, is a personal experience – it’s two people, interacting, and benefiting from it. The buyer gets great value, and the seller gets the personal satisfaction of delivering the value. And, if all those elements noted above are part of the process, those benefits and go beyond value, and into the realm of lasting positive impressions, and long-time unfailing loyalty.
I only wish I could put that store, and that wonderful person, on the plane back to the states with us. What will be coming back with us is my memory of that place, and the great lessons I received from the Paris Produce Man.
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Excellent post, Terry. A great demonstration of ‘remarkable service’ – now leveraged by the power of the Internet – thanks to your keen eye and willingness to share.
Great job!
Best to you, Robin
Great post! Thank you for sharing! Excellent demonstration of customer service! I will keep this in mind when servicing my clients. The little things that we all can do to make the experience much better! Thanks again!
I agree customer service becomes an experience between the 2 people. However if a store doesn’t give customer service as good but much cheaper goods… then I am not sure which store I would go to!
Terry, thanks for sharing your extraordinary experience of what customer service should ALWAYS be…and in France, no less! Paris, a truly magical city, only made more so by this wonderful man. Just another illustration that having passion for what one does makes all the difference in the world. Great story.
Outstanding reminder to every business person that a major goal of our business is to create a positive memorable experience for every customer. One that will last a LIFETIME. How powerful is THAT?! How many people who read your post and visit Paris will be sure to go to that store? It’s NOT about the lowest price, as you point out. It’s about perceived value…and feeling valued as a person. Thank you for this terrific post.
Really enjoyed reading this story. It makes me wonder about a couple of things. First is the dying of the local shop here in America, replaced by the big box. Ok, so why is this the case? Yes, the creation of the big box has been pushed on consumers to a large extent. But nothing continues in a market over time without continued demand. So, all those folks that petition against the entry of the next Walmart in their neighborhood; the best way to buck the trend is to continue shopping at the local hardware store. Don’t protest Walmart pre-construction and then immediately take your business there once the inevitable store opening occurs. Protest with your wallet.
Second, it is absolutely an experience-based economy now more than ever. Your example couldnt be more evident. The product? it’s fruit! Sure some fruit is fresher, sweeter, more local than others. But at the end of the day, if you wanted an apple, you could have gone to Paris’ equivalent of Kings/Kroger, whatever. You got a superior experience. And as you noted, you were happy to pay a premium for it.
i wrote about this here a few weeks ago (http://custservicestories.blogspot.com/2009/11/independent-booksellers-need-blue-ocean.html) as relates to the American Booksellers Assoc suing Target, Walmart and Amazon for price cutting and threatening the local bookseller industry. What a missed opportunity here. Instead of whining, local bookshops need to reinvent themselves and create a superior artistic/literary experience. And, oh by the way, then people will happily pay five bucks more for the new bestseller. I’m guessing your Paris shop owner isn’t the least bit concerned about some giant food emporium across town. He probably doesn’t even consider them his competition.
thanks again for the story. Love it!
Thanks for sharing the story, Terry.
I also love visiting Paris and I love how I am always greeted when I enter a shop. In my experiences in Paris, I have found that most people there really try to treat customers well and they expect their customers to treat them well in return.
It’s more rare to find this sort of service in the US (at least in my neck of the woods). But when I do find it, I generally become a customer for life–or at least until something changes and the service starts to decline.
In fact, I think that the quality of the customer service probably influences the decision of WHERE I buy something more than anything else.
Thanks again for sharing. I hope you have a great vacation in Paris!
In our big box American stores, I agree that good customer service is rare. I make it a point to frequent small businesses whenever possible. I find the service to be better than “big box” stores on average but I also find an element of apathy when shopping at small businesses. Sometimes I find that the salesperson is almost annoyed to have to put down their preferred media long enough to say hello.
It sounds like the shopkeeper you encountered had not only great customer service skills but a genuine love and passion for what he is doing. I think that is the key to great customer service. When someone loves what they do so much that they can’t contain their own excitement, it makes for quite an enjoyable consumer experience.
Techgirl, you raise a valid point. This is one of those growing pain issues that all small businesses need to deal with at some point if they are to continue as a growing concern – finding, hiring and retaining employees that are reasonable as passionate about the business as the owner. Its probably unrealistic that an owner/founder of a company will find an employee, much less several, that is as committed as he. Its not their business, not their idea. But, recruitment and retention of the good ones is critical. Then theres all those other fun things like developing a culture that represents the owner’s values and beliefs, etc. I too have seen the scenario you describe. Another flavor of this I’ve see are businesses that have build a customer-centric reputation on the backs of the founders, only to be handed down to offspring that dont share the same values and commitment. I can think of several that I’ve witnessed that, after succession, didn’t last too much longer. Great point.
Thanks Robin, Alexander, Priyanka, Carin, Meredeth, Barry, Del, and Somer for your comments!
Robin, it was remarkable, and now that I’m back home, the lesson is only magnified in my head. Thanks for the kind words.
Alexander, ah yes, those little things. Well worth the time to think about, in all cases.
Priyanka, you raise an excellent question about price/value – I’m always fascinated about that “crossover point” when service may not matter. For me, it’s pretty darn low!
Carin, passion is one of the elixirs of life, isn’t it? Gotta love it.
Meredeth, I love what you said about “being valued as a person”. That’s it! But it would have been a much shorter post…
Barry, great point about what the book shops should be doing to differentiate themselves – you bet, they should be more like that produce man. How many times have I walked into a book store not knowing exactly what I wanted? You can’t get “literary” help at a big box store! To your second point, it is difficult to “pass down” these kind of customer service values – THAT is one of the supreme leadership challenges we all face, every day.
Del, I had a GREAT vacation! And I really did come back with a new-found respect for the “retail civility” demonstrated by the Parisians.
Somer, you are right, this produce man loved his shop, and his goods. Love AND passion is an unbeatable combination!!
Thank you all again, and Happy New Year!
Terry