Photo by Matthew Smith
A good example of how spoiling customers is good business involves the Nordstrom department store chain. I live in Phoenix, Arizona, where until recently, there had been no Nordstrom. The closest stores were located in San Diego, some 300 miles away or one hour by air. So how did Nordstrom get people from Phoenix to shop at one of their stores in San Diego in big numbers? The answer is they spoiled the people who did and they spread the word.
Each June and November, in conjunction with their major sales, Nordstrom scheduled its “Sky Trip” from Phoenix. They flew in several hundred shoppers on Friday afternoon for an all day Saturday and Sunday shopping trip. Each shopper paid $225 to be part of this group.
Why would anyone pay $225 to fly to San Diego and spend the majority of their time shopping at a store that isn’t known for its low prices? Let me tell you what these people got for that $225 price tag. First, the trip included round trip-air fare, deluxe accommodations at the Doubletree Hotel, shuttle service to and from the airport, and a champagne welcome when you arrived. But that is not all. On Saturday morning, a shuttle took you to the store, where you were issued a pin that identified you as a “Sky Trip” participant. This pin entitled the wearer to some very preferential treatment. You received faster service because certain employees had been assigned to stand in the cash register line for you so you could continue to shop uninterrupted. These same employees had also been assigned to maintain a fitting room for you while you shopped. They followed you around and took the things you were interested in trying on to the fitting room while you continued to browse. Once you decided it was time to actually try on some of these articles of clothing, these helpers were at your beck and call to search the store over for that special blouse or accessory that would make a certain outfit complete. The Nordstrom employees pampered these shoppers to death and they thoroughly loved every second of it.
So what was the payoff to Nordstrom for all this pampering? Most of the customers did buy a fair amount of merchandise. More important, however, these people got on their return flights to Phoenix very excited about their experience. So excited, that many of them made plans for their next “Sky Trip” six months down the road. Even more important, however, for the next six weeks, these people never stopped talking about their wonderful experience at Nordstrom—and Phoenicians go to San Diego a lot. It used to be there were three highlights to one of these excursions: the ocean, the San Diego Zoo, and Sea World. Once “Sky Trip” started, there was a fourth: Nordstrom.
