Canadian Retailer - Spring 2013 - 4

PUBLISHER'S DESK

Raising the bar on
customer service

publisher

Diane J. Brisebois
s e n i o r v i c e - p r e s i d e n t, m e m b e r s h i p

I’M ALWAYS taken aback whenever

I read the negative media interpretations of customer service levels and
performance in Canada—especially
when the interpretations are skewed
and based on single experiences.
Looking back toward the end of
2012, when data collected by American Express as part of its annual
Global Customer Service Barometer
was released, media interpretations
were rampant. Some went as far as
to suggest that Canadian consumers are “fed up” with customer service in the country, or that the Canadian customer is “losing their cool”
as a result of lackluster service.
This particular research was conducted in 11 countries and explored
consumer attitudes and preferences
about customer service. Canadian
ﬁgures were collected online among
a random sample of consumers aged
18 and over.
Consumers were interviewed and
asked whether or not they had intended to buy a product or service but decided not to, based on poor customer
service in the past year; if they lost
their temper with a customer service
representative in the past year; if they
stormed out of a store in the past year;
and whether or not they hung up the
phone on a customer representative
or insisted on speaking with a supervisor in the past year.
Needless to say, the statistical information that came back about the
experience of Canadian consumers
was not impressive. But again, we’re
talking about single experiences.
My question is—how many experiences are these poor experiences set
against? I’m the ﬁrst to suggest that
we all experience poor service at one
time or another. But these pieces of research have got to be put into context.
However, it is my experience that

SPR ING 2013 | VOLUME 23 ISSUE 2

Andrew Siegwart
editor-in- chief

Sean C. Tarry
(416) 922-0553, ext. 286
starry@retailcouncil.org
art direction

Scope Media
www.scopemedia.ca
contributors

where there’s smoke, there is often,
at least, a ﬂame. Many Canadian
retailers are aware of the need to
raise their games with respect to the
customer experience, and they are
indeed responding.
Sport Chek and Golf Town are
great examples of in-store experiences that engage the customer, building a relationship with them while
presenting them with a value add
that cannot be ignored. Read about
their initiatives starting on page 22.
Consider the fact that American
Express’ research also revealed that
seven in ten consumers stated that
they are willing to spend more with
a company they believe provides
excellent customer service, retailers
that continue to offer up their knowledge and expertise on the ﬂoor will
retain their customer’s loyalty, expanding their base for the future.
I hope you enjoy our spring issue
of Canadian Retailer magazine and
we will look forward to your feedback.
You can also visit www.retailcouncil.
org for archived issues of the magazine and other industry resources.
Sincerely,

Diane J. Brisebois
President and CEO
Retail Council of Canada

canadian retailer | spring 2013 | www.retailcouncil.org/cdnretailer

Alison Corbett, Kevin Graff ,
Danielle Harder, Andrew Hind,
Eve Lazarus, David McPherson,
Robert Price, Sean C. Tarry
d i r e c t o r o f p u b l i c at i o n s

Bob Phillips
rphillips@naylor.com
project manager

Alana Place
aplace@naylor.com
sales manager

Bill McDougall
bmcdougall@naylor.com
editorial office

1881 Yonge Street, Suite 800
Toronto, Ontario M4S 3C4
Phone: (416) 922-6678 | Fax: (416) 922-8011
www.retailcouncil.org
a d v e r t i s i n g/ p r o d u c t i o n o f f i c e

Naylor (Canada), Inc.
300 – 1630 Ness Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3J 3X1
Phone: (800) 665-2456 | Fax: (800) 709-5551
www.naylor.com
Canadian Retailer is published six times each
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Please note the opinions expressed in Canadian
Retailer do not necessarily reﬂect those of Retail
Council of Canada. For article reprints, contact
Naylor (Canada) at 1-800-665-2456.

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Canadian Retailer - Spring 2013

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