Globalization and Customer Loyalty

Globalization has increased the relevance of corporate reputation exponentially. With more companies competing for the American dollar, we have more options as consumers than ever before; close substitutes for most products are highly available. Further, the Internet has given us more convenient access to information than consumers ever had in years past. In a matter of moments, we're able to peruse product reviews or read about how a company is being socially responsible. To remain economically profitable, therefore, companies must understand how to develop strong reputations, and I'm convinced that long-term customer relationships are key.

Bed Bath & Beyond is a company that "gets it". Keeping sight of the big picture, the retailer consistently delivers superior customer service, and the "20% off" coupons it regularly sends me don't hurt, either. One of my earliest experiences with Bed Bath & Beyond involved setting up my wedding registry. As many couples do, my husband and I established registries at a few different stores, and the customer service we received at Bed Bath & Beyond really stood apart from the rest. The associate spent time with us, made suggestions, and even checked in on us periodically to see if we had any questions. We really felt valued.

A couple of years later, the pedal mechanism on our simplehuman® stainless steel trash can broke. We'd purchased it at Bed Bath & Beyond in Tucson, and it was still under warranty, but we couldn't find our receipt. We'd moved, so we took the broken trash can into an Albuquerque location, and they told us to pick out a new one, no questions asked.

This week, our Cuisinart® "Coffee on Demand" coffeemaker stopped working. We knew it was still under warranty (we'd had it for less than two years), but once again, we couldn't find the receipt. If we'd ship it to Cuisinart, they'd send us a new one, but we're caffeine addicts and really didn't want to wait for a new unit to arrive. So, we took the inoperable unit to a (different) Albuquerque location. Guess what? The manager told us to go ahead and pick out a new one. She even pointed out that we may want to try a different model since the one we had did, after all, stop working. (For the record, we did get the same model. We think we just worked the first one to death.)

So, kudos to you, Bed Bath & Beyond. You've got it right. You may even end up in my portfolio.