Customer Service in Department Stores

Department stores have a different aura around them to normal shops. The format has outlasted everything else on the high street and they are synonymous with quality as well as quantity. In period dramas it is department stores that noble ladies and gentlemen enter when they require new outfits. The service that we know as being delivered in such establishments is of the absolute highest quality and is tailored to each individual. The question is: how much has this changed?
Go onto any high street in the UK and you will find at least two department stores all offering similar if not exactly the same range of products and all of them are busy. It always used to be that when customer entered a department store – particularly the high end ones – there would be a man at the door waiting to open it for you and greet you pleasantly. Then each department would be manned by customer service assistants willing to spend hours if necessary providing all the service you require to make the correct choice.

Contemporary society has brought about a demand for excessive choice, hundreds of options at the touch of a button and the ability to serve ourselves to ensure the most efficient service possible. Speed is everything in this society and sometimes that comes at the cost of good service. So, contemporary department stores and their service is also available online and the delivery of the items is then firmly in the hands of logistics companies and there is an option to pay more for quicker service.
The experience of shopping in a physical department store though is different, in theory more successful and certainly more of an experience. The various departments are still manned by employees but these departments are different now. Generally you’ll find: cosmetics, menswear, ladieswear, childrenswear, homeware and then a host of branded shops that can be found elsewhere on the high street within that shop. This means that while they are all populated by employees it is not done in quite the same way as it used to be; customers cannot drop anchor in one department and find everything they need. Also the payment system discourages any personal service as all items can be paid for at once or separately and most often in whichever department they reach last. The treatment that ensured personal service also demanded tailored bills that added to the experience.

In this sense, the service offered has changed drastically and there is now an emphasis on speed and total profits but it cannot be said that this is driven by customers or companies, it is by both. The high street has developed and is becoming ever-more estranged from the concept of providing a service because it is demanded.

Thank you for taking an interest in this article. We have many more articles on our homepage that discuss similar topics. There are many department stores in contemporary society and if you desire more information on any of the stores contact them directly. Click Here for all the contact details, including those for John Lewis.