Getting the "maxx" for the minimum

You may remember several months back, I blogged about being on a Customer service "mission" of sorts.....that is, whenever I would experience the rare occurrance of quality customer service, I would take the time to bring it to the manager's attention. Since that entry (in August, I believe), I have made 3 phone calls. The last one I made was on Thursday, when I had the pleasure of being served by Harriet Rush at TJMAXX. Harriet is probably my mom's age....maybe older....dressed very stylish for her generation (probably uses her breaks looking for good deals)....and apparently enjoys her job. She was adorable!

First things first, Harriet allowed me to have 8 items in the dressing room, as opposed to six. She also offered to exchange items out for me, so I could try on as many as possible. Sprinkled with a "Honey" here and a "Honey" there, she would applaud my efforts at trying to put outfits together, and when something didn't look quite so right, she wasn't afraid to say it. When I needed a different size in a blouse, she paged someone to get it for me. Did I mention this was TJMAXX, and not Nordstrom's? (Probably wouldn't get this kind of service at Nordstrom's either.) She was so warm and friendly, I felt compelled to give her a hug afterwards....but I didn't. This is Ohio, you know. It's the Midwest. You can't be too overt in the appreciation dept. They might get unneccessarily suspicious. So, I opted for the "asking for the manager" choice instead, letting Harriet know how much she had blessed me. (Have you ever noticed that at TJMAXX, they always call their managers by "Mr." or "Mrs?" Just wondering. ) Anyway, I had a great talk with the manager and left the store feeling blessed by being in the presense of someone as joyful as Harriet.

When I got in the van, I grabbed my phone and happily made my call to their customer service line to share about my experience. Incidentally, their customer service people need to take a lesson from Harriet. Monotoned, unenthusiastic voices on the other end are a huge downer after Harriet. I don't know what retail does, if anything, to reward their employees when they actually do their jobs and do them well. But I truly hope that Harriet receives something. And the next time you are at TJMAXX in Lancaster, OH, ask for Harriet Rush. She'll take good care of you, Honey.