Store Design - Customer Convenience Vs. Space Productivity

Time and again I have come across the now cliched customer service motto/philosophy of retailers which is expressed in may different ways

• we put customers first
• customer is king
• you want it , we have it
• we don't just provide goods, we provide the experience

Sets me thinking of the times when.....

• i went to a store for a pair of black trousers and found it at the fag end of the store
• i went for a white blouse and was told "the white regular shirts are in the formals department, the new ruffled blouses are in the casual department, and there were perhaps another 3 places where I could find white blouses.
• i wanted staples like milk and eggs and had to walk around an entire hypermarket to find them near the exit.

Both the above lists are totally oxymoronish. Here we are telling our customers (and ourselves) that we do everything for your convenience and there we go playing games with her trying to ensure that our space gives us maximum returns.

Agreed that there is a trade off between the two. However, rest assured that there is a way of resolving the customer inconveniences beginning from the stage when we are arriving at the retail concept/format.

More importantly, gain clarity on whether as retailers, we are committing to customer delight or not in the first place. We could just be committing to the lowest prices and not much more. We need to come out of the garb of great customer service when it isn't truly a part of the plan or even when we aren't sure of fulfilling the commitment.

However, taking a position of 'best customer service' etc. we need to remember that every thing in the store (right from layouts to checkouts) stand true to our commitment.