Is the retail customer willing to pay for customer service?  Gaggles of books have been written on the topic of customer service, and those books sell based on the belief that customers *care* about customer service.  But do they?  Do we?  Do I?

The idea that somehow customer service matters to the customer is not complex nor uber-creative.(The smarter, funnier, nicer Professor Nowicki dabbles in the topic.)  But does it *really* matter?  Seemingly, it does matter, according to a recent article (to which I cannot link b/c it is on Cornell’s server):

Virtually all Americans (94%) say customer service is an important factor in selecting where to buy goods and services. And 78% say it is a “very important” factor. In fact, at the “very important” level, customer service outweighs price: 61% of Americans say price is a “very important” factor in
deciding where to spend (compared with 78% who said customer service is “very important”). (Overall, customer service is as important as price — 95% of Americans say price is important, and 94% say customer service is important.) Even in the midst of holiday-shopping pressures, 82% of Americans say they are likely to spend more money this holiday season at stores where they receive better service.
I find it hard to believe, however, that customer service really, really matters.  Exhibit A:  Many friends of mine think Wal-Mart’s customer service is not particularly good.  But those friends still shop at Wal-Mart because it is cheap.  Exhibit B:  The closest coffee store to the Law School has employees who have not yet once smiled at me or said “thank you.”  I usually get to overhear internal quibbling while I wait at the counter, hoping someone notices me and is willing to take a pause to wait on me.  Yet I *still* go to that coffee shop because it is the closest one to the Law School.

Perhaps Wal-Mart’s perceived mediocre service is part of their calculus.  Perhaps Wal-Mart has calculated how particularly mediocre they can become before the savings to customers in dollar value is outweighed by customer frustration with mediocre service and customers therefore stop shopping at Wal-Mart.

I guess I need to make my peace with questionable customer service.  I mean, I *did* just pay $5.40 for a fancy coffee served by a not-so-very-service-oriented person.  (Allow me to note that I worked retail since I was old enough to work.  And I waitressed for years.  So I know a bit about customer service, and what the “front line” employees have to tolerate.  Dealing with customers is a difficult job, to be sure, but it seems to me that the employees who do not like to deal with the public should at least make a small effort to conceal their contempt.  I did not want a happy dance from my coffee barrista this morning - I just wanted . . . a “thank you” or eye contact or a smile or a “enjoy” or something other than being ignored for a bit and then viewed with impatience.  Then again, does my $5.40 entitle me to pleasant service or does it only entitle me to a coffee?)

The Nowicki family Christmas dinner was tonight.  Michelle, the Nowicki family psychiatrist, said (to my FATHER, not me, the securities wonk)

“How do I know what stock to invest in?  I don’t follow the market.  I don’t watch the stock shows on MSNBC.  Jim Cramer – the mad money guy – all of that.”

After I convinced Michelle that I was credible, given my Wall Street background and my SEC background, I suggested she do two things:

1.  Think about products that SHE and likely the rest of the population need.  Lawn mowers, for example, are a good example of generally needed products.  How ’bout the company that makes ROOF sheeting?  How ’bout the company that makes . . . blinds!?  I suggested that my sister look around and look for companies that make products that are really, honestly, undoubtedly NECESSARY.

2.  Pull from the website of the relevant company the past couple of years’ worth of annual reports.  Take a look at “measures of success” – profit, earnings per share, stock price.  Ask “did the company do well over the past few years?  How has the stock done over the past decade?”

Chew over points one and two above.  Take your $3000 Roth IRA and invest accordingly.  Pay your sister qua financial advisor a small fee when you are wealthy.

SERIOUS POINT:  Joe Common Investor, or my sister, needs to avoid reading the WSJ or watching Squawk Box (etc.) for purposes of seeking “hot” investment tips.  Instead, look for a good, solid company, a fair assessment of the company’s use to the public, and a simple review of recent annual points.

The day-to-day drama of the market, about which I have before blogged, is not anything about which ye olde average investor should much care.  Instead, it seems that the more sensible thing to do is take a LONG view of products that have a LONGER-term, solid future.  Invest in companies in which it makes common SENSE to invest.  Unless you need to worry about cash in the short-term, I am not convinced that paying attention to what is currently “hot” and what is “not” is of the most value.    (Mind you, I am not an investment professional, nor am I giving advice for those who have less than … 20-30 years left to live.)

Do we know when the Law School rankings for 2008 are due out?  Just today, I was having a conversation with a colleague about z-scores and standard deviations and all that, and I found myself yearning to apply my mathmatical skills to the most recent information.Â

Do we know what the due date is?