To Be Noticed, Create Some Retailing Folklore

“And Nordstrom refunded the cost of a set of tires …” Yawn. OK, so you know the story (for those unfamiliar with this one: invmag.us/051702). What’s important here is not whether it’s a fresh tale or that it’s even true (Nordstrom insists it is). What matters is that it’s now part of American retail folklore, a tireless generator of goodwill capital. This year, create your own legend with one outlandish, cost-be-damned act of customer service — trudge through the snow on Christmas Day to hand-deliver eyewear to a lonely widower at the local assisted living center, design a custom-made pair of goggles for a patient’s dog that has had cataract surgery for free, offer to take back a pair of ill-fitting sunglasses purchased eight months ago. It doesn’t have to become standard operating procedure. Be sure the press finds out — secondhand, of course.