Browsing Tag

customer service

Behind the Brand: Zellers

It’s one thing to “Like” a store on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

It’s quite another to learn about how Zellers uses social media while in Liquidation mode.

Name: Jennifer Zedic  

Position: Director of Marketing – In Store and Social Media

Employer: Zellers

Education: Fashion Marketing and Merchandising, Ryerson University

Favourite Zellers purchase: Pure by Alfred Sung knit scarf (I liked it so much I bought 5 different colours!)

Professional role model: Heather Reisman – Indigo: I love how she has taken the book store and made it a shopping experience and how she did not back away from technology when it threatens the business, but instead embraced it. She has built a strong and reliable brand and owns the market in Canada.

What makes Zellers a uniquely Canadian store?

History and memories only found in Canada make Zellers a uniquely Canadian store.  The fans’ comments from our Facebook page talk about their experience with Zellers growing up in Canadian communities and how the great Canadians who work at those stores made a difference in a lot of their lives.

How has the marketing department’s role and responsibilities changed since learning that Zellers stores will close?

The marketing team is focused on continuing to build great flyer deals that our customers are expecting. We have pulled away from other forms of marketing, such as TV, radio and specialty print but maintained our flyer program and invested heavily in social media. For our Liquidation stores, we are using an extensive amount of ROP’s in local markets to highlight the weekly deals to the customer.

How does Zellers decide which social media channels are worth the investment?

Social media strategy for us is to provide information to the community on what they want to hear about as it relates to Zellers.  We chose to invest in Facebook since it is the best way for us to communicate to our customer on a more personalized level and to the largest audience.

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October 17, 2012 by

On The Radar: Starbucks

Love struck with a Starbucks barista? You’re in luck! Soon you can show your appreciation (or affection) with a smartphone. Starbucks is rolling out a new digital tipping function for its mobile payment app next summer, as well as through Square for U.S. customers. (Source: CBC)

Starbucks has begun testing 500 sq. ft. drive-thru and walk-up shops run by only a few employees that offer the full Starbucks menu. In an effort to go green, the new LEED-certified coffee shops in the pilot program are hyper local, whereby the design materials are sourced from within a 500-mile radius. The McDonald’s at Richmond and Dundas in London has a walk-up window, but I haven’t seen anyone use it. That said, I’m sure Starbucks’ sophisticated design will make these new venues a nice addition to modern cities. (Source: Fast Company)

Eager to please their most well-known clientele, Starbucks crafted a personalized cup for Demi Lovato by writing her name inside a star resembling her new place on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Fans pleaded to Starbucks via Twitter, with the hashtag #putdemisnameonastarbuckscup and Starbucks responded, as seen below. Hopefully other patrons didn’t wait longer in line while baristas designed it. (Source: Twitter)

October 9, 2012 by

Behind the Brand: Aroma Espresso Bar

It’s one thing to “Like” a cafe on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

It’s quite another to learn about who schmoozes with espresso lovers online daily.

Name: Daniel Davidzon (@thedanield)

Position: Social Media Consultant

Employer: Aroma Espresso Bar

Education: English, York University; Public Relations, Humber College

Favourite blog: Too many to mention. Is Twitter a blog?

Favourite mobile app: Twitter – it keeps me connected to news and ideas from dozens of industries and areas, all day every day.

Professional role model: I keep track of what the top professionals in my industry are doing, and try to adopt their best practices to fit within my roles and responsibilities. My father always told me the little things can make the biggest difference, so I try to pay attention to detail, make connections, and do my job the right way.

In 140 characters or less, what makes Aroma the best option for Canadian coffee aficionados?

Besides our freshly-brewed coffee? The wide scope of healthy and made-to-order menu items available, the customer service, and chocolates!

Which menu items do you recommend for first-time Aroma customers?

If you’re a coffee lover, obviously grab an espresso. The hot chocolate is among the best in Toronto, steamed milk over chocolate pralines. Our Sweet Potato Lentil salad has a devoted following, and people swear by the Grilled Halumi sandwich. Our alfajores melt in your mouth, and of course, save room for the complimentary chocolate!

As Aroma continues expanding internationally, how does Aroma maintain a consistent online presence?

As of now, there are several Twitter and Facebook accounts associated with the various Aroma Espresso Bar locations around the world. Speaking on behalf of Canada, Toronto is the only city with an Aroma Espresso Bar (actually, 10 as of this writing and two more a mere weeks away from opening). We consolidated all our GTA locations under one common social media umbrella to facilitate reaching all our customers in a timely manner, as well as to maintain consistency across all locations.

We strive to post a few tweets a day, and a few Facebook posts a week. The most important use for social media in our case is the ability to talk directly to our customers. We try to acknowledge everyone who mentions us online, whether positive or negative. If you’ve taken the time to visit our location and tell us or your friends about it, we want to thank you personally. It’s the least we can do.

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September 13, 2012 by

Behind the Brand: Sears

It’s one thing to “Like” a retailer on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

It’s quite another to learn about who promotes which clothes belong in your closet.

Name: Robin Vengroff

Position: Styling Sample Coordinator

Employer: Sears

Education: Fashion Communications, Ryerson University

Favourite blogs: Worn Fashion Journal, The Man Repeller, Jak and Jil, Garance Dore, Style Rookie, ModCloth, Refinery29

Favourite mobile app: The Collection – New York Times Fashion

Style icon: Iris Apfel, Jackie O, and my Grandmother

Professional role model: Grace Coddington (Creative Director of Vogue), Alexa White (of W) and ModCloth.com founder Susan Gregg Koger

In 140 characters or less, why can we be optimistic about the future of Sears?

Sears is focusing on gaining back the trust of its customers. It’s a matter of getting back to basics, and putting value and quality first.

What do you enjoy about working for a retailer, rather than a fashion designer or magazine?

Working for a retailer was a big to do on my fashion professional checklist for a number of reasons. I think that the experience I have had in working from both other perspectives was not really fully developed until coming into this environment. Seeing how initiatives get put into place in this kind of world is so different. I like this environment because it pertains to the realistic expectations of shoppers. Fashion magazines are about taking clothes and making them into a story to portray a theme for the season. And working for a boutique fashion designer was geared towards pleasing a very particular kind of customer and style. In this world of mass retail we also develop and market brands and a story or theme for the season, but the customer base is so much larger that I felt that it was extremely important to me in my career to understand that relationship as well.

Sears in particular was enticing for me to work for because it presented a lot of opportunity for growth within company. As a company Sears is very nurturing of its own talent – there are programs in place like the Future Leaders Program for Buyers that trains and develops the skills of employees.

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July 27, 2012 by

Dear Greyhound, you have some explaining to do.

In this season’s Cougar Town, Laurie suggests Bobby start a blog. He is unemployed, with plenty of time to goof around, so why not? She tells him how a lot of people just use their blog as a forum to complain about bad service at restaurants. Well my experience with Greyhound last night certainly calls for a rant of my own.

I joined the line of Western students ten minutes prior to the scheduled 8 pm departure. It was busy, but it was Thanksgiving Monday, so that was to be expected. Then fifteen, twenty, thirty minutes went by, without a sign of a bus. There was supposed to be another one arriving to pick us up at 9 pm, but that never came either. If you were Brampton-bound, you could take your pick of GO buses, but us Mustangs had to wait.

Yorkdale’s bus terminal became quite the scene, as irate parents grew concerned about how their kids would safely return to campus. One father gave up, asked for a refund, and felt he had no alternative other than to drive his daughter to school himself. Meanwhile, another father retrieved an armful of forms to distribute to the antsy, frustrated students. “There’s no way they can ignore 30 complaints”, he said.

Inside the terminal, a mother demanded that the Greyhound sales reps contact head office, but still no explanation was offered. She even asked them to call the west coast office, hoping that the time difference would make them easier to reach, but no luck.

Instead of taking any chances on the buses leaving early Tuesday morning, I stuck around and took a 3 hour bus with stops in Guelph and Waterloo. We didn’t make it to London until 1 am.

It’s a shame that Greyhound rarely offers guarantees.

October 12, 2010 by