She was having a lovely conversation with a customer the other day when she mentioned that she and her semi-rural neighbors “don’t think at all about driving an hour or an hour and a half to get to a Nordstrom store.”

The reason: “We know we will be treated well when we arrive, unlike when we visit local retailers.”

I smiled widely but invisibly because we were chatting on the phone.

Unknowingly, he was adding to the “Legend of Nordstrom”.

Lots of people do that.

Yes, compared to its local retailers, those hard-working but rather unpolished Mom & Pops, Nordstrom is still a refreshing oasis in the Sahara.

But in my opinion, he is not as clear-cut as he was in providing expert service, and he was probably never quite as Olympian as his legend represented.

The cornerstone of Nordstrom’s reputation was its commitment to ensuring customer satisfaction, which has eroded over time and is today less unequivocal and comprehensive than what Costco, one of the “warehouse” discount chain stores, offers. most successful.

Nordstrom Legend, often repeated in wet-eyed customer service books and articles, argued that one of the company’s original stores actually provided a cash refund for a truck tire it never sold, simply to create a happy customer.

And for several years, you could get a full refund if your white dress shirts are reduced to “doll size” like mine did after several months of washing. I told my readers about this episode in my book, MONITORING, MEASURING AND MANAGING CUSTOMER SERVICE.

However, those days have passed, at least in some stores, dealing with certain clerks, who seem to be “empowered” not to honor the guarantee, or to make the invocation difficult. I asked a local Nordstrom associate if the policy had been changed. She whispered that some clients took unfair advantage of it and that things had changed, but unofficially.

Compare this to Costco’s amazing deal, which IS NOT widely advertised. Let’s say you buy a $ 500 video camera or a $ 3,500 plasma TV today, which you think will become obsolete in three years. Bring your camera or TV, receipt in hand, and you’ll get a full refund.

Will you get a refund on a $ 7,000 baby grand piano?

When I asked, the answer I received was “Yes”.

It is convenient and useful to have icons of success that we can point to, examples of the good, the best, and the best in customer service. However, it is worth checking if the reputation still fits.

Today’s Cosco may not be tomorrow’s.

Remember that sensational book by Tom Peters, IN PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE, which came out in the 1980s? He listed more than 40 companies that were at the top of their game.

Where are you now?

Look closely and you will find that most of them fell from grace, while others disappeared completely, long ago.