My wife went shopping with our 1-year old girl at the mall yesterday. She went to two different stores to find a snazzy little outfit for Sadie, our daughter. After making a purchase at Gymboree (a children’s store), she accidentally left her debit card (Look out, ID theft!) on the counter before proceeding to The Children’s place to buy a shirt. In Lindsey’s own words:

“[When] I realized my debit card was missing I told [Children’s Place] I would be right back and went back to Gymboree. Luckily, my debit card was there. I went back to The Children’s Place to finish my purchase. Everything was going just fine until the cashier asked me where I had left my card. I told her it was at Gymboree and another cashier standing behind the counter said, ‘Well, that’s your problem. You shouldn’t shop there.’ The two women then started talking bad about Gymboree. Didn’t they see the dotted bag in my hand? Didn’t they understand that the only thing they were accomplishing was turning me off of their store, not their competitor’s?!”

The idea of hoarding customers away from your competition is archaic with only your best interest in mind. Great customer service is about matching the customer’s best interest with your valued service. Never is a transaction solely about your company’s best interest. Imagine what my wife would think of the Children’s Place if the employees had said: “Oh, Gymboree is a nice store.” What more respect Lindsey would have for them instead of the recent drop in respect she now has from her experienced. Nice job, Children’s Place.