11 years ago, we introduced the Personal Shopper program to our audience. With much success, the program has evolved how we’re Delivering Joy to you. I recently got the opportunity to speak to a Personal Shopper veteran, John Hall, and one of our newest hires, Liz Gill, to compare their Shop LC journeys.
BUT FIRST, WHAT IS THE PERSONAL SHOPPER PROGRAM?
Personal Shoppers provide a free service you call when you want to find any specific products you have previously seen on TV, or you have had your eyes on for a while. They are available to you 24/7/265. Sounds too good to be true, right? Is there a catch?
“They may not always find what they need. That’s honestly the only catch. You know…our inventory is limited because (we’re) auction based. So, they might not find what they need.” – Liz Gill
HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM CUSTOMER SERVICE?
While Customer Service handles the logistics of an order, Personal Shoppers help get you items you want at any time of day.
“(Customer Service) do more like if my bill’s wrong…or sent something back for refund…and I need to see if you received it…you know I was supposed to use a coupon but they didn’t put a coupon on my account.” – Liz Gill
“Whereas, Personal Shoppers (support) sales. You want to do special orders, they call in (and) say can you find (this) item. there can be…stuff like that. (Customers) don’t know you know where to go to find things…find special items and things. (They) don’t think we’re open 24 hours a day…I get that. You know someone thinks that we’re open 9 to 5 only. Personal Shoppers…work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. I sure know no other company has a Personal Shopper department.” – John Hall
FAVORITE CUSTOMER STORIES
With so many customers they have helped, you just know they have some favorites.
“(One woman said) ‘I found this tanzanite ring on the website and it’s $6000 and I want to use it for my engagement.’ She don’t want diamonds, she said diamonds are too expensive. She said ‘I know you all can do much more for me.’ She sent me the picture. I sent it to factory and they said ‘We can make that ring for her’…and I saved her $3000 and she was delighted! I mean, it was a 4A tanzanite. I think it’s like a six carat and…in 2-3 weeks called me and said ‘John this ring is so beautiful…it’s just spectacular…and you know you saved me all this money and so forth’” – John Hall
“This one lady, she was looking for a very, very specific ring and everyone she had talked to had given her the wrong number. So, when she was talking to me…it looked nothing like the one she was describing. And it took us a while to get there but I finally found it and it was surprisingly in her size! Yeah, it was just one of those things and she was so happy that I found it for her! Because it was…her dream ring and…I realized that people have been giving her the wrong information and then I finally found it, it was in her size, we were able to order it and she was happy and she was so glad about the fact that…I paid attention to what she was saying.” – Liz Gill
SECRETS TO FURTHER UTILIZE THE PERSONAL SHOPPER PROGRAM
Although the average call lasts less than 10 minutes, the Personal Shopper will help you for as long as you need. To get speedy service, here are a few things that will help the Personal Shopper better assist you.
- Know the item number or primary gemstone in the jewelry.
- If ordering a previously aired product, know the date and time the product was advertised.
- Be open-minded. Sometimes a specific item may no longer be available, but your Personal Shopper can suggest something equally delightful.
- Try emailing instead of calling. At peak times, there may be a longer wait.
How will you use the Personal Shopper program? Do you have your own Personal Shopper success story? Let us know in the comments below.