Three things happened this week that reinforced in my mind the critical importance of reaching out to customers and offering exceptional service.

1) On Wednesday, I attended a sales training seminar at Saks in Stamford, Conn. Clothing expert Frank Schipani, ever the inspirational showman, inspired a group of very motivated associates to go beyond the norm, especially these days, especially in menswear. “It’s more than service; we’re in the hospitality business! Engage the customer, make him feel like a guest in your home and then show him the benefits of a quality product. Men are not shoppers: they want to be sold, they want you to be the authority…” Schipani also spoke about sales professionals dressing the part, not just in nice clothing but in distinctive nice clothing. “If your appearance is ordinary, people assume your services are ordinary. The trick is to look in some way exceptional.”

2) Last night, I got a call from a friend who’s a sales professional in the Atlanta division of a national specialty department store. (I apologize: it’s their company policy not to talk to the press…) To maximize his contacts, this terrific seller has joined several business organizations and yesterday morning, he was at a meeting and happened to mention a Peter Millar trunk show that was taking place in the store that day. Bottom line, one of the guys from the meeting stopped in and bought a $900 suit, noting that he needed a new suit like a hole in the head but since this sales associate spoke so highly of the collection, he felt he should check it out. “Now more than ever,” my friend told me, “We need to reach out to customers and be creative.”

3) My friend Jon Cline from H. Herzfeld in NYC shared with me several letters recently received in praise of Herzfeld’s longtime sales associate, Ira Rothstein. This was one of them:

“Dear Mr. Rothstein, Thanks so much for your generosity in sharing your expertise. You made a deep impression on me when after I told you how much money I had to spend (relatively little) you nevertheless spent 45 minutes with me helping me determine what should be in my future wardrobe. I’ve told many people what you did for me. You are a rare salesperson and because of this I look forward to a longstanding relationship as we work to build my wardrobe. Thank you again. I feel very fortunate.”