Being somewhat of a novice to all things photography, I was predictably nervous when it came to buying a new camera. The photos taken on my mobile over the years had served me well up until this point, but I knew that this year’s holiday snaps deserved to be in focus. With such a massive choice of cameras on the market, I knew that there must be at least one camera that could enhance my ‘talents’.

Online shopping would have been my usual port of call if I was after convenience and a potential bargain, but I knew I needed a little bit extra in this scenario. I needed a person to talk me through my options, advise me, and provide a little bit of hand-holding. Enter Jessops- ‘with over 75 years in the photography business and the perfect choice for all of my photography needs’.

The Experience

Walking through the City Centre wondering where to look for my new camera, I literally stumbled upon the opening day of a brand new Jessops store. There were balloons outside of the store on the main high street and smiley staff chatting to passersby, offering the best deals around. I couldn’t believe my luck! I was warmly welcomed into the store by a young lady: “Can we help you today?” They certainly could help me. “I need a basic camera that I can use for work and holidays. Something I can pretty much sling around in my backpack and use on the go”. Warm lady responded: “I'm sure we’ll find you just the thing. Let me pass you over to XX, our store manager who will help you”.

The store was very busy and I was somewhat surprised to be passed to the store manager, but very impressed by this all the same. I explained again to XX what I needed, stressing the point that I could not go out of my budget and hopefully giving him the message that I was not going to be his biggest sale of the day! XX didn't flinch and didn’t stop smiling for the rest of our encounter. I felt extremely pleased that the manager of the store was taking the time to provide such great customer service. He nodded intently, asked me a few more questions and I was shown a couple of cameras without delay that seemed perfect. Well done brand Jessops- I am very impressed at this stage.

XX was called away and beamed that he had to leave me with a young chap (we'll call him Bob) who would take good care of me. I thanked XX and turned to ask Bob which camera would be best for me out of the final options. This is where the problem started.

“I don’t know. They're all the same price” shrugged Bob. Oh dear.

Bob looked bored and was already scanning the room for other prospect customers. I selected what I thought was the best camera and after some seriously pushy, sales behaviour about an additional accessories package, Bob rolled his eyes at my resistance and had seemingly had enough. He turned his back on me and spoke over his shoulder: “cash or card?”. I made my purchase and nothing else was said.

Brand Alignment

Sadly, there was no thank you for my purchase, no eye contact, no smiles; things that I had expected after such a sterling display of customer service from the rest of the team. Was this a younger team member who was simply not invested in the Jessops brand, or was this a case of commission-based customer service? You don't earn them commission; you don’t earn their best service?

I have worked in several commission-based roles in my time, yet I'm sure I'm not the only one who can recognise an ‘upsell’ at 50 paces. My customer experience that day was brilliant up until that point, and all it took was just one moment of poor service to undo all of that hard work. The ironic thing is that if Bob had really listened to my initial needs (a camera to use on the go and sling around in my backpack) he could have quite easily sold me a case for my purchase - of course I needed one. I have actually purchased a camera case and a memory card elsewhere since.

A customer journey is a precious thing. If it fails to meet your expectations at every point where you come into contact with the brand, it is all too easy to drop out (often into the arms of the competitor) and have your needs met elsewhere. Jessops certainly know how to deliver a very good customer experience and they stand firmly as the product specialists of their field with remarkable customer service standards - I commend them on that. If they can align their whole business to these wonderful standards, I will no doubt return and recommend their services. I might even go back for those camera accessories one day…