From quality-assurance techniques to call center staff training: the venerable cataloger’s customer-service strategies

By Gabrielle Mosquera and Donna Loyle

A peek inside Lands’ End reveals an operation that is dedicated to implementing the motto of company co-founder Gary Comer: “Take care of the people, take care of the customers, and the rest will take care of itself.”

Needling the Threads

Superior service begins with superior merchandise. “There’s not a button that goes on a pair of pants, or a thread on a skirt that isn’t tested by our quality assurance lab,” says Karen Centner, Lands’ End’s vice president and general merchandise manager of e-commerce and international.