Customer Service

Recently, we learned that Amazon gives special treatment to its own merchants. The site expunges reviews that criticize Amazon's own shipping, fulfillment, and packaging. The practice flies in the face of all the best practices for hosting website consumer reviews — and isn't that risky? The reality is that because of its size, market dominance, and generally sterling customer service reputation, Amazon might be able to get away with this conduct. Smaller companies, however, shouldn't try to do the same.

As the country's oldest retailer (established in 1818), Brooks Brothers has had its fair share of customers over the years. In that time the men's business and casual apparel retailer has learned that to continue its legacy as one of America's most respected brands, it must listen to what those customers have to say and then make changes based on that feedback. At the National Retail Federation's Big Show in New York City yesterday, Ken Seiff, executive vice president of direct and omnichannel at Brooks Brothers, discussed his company's customer-centric philosophy.