John Lewis is opening more concierge desks in a bid to up its experiential and service-led credentials.
The department store chain opened its first-ever concierge, or “experience”, desk at the end of last year, choosing to debut the service in its new Oxford store.
Last week saw it open another three concierge desks in Bluewater, Nottingham and Cheadle. Its new store in Westfield White City, which opens in March, will also have a concierge desk.
As a result, John Lewis has created 25 new service partner roles across the four stores. These service partners will act like hotel concierges, helping customers to plan and book visits to in-store events and services.
Shop trade director Maggie Porteous said: “These Experience Desks, which sit at the heart of our shops, form part of our strategy to reinvent the department store. They’re helping us deliver the top-level service customers expect of us.”
John Lewis has ramped up its experiential features in recent store openings, making its famous customer service more central to its proposition in a bid to differentiate itself from the competition.
Its Oxford store is a prime example of this approach: 20% of its square footage is given over to services such as a beauty bar, its first menswear personal styling service and a tech training room, where expert partners train customers and other partners on the new tech they are buying and selling.
It will now expand its men’s personal styling service to its Westfield White City store.
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