Customer Service // Why We Are Different

Customer Service is a term that has been around for decades and means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Companies spend millions of dollars each year developing philosophies around this term because they understand that customer service is a direct reflection of their organization. It is the single most important aspect to achieving a growing, successful business.

It wasn’t that long ago when customer service was an integral part of our everyday life.  People expected and wanted personal interaction with almost every type of purchase decision they made.  Milk and ice was delivered to our front doors and there were gas attendants that did everything from pump your gas, wash your windshield, to check the air in your tires.  Local hardware, clothing, auto parts, and grocery stores were owned and operated by people from your own community who knew you by name and took great pride in making sure a customer’s needs were met properly.

Over the past 25 years, we have seen a dramatic decrease in the number of locally owned “mom & pop” businesses who were the standard bearers for exceptional customer service. At the same time, we have seen an explosion of chain stores that consistently put profits ahead of people.  They have their customer service philosophies posted in their stores and on their websites that look great on paper but underwhelm you when you actually shop there for any length of time.   For them, customer service has become impersonal, less relational, and more about achieving sales goals.

At Eagle Eye Outfitters, we understand that we would not be the company we are today without our customers.  We strive each day to make sure they know they are valued and appreciated by every member of our company. One of the core values of Eagle Eye Outfitters is “People Matter Most” and it has helped shape our customer service philosophy to be something that we strive to achieve every day instead of being empty words on a piece of paper that impresse people and make us feel better about ourselves.

At Eagle Eye Outfitters, we desire to deliver radical customer service to every customer that gives us the opportunity to serve them on a daily basis.  We have the audacity to believe that every customer that chooses to shop with us should be greeted properly, have an EEO team member available to answer their questions and assist them with their purchase, and check them out in a timely manner while developing strong relationships that makes us more a part of your family than a business you shop with.

To ensure the customer service delivery meets our standards, Eagle Eye Outfitters is unapologetically committed to overstaffing our store with some of the best young leaders in the Wiregrass area and to providing them with the necessary training that will be required for them to serve you to the best of their ability.  We like to put our customers ahead of profits and would rather our customers be greeted by a dozen or so happy faces than for them to have to chase someone down to have their questions answered or to ask for assistance with their purchase.

All of us at Eagle Eye realize that our customer service philosophy is counter-cultural in many ways.  While other retail stores are becoming more impersonal by limiting the number of associates on their sales floor, Eagle Eye Outfitters wants to build relationships with every customer and their family to the point we gladly overstaff our store to ensure our customer service delivery is accomplished, even if that decision causes us to sacrifice some of our profitability.

We realize that there are some in our community that are skeptical towards our customer service philosophy and question if there are ulterior motives behind our delivery.  There are those who say we overstaff because we have a massive theft problem in our store and we are worried about people stealing from us, but the reality is that we have one of the lowest theft rates in the retail industry.  Some have suggested that our team members are paid on commission and that is why they are so eager to assist customers when they come in our store. However, none of our team members have ever been paid a commission and no one in our company receives salary bonuses based on Eagle Eye’s overall sales performance.  The truth is that all of us at Eagle Eye really do want to build relationships with every customer so that we can earn the opportunity to serve them and their families for decades to come.

Of course this is not news to many of you who have made Eagle Eye Outfitters a part of your family because you have seen the Eagle Eye staff live this out over the past 17 years.  On the other hand, there are thousands of you who have just started shopping with us over the past two years after we moved into our current location.  From the outside, Eagle Eye Outfitters looks just like any other “big box” retailer and you are unaware of our humble beginnings in a small 2,400 sq. ft. shop at Hillcrest Shopping Center next to CiCi’s pizza.  Therefore, you come in expecting us to be like every other retailer but instantly experience something that is a non-typical retail shopping experience. For some it is a breath of fresh air and for others it’s uncomfortable and awkward because no one else provides service the way
we do.

To be honest and transparent with you, the past few years have been extremely difficult as we have transitioned from being a small store to a large company.  The growth that we have been blessed to experience has forced us to rebuild our organizational infrastructure to better administer the inventory and operations management aspects of our company.  To fill these roles, we were forced to move almost all of our store managers who were with us as we transitioned in our new building into the inventory and operations management teams.  In fact, over 90% of our current store management team and staff were not with Eagle Eye when we moved into our new building two short years ago.

We acknowledge that there have been times where we have missed the mark with our customer service delivery over the past two years, but have remained committed to providing the very best customer service delivery in the industry.  Over the past nine months we have been evaluating every aspect of our customer service delivery and that process culminated in April with the reorganization of our store management team.  Whether you are a new customer or one that has been with us from the very beginning, please know that Eagle Eye Outfitters will always serve our community with the belief people really do matter most and because of that, we will always put people before our profitability!

The ownership, management, and team members at Eagle Eye Outfitters hope that this explanation of our customer service philosophy will give you a better understanding of who we are as a company and why we serve you the way we do.  It has been an honor and privilege to serve the Wiregrass area over the past 17 years and we look forward to continuing to do so for decades to come.  Thank you for allowing us to become a part of your family!

Susan & Mark Anderson, Eagle Eye Owners