Hug Your Customers

HUG YOUR CUSTOMERS is about customer service and how Jack Mitchell has practiced it by extending “hugs” -- unexpected extras, from knowing each customers name, along with their family members and clothing preferences, to handing out free coffee and newspapers on the Greenwich commuter train platform to say thanks (and by extension “Shop at Mitchells”). Mitchell looks at sales as being about something other than the product. You’re not selling clothing, you’re selling the relationship. That’s why on Saturdays, many people come to Mitchells just to see what’s going on. In the summer, he’s giving away hot dogs. Any time a regular customer walks in, the sales staff knows his name, spouse’s and kids’ names, clothing preferences and last purchase.