LEGENDS AND TALL TALES

First Lady Luncheon
At 10:30 a.m. on a Tuesday morning, a local news anchor called the Washington store General Manager in a panic. The anchor learned First Lady, Laura Bush, would be attending her luncheon at 12:00 noon that same day. The anchor, a loyal Neiman Marcus customer, didn’t have enough plates in her pattern to accommodate all of the expected guests. She asked us to charge a place setting and deliver to her home in less than an hour! 

Just as the operations manager was leaving the store, the delivery was called off. The customer changed her mind and no longer needed the extra place settings. Upon returning to his office, the operations manager learned that the discerning customer had changed her mind, again and need the dishes after all.

As the operations manager drove up to the customer’s home, he was greeted, very suspiciously, by the Secret Service, who would not allow him to enter the driveway. With his mission in mind, after all the fate of the First Lady’s lunch was at stake, the operations manager told the Secret Service that he was delivering plates for the luncheon and must get in! Finally, after much discussion, the Secret Service relented and allowed him make the delivery.

When the operations manager returned to the store, the customer was on the phone. She needed two more place settings because the First Lady had unexpectedly brought her two daughters!

En route, the operations manager received a call from loss prevention informing him to come back to the store because the customer realized that she didn’t have enough soup bowls either.

With two more place settings and extra soup bowls in tow, the operations manager was once again greeted by the Secret Service. But this time they were no longer suspicious or hostile towards him; he was waved in with a smile! 

After the event, the customer called the store and expressed her delight with the success of her luncheon, stating, “I couldn’t have done it without Neiman Marcus!” Additionally, the table settings made such an impression that two guests called to order the very same china.

There’s no secret to this customer service, only unparalleled determination and dedication to our customers!

Here Comes the Bride
The merchandise manager in the Houston Store received a startling phone call one Saturday morning, around 8:50 a.m. asking that he call the General Manager of NM Downtown, regarding a customer problem.

The matter concerned a bride-to-be who was getting married in Galveston, Texas later that day. The wedding was scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m., but the wedding gown did not fit the bride at all! The gown, purchased at the Downtown Dallas store, was never fitted on the bride, but instead was fitted on the mother of the bride. The daughter couldn’t make the fitting and asked her mom to be fitted instead, thinking the size would be close enough.

The Houston merchandise manager called his alterations manager at home to explain the problem. Quickly they jumped to action!  Without hesitation, the alterations manager, two fitters and a portable sewing machine raced to the wedding site in Galveston. The alterations team was able to reconstruct the designer gown and the bride was able to walk down the aisle by 1:15 p.m.!!!

That day, Neiman Marcus delivered superior service and made a bride’s dream wedding come true.

The $250 Cookie Recipe
A woman and her daughter had just finished a salad at Neiman-Marcus Cafe in Dallas and decided to have a small dessert. Because her family was had such a love for cookies they decided to try the "Neiman-Marcus Cookie." It was so excellent that the customer asked if NM would share the recipe, and the waitress said with a small frown, "I'm afraid not." The customer then asked if she could buy the recipe. With a cute smile, the waitress replied, "yes" and said the recipe would cost "two fifty." The customer requested that it be added to her tab.

Thirty days later, the customer received her VISA statement from Neiman-Marcus and it was $285.00. She had only spent $9.95 for two salads and about $20.00 for a scarf, but noticed that at the bottom of the statement, it said, "Cookie Recipe - $250.00." The customer was upset and called Neiman's Accounting Department stating that the waitress said the recipe was "two fifty," and not $250.00. She asked them to take back the recipe and reduce the bill. The Accounting Department said they were sorry for the inconvenience but that the customer’s bill would remain as charged because they wanted the recipe to be something that was special and not afforded by all.

The woman decided to share the cookie recipe with the world so that no one would ever have to pay $250.00.

Click here for the recipe.

The Blue Wool Suit for the Poor West Texas Girl
Stanley Marcus had great faith in the honesty of people. One year, he received a letter from a young woman who was taking on a job in a small West Texas town. She heard that there would be many eligible bachelors at the train depot to greet her and was nervous about her appearance. She wrote a letter to Mr. Marcus requesting his help:

Dear Mr. Herbert Marcus,

I have just graduated from normal college, and I’d like to have a fall suit.  I spent all my money getting a diploma.  I cannot even make a deposit because my pocketbook is empty and my family hasn’t got any cash to spare.  Could you possibly send me a suit in dark blue serge in the latest style?  I’m young, so it shouldn’t be old-ladyish.  Send something with a lot of zip, but not too fussy either.

He sent two suits, one zippier than the other, and told her to choose the one she liked. She chose the more expensive and returned the other by mail. She wrote Mr. Marcus thanking him for his kindness and telling him she felt as if the Neiman Marcus labeled suit had been her armor to stand tall against her fears. 

Twenty years later, after NM had lost touch with the customer, a letter was sent to a major fashion magazine retelling the story of the blue suit. The editor sent a copy to Neiman Marcus, and it ended with: