LEGENDS AND TALL TALES

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 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. 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:

Cookies and Milk
What began as a typical customer request turned out to be an incredible story of a customer and associate friendship.

A sales associate answered a call from one of his favorite customers wanting a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes and a Chanel handbag. He called the customer back to tell her he had rung up her items and had them ready for pick-up. She asked if he could personally deliver them to her home, and he agreed. In addition, the customer asked if he could stop to pick up a box of cookies from her favorite bakery on his way over. Wanting to be as congenial as possible, the sales associate said that it would be his pleasure.

To his surprise, when he reached the customer’s home, she had a glass of milk waiting and invited him to sit and watch “Oprah” with her while they both enjoyed the box of cookies. While the two were watching television, the customer’s Maltese dog came out to investigate the new face in her home. Thinking the dog was cute and harmless, the sales associate reached out to pet her but instead received his second surprise of the day when the dog bit him.

Not wanting to cause any more of a stir, the sales associate excused himself to go back to work at the store. The customer thanked him for sharing his afternoon with her.

The Doctor Will See You Now
A little therapy never hurt anyone.  Some find their therapy on a couch in a doctor’s office while others give in to indulgences to get through a bad day.

For one Neiman Marcus customer, it was a little bit of both.

A store manager recently shared a customer’s story.  She said:

I have been seeing this customer in the store a lot more often in the past month than in the past.  She was standing in front of our Prada Ready-To-Wear boutique with her cell phone in her hand.  I greeted her saying that it is so nice to see her again.

She told me she was waiting for a call from her son's school principal because he had gotten into a fight at school.  The son is one of four quadruplets, a handful to say the least; in addition, she was "over" trying to get her husband to feel better because of the Stock Market; so she told her husband and kids that she was going to see her therapist.

Her therapist's name is Dr. N. Marcus!

Making It Right
Something as small as a stolen piece of candy, can haunt you for the rest of your life.  That is exactly what happened to one Neiman Marcus customer.

Recently, NM Minneapolis received an anonymous letter that read:

 Hello,

Thirty years ago in Dallas, my sister stole a $15.00 lip gloss, I was with her. It has bothered me for all these years, I am re-paying it now.

Thank you

Included in with the note was a money order in the amount of $15.00.

An associate from NM Minneapolis, said, “It gave me a little hope in people and showed no matter how long ago something was, you can always still make it right.”