Gwynn's: Customer Service to the Max

What do you get when you combine the very best in old-fashioned customer service with today's cutting-edge technology? Gwynn's of Mount Pleasant, SC, a successful high-end specialty department store, now in its 41st year in this Charleston suburb.

With a merchandise mix of high-end men's and women's apparel, gifts, fine jewelry and cosmetics, owner Marshall Simon tells Gifts & Decorative Accessories that you can find everything you need in one place at Gwynn's.

Simon himself plays a very active role in the store, spending most of his time on the floor as, “sort of more of a maitre'd,” he quips, welcoming customers and making sure they get situated. On Gwynn's website (www.gwynns.com), customers find the question, “Fashion or Gift Emergency? Call Marshall Simon.” — and then his cell phone number.

Gwynn's has managed to translate the art of customer service to the Internet, offering personal shopping online. Customers simply click on “Live Shopping,” call the phone number listed, and watch the screen as an employee (very often Simon himself) takes them through the latest offerings at the store with a live camera that sends rapid images every second. Mannequins model the latest fashions, while gifts are held up to the camera, which zooms in for a better look and to see details.

“The Internet was meant to take people out of the picture,” says Simon. “We thought the best aspect was to put people back in it,” he explains.

Because Gwynn's is a specialty, high-end retailer and only stocks between two and four SKUs of any given item, this method of online retailing also makes sense, Simon believes. Still, he adds, most customers usually come in the door rather than shop online. Nevertheless, the retailer makes an average of 10–12 sales a week through Live Shopping online, often to time-starved customers looking for a special gift.

Simon says it's his mission to give people multiple reasons to visit the store, be it online or in person. One of those reasons is his employees, who he said spend time developing and cultivating relationships with the customers. He pays his salespeople well — they earn up to $90,000 with commission — and they're all full-time. “I want this to be a career for them,” he explains.

The store's tagline, “For Him. For Her. For Home,” encompasses what Gwynn's merchandise mix strives for — that is, to find a bit of everything under one roof. Gwynn's carries gifts from Baccarat, Jay Strongwater, Juliska, Mariposa and Michael Aram; bedding and bath from Barefoot Dreams, Matouk, and Sonoma Lavender; tabletop and cookware from Alessi, Kim Seybert, Riedel, Nambe and Vietri; as well as cosmetics and skincare from Laura Mercier, Kiehl's, Art of Shaving, Trish McEvoy and Darphin.

“What we want to do is be proactive and anticipate people's needs,” says Simon. “And then we also want to give them things that they didn't know they wanted.” An example is Jay Strongwater frames, which retail in the $1,000 range. “If you were to say 'Would you buy a $1,000 picture frame?' most people would say 'no,'” the retailer says, but, he adds, once customers see the detail and craftsmanship that go into these frames, making them more like works of art, they're sold.

Simon looks for exclusive lines to ensure his products aren't found everywhere else, though he admits that can be a challenge. “Other stores shop us and follow suit,” he says, “…So we've got to be more ahead of the curve.”