I love Nordstrom. Not too long ago, I was purchasing a tie at a Nordstrom department store when a younger man approached the counter to return a shirt. He expressed to the clerk that it had shrunk and faded in the wash and that he was unhappy with it.

From where I was standing, it was pretty obvious that it was not a new shirt. The clerk looked at the shirt, looked at the gentleman and asked how long he had owned the shirt. "A couple of weeks," was the reply.

It looked more like a couple of years, but the Nordstrom return policy is pretty straight forward. "Unconditional" is the policy.

Nordstrom is Obsessive About the Details

On a number of levels the Nordstrom return policy is a wonderful example of a corporate policy and culture. Nordstrom's obsession to detail and their militant refusal to become like the Department of Motor Vehicles continues to build customer loyalty and market share.

In any business, it's the details that spell success or failure. Often, if overlooked, the smallest details carry the biggest consequences. Let's look at another example.

McDonald's is Not Obsessive About the Details

I remember the first McDonald's I ever visited. At the time McDonald's prided itself on being spotlessly clean. From the kitchen, the dining area to the bathroom. In fact, "McDonald's is clean" was one of their slogans. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case in many McDonald's restaurants.

If the restrooms and dining area aren't clean, is it reasonable to doubt the cleanliness of the kitchen?

By ignoring the little details, McDonald's is not the same restaurant that Ray Kroc started back in the 50's.

McDonald's may be great corporate citizens and contribute to a number of very worthy charities, but if they can't keep their restaurants clean or fill my order correctly and promptly, I don't care. They aren't taking care of the details.

You MUST Be Obsessive About the Details

Author Michael Levine says, "businesses insult customers" every day.

How? By ignoring the details.

Mr. Levine goes on to say, "Big equals stupid. The larger you get, the stupider the culture becomes. The owners of Staples or Office Depot couldn't care less if you wait two minutes or two hours to find toner or a cartridge. That's perfectly fine as long as there's no competition."

What Should A Small Business Owner Do?

Mr. Levine's advice would be, "Have an obsessive compulsion to detail. If you want to know what it's like for a customer, then you should call your restaurant or whatever type of business and have the experience of being put on hold."

He continues, "When a customer does complain, he or she should be rewarded. For instance, if you're a dry cleaner and a customer's pants were supposed to be ready by Tuesday, and they're not, call up and say, "We appreciate you telling us that, we will try better next time, and here is $20 worth of dry cleaning for the trouble you've encountered." The same thing if a customer shows up for a reservation and the table is late -- buy him or her a drink or dessert."

As small businesses it's imperative that we offer something more than the Wallmarts of the world to keep our customers. That something extra might very well be our attention to the details.