It’s not a stretch to call Lululemon’s recent recall of see-through yoga pants a fiasco. If there were ever a time to double-down on customer service, this was it.

And, STELLAService data shows the company actually improved certain areas of its service performance during the high-volume period after the recall. In particular, the company was well prepared for questions about store policy, fitting for an influx of questions about returns.

STELLAService places calls and emails to Lululemon’s customer service team on a daily basis, asking a mix of questions about products and store policy. To research the Lululemon recall, pre-fiasco is defined as Nov. 18 to March 17, while March 18 through April 7 defines the period the company handled recall inquiries.

First, it’s important to note that performance via phone was on par with pre-fiasco levels, a sign the company staffed up their call center appropriately.

But, there were a few hiccups in email performance during the …

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“Same-day delivery, if executed correctly, can provide expansive options for consumers and brands hoping to grow their business. While critics may see same day delivery as a downfall for smaller retailers, it can potentially offer competitive advantage for businesses of all sizes.” [Source: Wired.com]

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“According to RetailNetGroup, AmazonFresh, the online giant’s grocery business that’s been tested in the Seattle market since 2007, isn’t about “competing with a small market with razor-thin margins and a checkered history.” It’s all about helping Amazon.com attain the scale to support its ambition to build a national same-day delivery shipping model. [...] Amazon views steady grocery delivery as a “powerful way to drive frequent customer interaction,” and opens up avenues to entice consumers to shop for other products with each order. [Source: Forbes]

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“Walmart.com is introducing a new home page, and says it will begin testing in-store delivery lockers later this year, to make it easier for shoppers to use its popular “ship to store” option. [...] That reflects a shift in the retailer’s thinking over the last two years, Neil Ashe, Walmart’s EVP, as well as CEO of its global ecommerce division, says. There used to be conversations about channels — are we omnichannel? Are we multichannel? Are we metachannel? And those are exactly the wrong questions, because that’s looking at the world from our perspective, not the customer. We need to look at things from her eyes. Are we satisfying her when, where and how she likes to be served?” [Source: MediaPost]

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You’ve seen the public apology video. But, the better story is how J.C. Penney is engaging with customers commenting on the mea culpa.

J.C. Penney published this week a video advertisement developed under former chief executive Ron Johnson, an Apple veteran who was brought in to refresh the brand but was ultimately replaced after 17 months on the job by his predecessor, Mike Ullman.

The department store chain’s sales plummeted in 2012 following changes made by Johnson. Our analysis last month shows that the company has much work to do when it comes to improving customer service.

The new video is a very public plea for shoppers to give the department store another chance. Images of smiling children and couples holding hands are accompanied by piano music and a female narrator.

“It’s no secret, recently J.C. Penney changed,” the narrator says. “Some changes you liked and some you didn’t, but what matters from mistakes is what we learn. We …

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