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AMAZING STAFF AND RENOWNED CUSTOMER SERVICE USHER TIVOL INTO SECOND CENTURY | January 09, 2013 (0 comments)
Kansas City, MO—Few jewelry stores have better reputations than Tivol. With locations in Missouri and Kansas (shown left, at Hawthorne Plaza in Overland Park), Tivol is led by Cathy Tivol, its third-generation CEO.
"We're 102 years old," said Tivol. "My grandfather started this business. We're steeped in tradition with a legacy of exceptional product, customer service and giving the customer the Tivol experience."
Tivol's dedication to exceptional product continues with what Tivol calls "wonderful watch brands and superb designers." These include watches by Rolex, Patek Phillipe, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Michele Watches, Cartier, TAG Heuer, David Yurman and TW Steel. Tivol's jewelry brands include Penny Preville, Rahaminov, Norman Silverman, Kwiat, Roberto Coin, LAGOS, David Yurman, Mikimoto, Carelle, Armenta and Steven Webster, among others.
While many jewelers have given up selling watches for a variety of reasons, watches still work well for Tivol. "We are successful with watches but we are really looking at bridal right now," says Tivol. "We're not where we want to be in bridal, so we're having meetings with sales staff to get their input. We know from our industry friends that this is a common thread with brick and mortar stores and we'd like to grow that department."
Tivol's flagship store in Country Club Plaza, Kansas City, MO.
Along with inventory, Tivol is also committed to customer service—and Tivol's customer service starts with the employees. "We're so fortunate that the staff we have is exemplary," says Cathy. "We're extremely fortunate to have them here."
So in stores known for customer service, is it the people or their training that bring quality service to the customers? At Tivol, it's a bit of both. "We're known for customer service," admits Tivol. "We love to hire people that fit into the Tivol brand, people that are warm, friendly and knowledgeable; people that can take ownership of the job and run with it. However, that's not always the case. You don’t know until three to six months down the road how he or she will develop."
To help things along, Tivol says that in-store and sales training is constant. "We cover a lot of topics that include customer service." (One great example of over-the-top customer service from Tivol is related here.)
Traditional and Social Media Outreach.Tivol reaches out to customers through traditional methods: print and television ads, lots of trunk shows and special events. Says Tivol, "For instance, we recently featured a 'couples night out' featuring four brands: Carelle, TW Steel, Armenta, and Steven Webster; four vendors with lots of different products. We had a DJ on premise, a signature cocktail and hors d'oeuvres. A donation to The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in exchange for raffle tickets raised money for a great cause. (Click here for the Facebook album for this evening event.) "We do fun things like that throughout the year," says Tivol. "One challenge we have is to diversify the customer base we contact for our special events and happenings. We've done a much better job targeting our mailing list and reaching out in a focused way to customers who would be interested in attending." Tivol uses software and sales associates’ notes to help target who gets invited.
The first Tivol store.
Tivol recently unveiled a new website, one that is more in keeping with today's social media atmosphere. "The new website is a product of our changing marketplace," says Tivol. "With Internet and social media becoming a vital part of business, we want our website to be current. We launched in October; the new site features integrated product search engine and the ability to create wishlists to be shared on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. It's easy to navigate and is a wonderful tool. We did some of the redesign in-house and farmed out some to three wonderful young men who do an incredible job at creating websites." The newly redesigned Tivol site does not offer e-commerce capabilities, with the exception of Tivol gift cards that are available online.
The Tivol Shop and Buying Gold. "We have a shop on the premises, one in each store," says Tivol. "We have six watchmakers and we do keep them busy! Our jewelry and watch repair is a huge business. When the recession hit, our repair business was a big plus for us. That strength helped keep us on track during a more difficult time.
Tivol does buy gold from 'off the street.' "It's been a nice little money-maker throughout the last several years. It's tapered off a bit the past few months," she says. Tivol's customers appreciate this service. "When we suggest it, customers will often go home and then bring their jewelry back. They are so happy and pleasantly surprised to walk out with a check."
While Tivol stays busy overseeing the business, one might be surprised to find her on the sales floor as well. Yet there she is, often, mostly at the Country Club Plaza store. "I love the sales aspect of the business and love the interaction with our staff. I love figuring out or helping to figure out what our strengths and weaknesses are. It's a constant challenge to continue to be fresh and current and always be questioning what you are doing and what you can be doing better." Cathy also pens a blog for the Tivol website, which surprisingly is more food than jewelry, offering customers a more personal look at Tivol herself.
Cathy Tivol, right, with her father, Harold, in 1978.
In 2011, Cathy's son, Hunter Tivol McGrath, joined the company as a salesperson at the Hawthorne Plaza location, making him the fourth generation of the Tivol family to work for the company.
"I feel lucky to be here," says Tivol. "Tivol is now a fourth generation, family owned business. In any retail situation, there are few of those. We've been very lucky."