Jack Mitchell, along with his brother Bill, grew their parents’ speciality clothing store, Mitchell Stores, into a model for international, multi-generational family business success.
Not only do Mitchell’s employees know their customers’ names, but they also know their birthdays, hobbies and, sometimes, even the names of their pets. An excursion to Mitchell Stores, now in its third generation of family management, is defined by interaction rather than transaction.
The extraordinary consideration Mitchell Stores’ associates show their customers is no accident; the organisation’s management model works in much the same way. At Mitchell Stores, employee appreciation is policy, it is in the family’s DNA, creating a trickle-down economy of mutual respect that permeates every relationship. Mitchell’s associates take the opportunities they are given to thrive and as a result, Mitchell Stores enjoys some of the highest retention rates in their industry.
The metaphorical hug, an apt descriptor for Mitchell’s people-first philosophy, which applies to both customers and employees, has become both a movement and a mantra thanks to Jack Mitchell’s work as an author and lecturer.
His bestselling Hug Your Customer: The Proven Way to Personalize Sales and Achieve Astounding Results and its follow-up, Hug Your People: The Proven Way to Hire, Inspire, and Recognize Your Employees to Achieve Remarkable Results espouse the value of showing gratitude to customers and employees. In 2018, Jack Mitchell completed the trilogy with Selling the Hug Your Customers Way.
