How TUMI is designing for world-class experiences

Featuring Victor Sanz

Creative Director at TUMI

In this Gladly podcast episode, Victor Sanz, TUMI’s Creative Director, explains what it means to understand the customer, what drives brand loyalty, and how to provide the same level of service and experiences—no matter where in the world you or the customer are.

You might know TUMI best for introducing their soft stylish, ultra-functional, black-on-black ballistic nylon travel bag that you see on the streets and in airports worldwide, but they are known for much more than that.

TUMI anchors superior quality and functionality to technical innovation and design excellence. They also provide world-class customer experiences that inspire the industry. According to Victor Sanz, Creative Director for the brand, if your question starts with, "Can you help? The answer is always yes." TUMI relishes the opportunity to offer customers unparalleled support when things go wrong. That mindset is deeply attractive to customers and makes a brand powerful.

Learn how TUMI relishes the opportunity to offer customers unparalleled support when things go wrong; a mindset that is deeply attractive to customers—and that makes their brand powerful.

Victor talks about designing for failure, because no matter how well you plan a trip, something will eventually break. TUMI designs its zipper pullers to break before the zipper does. A broken zipper means sending the bag to a repair center and waiting a week or two, but any store can put a new puller on in less than a minute. TUMI applies the same thinking to its handles and wheels.

Victor knows how much a good recovery matters from his own experience as a customer. A brand he'd bought shoes from sent him the wrong pair, and the style had already sold out, so he called ready to argue. The team found the right size at another store, sent it his way, and told him to keep the wrong pair, all in two or three minutes.

"If I have a choice, at the end of the day, between buying between this brand and the other brand, I'm going to go with that brand, just because of that customer experience."

Victor Sanz

Creative Director, TUMI

TUMI wants customers to get the same experience wherever they reach the brand, whether that's a store or the customer service and repair team in Vidalia, Georgia. Jamie Webb, who has been with TUMI for many years, builds training for both the sales associates in TUMI stores and the team in Vidalia.

"The salesperson on the floor at Rodeo Drive should have the same type of interaction as our Vidalia, Georgia customer service. At the end of the day, we should be able to swap both of them and they should be in that same environment with that same level of confidence, and that same level of precision, and empathy for the customer."

Victor Sanz

Creative Director, TUMI

Learn more about TUMI's customer service transformation with Gladly.