Too few companies respect my time.
This past week I spent nearly 15 minutes jumping through a telephone tree maze only to find out the department I needed to speak with was closed for the day.
I’ve waited in line for 10 minutes while one employee calls another to price check an item costing less than five bucks.
How many times have you discussed a problem with an employee only to have them say, “I can’t authorize that for you. You’ll need to speak with my manager”?
Do you give your employees the authority to make your customers happy? Or have you put up processes to wear down your customers?
Reminds me of a cell phone rebate I submitted a few years back that required ten mind-numbing steps, my favorite of which was “Enclose a copy of your second month’s bill”. This company knew that many people will miss a step resulting in the rebate being declined.
So it was a pleasant surprise dealing with Discount Tire this afternoon. I called ahead to determine whether or not I needed to make an appointment to have my tires rotated.
“We are open till 5 pm. If you can get here before then we”ll get it done for you today.”
Wow.
I was expecting something along the lines of “We close at 5 pm but stop accepting new work after 4 pm”.
They take my name, and when I pull in 15 minutes later, a Discount Tire employee meets me as I pull in. He doesn’t try to sell me rims or new tires. He takes my keys and says, “We’ll have her done in 20 minutes.”
I picked up my car and was off. Nothing to sign. No sales pitch. They respected my time and I’ll be back when I need new tires.
Nordquist Blog 
I also love it when store clerks offer to walk me over to the diced tomatoes instead of gesturing in the general direction with a sense of “good luck to ya.”
LikeLike
Discount Tire has been getting my business for years based on their customer service alone.However one day they were closed for some reason and we had to take our business elsewhere.We had to replace two tires on our SUV due to an unfortunate nail incident. The first place, Big O tires, had the size and model of tire we needed, but said they were closing in a few minutes and suggested we come back the next day. We drove down the road to Les Schwab, who also had the correct size, model and were also closing soon. However, Les Schwab, after closing, mounted the new tires and balanced the other two. Guess where I'm going the next time I need tires?That's right, Discount Tire.But Les Schwab will always be second on the list.
LikeLike
I love Discount tires. Great prices, Great service. Sometime i end up at Costco because of the “at least I have something to do for the next hour” factor, butt Discount Tires is a Great company. Funny how when you start to think of retail companies there are not many on that list.
LikeLike