February 23, 2005
Les Schwab: An impeccable Northwest service brand
I don’t always complain. And when I do, I usually try to provide some solution, rather than just pointing out the things that drive me to aggravation. Sometimes, though, I encounter people and services that are just plain good. And really, they deserve praise, even if it is from little old me. Who knows? Maybe I’m actually their target market.So in these days of increasingly rude, inconsiderate, and outsourced customer service, it seems appropriate to recognize those who do it right. And one blue-collar company that does it right is Les Schwab.
For those of you who don’t live in the vicinity of a Les Schwab (Washington, Oregon, Northern California, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, and Montana), it’s a tire shop. Plain and simple. They do brakes and alignment and maybe mufflers, from what I can remember. But suffice it to say, around my house, Les Schwab = tires.
Now, how did Les Schwab get me to make this connection? It’s clearly not their more traditional marketing efforts. Les Schwab doesn’t have the best Web site. And their advertising and direct mail borders on homegrown, if not downright campy. (Is that a Google-esque approach to marketing, hard to say. Perhaps that's a story for another time, when I'm feeling a tad more cynical.)
In fact, a shining example of the flavor of that marketing is happening right now, at your local Les Schwab. Same as every year, it’s "Free beef" time at Les Schwab, where buying tires guarantees you a free hunk of cow. And believe me, the beef brings them running in droves.
But that’s part of the point. It is free-beef time right now. Which means that every Les Schwab location is overwhelmingly busy. They’re a hive of frenetic tire-moving activity. They’re selling tires. They’re removing winter tires. They’re replacing rims. They’re aligning. They’re taking returns on chains. For a tire store, this is a busy, busy time. That’s why encountering such an exemplary level of customer service, during such a busy time, is all the more impressive.
So, the other day, the inevitable happens. My wife was unlucky enough to get a flat. Our two-year old son was in the car with her. She managed to limp the car into a service station. And she got help changing to the pseudo-spare. Not the safest option, but still a tire, even if it is one of ill repute.
So she calls Les Schwab.
"I realize you guys are super busy right now, could you get me in today?"
"We’ll get you in as soon as you get here."
So she drives to the Les Schwab near our house. You know the one.
Now, understand that, along with the free beef, one of the other little gimmicks that Les Schwab always pitches is that they “run out to greet you.” In the ads, they always show the clean-cut, clean-handed tire guys running out to your car in their clean white shirts. The weird thing is: it really happens. No lie. I’ve experienced it practically every time I’ve been there.
"The guy had my door open for me before I even had the car turned off," says the wife.
"Got a flat, I see," he says. "Let’s take a look."
So he checks the situation, deals with the tire, and is very understanding of the somewhat cranky two-year old. Does he try to sell her four new tires using some excuse of “even wear”? No. He says he has another tire with a little wear, same make and model, that should work just fine. Do we trust what he says? Absolutely. Because he’s not trying to upsell, he’s trying to solve the problem. What’s more, he tells her that it will be done in about an hour. During the busiest time of year, mind you. And guess what? It is done in about an hour.
Trust me, this happens every time, whether you drive up with new tires, flat tires, whatever. Every single time I’ve been there. I’ve had this experience. My wife has had this experience. My friends have had this experience. Consistent consistent consistent.
Show me all the cheesy commercials you want. If you make this generally uncomfortable and sometimes extremely stressful experience an almost (gasp) enjoyable one, you have won a customer for life. Will I ever buy tires anywhere else? Probably not, if I continue to live in the Northwest. And I don’t even care if I get the beef.
When was the last time you had a pleasant customer-service experience? I’d love to hear. Thanks for reading and I hope you get a chance to return.
Les Schwab: An impeccable Northwest service brand
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