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Customer Service, the Les Schwab Way Les Schwab died recently, and I'm going to keep on buying tires from him. Why? Because I know that when I pull into one of his tire stores, the guys in the white shirts will come running. Yeah, running – like my business really matters. And it doesn't matter to me whether I buy Toyo, BF Goodrich, Michelin, Firestone or Goodyear tires, because I know that if Les sells it he stands behind it, no matter the brand. The truth is I trust Les Schwab and here's why: I took my old SUV to the dealer for a repair that I thought was out of Les Schwab's range. When I picked up my rig, the dealer told me it was dangerously in need of an expensive front-end rebuild. Since Les Schwab is always my first choice, I scheduled the repair there. Not an hour after I dropped off the car I got a call from the young man responsible for the repair. He told me that the front suspension was just fine. I resisted this good news, but he politely said, "Sir, we want you to be happy, so we'll replace the front suspension if you insist, but I thoroughly inspected it against factory specs and it does not need to be rebuilt." So, I kept my money in my pocket – and told my story to anyone who would listen. This kind of relationship with the customer is what Les Schwab is all about – but not every company acts that way. A recent Harvard Business Review described how some companies "reward" their best customers with contrived penalties, hidden charges and fees, and subtle incentives, all to extract a few extra dollars in the normal course of business.(1) You know what I'm describing: the early termination fees, the ever-changing grace period, the "free" upgrade that costs $75. So here's an idea: the next time someone trying to add another nickel of revenue to the corporate coffers comes up with an idea to extort money from a customer, let's make sure the plan bears their name (or better yet, the CEO's). I'd like to see a wireless company offer the Mary Schwartz two-year contract with early cancellation penalty, or a credit card company offer the Jimmy Ray Jones over-credit-limit penalty with special surcharge if you pay your bill in full every month. Perhaps that would stop this nonsense of treating customers like suckers. Les Schwab never nickel-and-dimed anyone over extra services: he'll change my flat for free, even if I bought the tire somewhere else, and he won't charge me for a repair that's not needed. And every employee wears the Les Schwab name proudly on his or her shirt. Maybe there is simply a different ethic when your name is on the door, when you have earned people's trust over 45 years after starting off with a $3,500 investment in a shed with some retreading equipment and an outhouse in a small, high-desert town in eastern Oregon. Whether I stop into his first store or his 400th, stores that dot the American West, I know I'll experience some of the finest customer service offered anywhere. Yes, Les Schwab is gone – may he rest in peace – but I'll keep doing business with him, because his legacy of trust lives on and every time I darken his door I feel important, like my business really matters. Would your customers say the same of you? |
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