Empowerment in the Auto Parts Biz

I am not an automobile-o-phile. My car is transportation, pure and simple. So, when I had two issues, recently, with my car, the first thing that always runs through my mind is "how am I going to get #&*$# over by these auto parts companies?" To my amazement, my two recent experiences are examples of customer expectation management that makes one endeared to the two companies with whom I dealt.

The first involves Checker Auto Parts. A few weeks back, my battery suddenly died. There are rarely more isolating feelings than being stranded, at night, at a mall, with no car. Luckily, I had met a friend for dinner and was able to get my car started. A couple of years ago, I had purchased a new battery at Checker Auto Parts and so I headed, directly, to one of their stores. When I arrived, I showed up within minutes before closing and really thought that I would be turned away. And, even if I weren't I thought, "I have no receipt for this battery, how am I going to get my warranty to cover this?" Well, here I am, poor consumer with little knowledge of automobile engineering. But, the two gentlemen who were staffing the store kept open for me; found I had purchased the battery from Checker and did not hesitate to honor the warranty. Now, Checker is a do it yourself sort of place and I scarcely know the difference between a lug nut and a peanut. So, they helped my replace the battery by providing me the tools and supervision to do it. Within 30 minutes I was on my way.

The second involves Discount Tires. I just replaced my tires. Now, despite it's name, Discount Tires really isn't a discount. After all, the tires I got were neither hugely cheap more exorbitantly expensive. But, what makes Discount Tires so successful for me (and I have been going there for 10 years) is that they help me pick the right tires for my car, get them installed quickly and do all of this with a smile and respect for us automobile ignorami. Buying tires is not exactly an exciting adventure. And, in the case of Discount Tires, I return time and again not to purchase new tires but to have them rotated and repaired. They gladly do this without fail and without charging me. And, they STILL do it with a smile - after all I am not buying anything.

Now, at this point, you're thinking what the heck this has to do with BPM Unplugged. Well, it's the essence of BPM Plugged - creating an experience, which is successful for the customer. Somewhere deep in the back of the front lines at these two companies, folks asked themselves how we could make our processes and people behave in a way that endears our customers to us? And, part of that discussion involved customer expectation management - empowering folks at the front lines to handle their customer's problems is such a way that at that Moment of Truth, the customer walks away surprised and amazed at how painless the experience was.

As you look to take on BPM efforts, it is extremely important to remember that but for the grace of the customers go us. When we look at process we need to look at people - our employees who are the front line of the customer battle every day. And, as we work on our processes to make customer experiences successful, we cannot forget those front line employees' needs to make sure that process doesn't break in front of the customer because the employee isn’t empowered to handle the customer’s need. Make sure that front line employees are empowered to actually make the process work for the customer; otherwise, what have we really gained if the customer goes somewhere else?