Getting your tires aligned is a thankless, boring activity. But this week, it illustrated a lesson in how a brand becomes real by the small actions you observe.
Tireless Empathy
I had to wait about ninety minutes to have my tires rotated and aligned this week in a local Just Tires store in Raleigh. With laptop in hand, I could get some work done and take care of an annoying, boring chore.
What I witnessed, reminded me of where a brand lives.
An irate customer, dressed in hospital scrubs, was furious. He was unhappy with the service and the outcome of his visit. Since I don’t know squat about cars, I didn’t fully understand what he was complaining about but it sounded as if some part of his car, when replaced broke. He would have to pay at least $500 to replace this broken part that wasn’t broken before the repair. He was talking non-stop, and I don’t think he took a breath for a very long time. If this were a cartoon, steam would be coming from his head.
The service manager stood quietly listening to the irate customer for at least twenty minutes. He didn’t say anything, he patiently listened and allowed the customer to tell and retell and retell again, what happened.
Calmly, the service manager said, “you know, if it were me, I’d be really upset too.”
He didn’t try to argue about what happened. He responded with empathy. And, then the angry customer stopped arguing and listened to the service managers’ reasoned explanation of what happened.
Instead of making this a fight, this became a chance to be compassionate and caring. It is so easy to use those words in your mission statement that no one will read. Creating ads saying your employees care took zero effort to produce and plastered all over TV, magazines, and the Internet.
The trick is living the spirit of caring for the customer. That is where you brand lives – human to human.
I don’t know who was right or wrong in this situation as it related to the wheel thingy that broke. I do know, where I will return for alignments.
[Tweet “Empathy is a powerful tool for aligning tires and people.”]
I like to do business with human beings who demonstrate that they care. It makes me feel aligned.
Need some alignment for your brand? Call Just Jeff and let’s get rolling.
