Tire Store Great Example of Terrific Customer Satisfaction
Rass Bass, Compliments of The Four Corners Business Journal

A few months ago I needed to have the wheels balanced on my truck after a neighbor and I performed a “shade-tree” front-end alignment. So I took the truck to Big O Tires to have it done. Much to my surprise, it happened to be “Customer Appreciation Week” and the wheel balance was free. Well, it is hard to beat that kind of deal and it was very much appreciated by me.

Several weeks later, I had a flat tire. I remembered how nice everyone was at Big O and the free wheel balance they provided. So I thought I would bring my flat tire to them. Eli was in the front office again and it was close to closing time. She put my $8.50 in the cash register, required no paperwork and said the tire would be ready tomorrow. A competitor I previously used charged $10.50 to fix a flat tire. So again I was pleasantly surprised.

A few days passed before I was able to get to town and pick up my tire. I checked in with Eli and she said the guys in the shop would have it. So I drove over to the shop area and Jeremy loaded the repaired tire in the back of my truck. But before I drove off, they offered to put the repaired tire back on the wheel it came from. Now I thought that was great service!

Team Approach
So they took the repaired tire out of the bed of the truck and proceeded to take off the spare tire and install the repaired tire where it originally came from. They took a team approach to getting the job done – which I like to see. We are all in this together where we work and a team approach helps to get things done quicker with no one person doing all the work.

Jeremy worked the jack under the truck while Kenny started unscrewing the lugs on the rum. When I was writing this article, I called Eli at Big O to make sure Hi had the names spelled correct and again to my surprise, I learned that Kenny is the owner. Can you imagine the owner getting down on his knees and operating the air fun to remove the wheel lugs?

In too many organizations, there are obvious lines drawn between management and employees. In fact, it is often an “us and them” approach. But Kenny jumped right in and obscured the typical organizational structure where the bosses are at the top and the employees are at the bottom. And where customers are no even listed. Big at Big O in Pagosa, there was not this obvious distinction. When it comes to satisfying customers, management, office personnel, and the shop staff were indistinguishable. Everyone pitched in to get the job done.

Ought to Be That Way
That is the way it probably ought to be. At our different companies around the Four Corners, we are all in this together. It is not a matter of “us and them,” it is simply a matter of meeting and exceeding the expectations of our customers. So whatever it takes to do this within reason, just do it! From my perspective, customer satisfaction is everyone’s job.

But wait, there is even more. There offered to put the spare tire back under the truck where it is stored. Now I was really impressed. All this for a $8.50 flat tire repair. But I can tell you that they have developed a customer for life. Big O tires is the only place I am going to take my truck. You see, it is all about customer satisfaction and the “Big O Tire Team” went out of their way to exceed my expectations.

In fact, they have made a “raving fan” out of me and I am going to bring my truck and my money back to them for more of that kind of service. …The personnel at Big O Tires didn’t make the common mistake of thinking they are in the tire business. They are in the customer satisfaction business. Tires, flat tires, and wheel balancing are just the way they go about satisfying customers.

Top of Page