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News In Review

May 17, 1999

Customer Care Starts At The Top

By Jeff Sweat

For some businesses, caring about the customer is ingrained. AutoZone Inc., a Memphis, Tenn., auto-parts retailer with 2,700 stores nationwide, makes sure its mission statement isn't tucked away in an executive file or a quarterly report. Every employee knows it, because every day employees repeat it as the first line of the company cheer: "AutoZoners always put customers first."

When new employees join, AutoZone sends them to extensive training. High-level executives are no exception. When CIO Bruce Clark joined the company in January, he spent three weeks behind a counter. "I got a real appreciation of what it takes for the people in the stores to do their jobs, and what it takes to serve the customer," he says.

Now he helps design technology that supports the company's customer-first culture. AutoZone has already begun data warehousing initiatives--using IBM's Universal Database, Cognos PowerPlay and Impromptu for end-user query tools, Leveraged Solutions Opti-Load for loading and unloading data into Universal Database, and data mining tools from SAS Institute--to learn about who walks into AutoZone's stores and what they buy.

Next up: An initiative that will affect not only the customers' shopping experience, but also their experience with their cars. Many of AutoZone's customers have limited access to automotive information. AutoZone is in the process of evaluating an object-oriented diagnostic and troubleshooting application that can run over a number of media: Internet E-commerce sites, store kiosks, and voice systems. The system, which will start a test run in July, will help shoppers determine the source of, say, the squeaking sound in their rear wheels, then help them determine if anything needs to be replaced. The system can then walk them through the repair process.

Besides helping AutoZone deliver more value than just auto parts, Clark says, the service will broaden the company's appeal.

return to main story, "Customer Centricity."


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