It was a dark and stormy night. The woman, stranded by the side of a motorway on the rawest of cold December days, shivered and peered anxiously into her rear view mirror hoping to see the reassuring lights of the breakdown service van that was coming to change her tyre. “Two hours” they said, and, as her mobile phone was running desperately low on power, she couldn’t even risk calling home in case the RAC couldn’t find her, and she needed to call again. She sat there on the M1 hoping that she wouldn’t get taken out by a lorry or a fast moving car that didn’t spot her on the hard shoulder.
Then, 30 minutes into her wait, out of nowhere, a brightly lit vehicle pulled up and her spirits immediately lifted; she thought “thank God, they’re early.” But it wasn’t the RAC, it was even better than that. It was Gavin from Autoglass®. But wait a minute; Autoglass® don’t fix tyres do they? No, but what they do very well is empathy and compassion. They are frequent motorway “Heroes”, who stop to help motorists, especially in times of obvious dire need. They the pinnacle of customer service. Going above and beyond what they are paid to do.
This is one of many similar communications from customers who have experienced a level of care rarely seen in any business in the UK. I went to a customer service seminar recently and i was there to learn how and why Autoglass® has become a household name.
Calling Autoglass® is a distress purchase, no one goes out and says ‘hey, why don’t we go out and look at new windscreens today’.” Despite this, Autoglass® has generated a significant following across the UK, showing how important it is to create a strong presence and positive sentiment wherever possible.
This is how an organization that started in Bedford in 1972 grew to be a leading consumer automotive service brand, providing vehicle glass repairs and replacements to over 1 million motorists every year.
Autoglass® is primarily a service provider to the insurance industry, but also serves motorists directly. This positivity, and the customer experience that it delivers, finds its source in the mantra that wafts through the business like a refreshing summer breeze; “A natural willingness to make a difference for our customers”. This is no empty promise or marketing slogan. It is based on a deeply shared, mutually developed and socialized value system that is aligned to the overall business culture. This reflects the commitment of both employees and management, and is based on fundamental and proven principles.
If we continue with a high quality, friendly and confident approach to customers we will be the Autoglass to the stone industry. They will call us Automarble.
When a customer doesn’t have a straight unit, is indecisive about what edge they want or is not sure what hob they are having, I want you to remember Gavin from Autoglass who took time out of his day to help someone in need. We need to turn up to jobs and want to make a friend wherever possible. Imagine that you made a new friend every time you left a job.
We have some work to do to consistently deliver a great customer experience, but we can see the road ahead and we have great faith in this team and we have a clear vision of where the company is going and how we are going to get there.