AutoZone CEO Emphasizes Dedication to Professionals
AutoZone Chairman, President and CEO, Customer Satisfaction, Bill Rhodes speaks with pride when it comes to all that AutoZoners have accomplished since he assumed the role in March 2005.
With AutoZone’s ability to offer an extensive array of parts, including late model, specific programs/services for auto repair shops and even software solutions through ALLDATA, the growth opportunity is endless.
Many businesses start with a vision. What is AutoZone’s?
We have a Pledge! It’s a Pledge to our customers and our AutoZoners. We’ve worked for years to live up to our Pledge, and we remain intensely focused on our commitment to the customer experience, whether in our retail locations or in repair shops.
How is this commitment/vision carried out?
We pride ourselves on our culture. It’s a culture focused on providing “WOW!” Customer Service, a culture of solving our customers’ problems, a culture of serving others, and as previously mentioned, a culture focused on fulfilling our Pledge.
What are you doing to grow the business in the future and how will that impact professionals?
We are continuing to enhance many elements of our professional offerings. First and foremost, we have substantially improved our parts availability over the last few years. We have improved our store assortments, enhanced our Hub store placements and have approximately 25 MegaHubs across the country that give our customers access to 100,000 parts on a same-day basis in many markets. We are intensely focused on leveraging our amazing culture to ensure our customers receive the right parts at the right time.
Why should professionals do business with the leading retailer?
We believe that what matters most to our professional customers is inventory availability, speed of delivery and ease of doing business. Not only do we pass on this efficiency in speed to our customers, but also, because of our volume, we are able to provide the best quality parts at the best price.
As we deliver on that commitment, we are confident we will earn professionals’ business. We pride ourselves on delivering superior execution, and as we leverage our culture and expertise, we are confident we will be the best service provider in the industry.
In addition, many DIYers do the light jobs themselves but leave the more complex and time-consuming jobs to the professionals, so we’re able to act as a source of referrals to those customers.
How do you measure your success and whether or not you’re delivering this?
We measure our success based on the satisfaction of our customers. We are constantly seeking feedback from our customers and working diligently to earn trusted partner status with them. At the end of the day, if we deliver on our promises, shops and, ultimately, their customers will be satisfied. Satisfied customers equal repeat customers who also spread the good news by word-of-mouth!
What advice would you give a professional shop as keys for success?
First of all, I would ask them for their advice. They are the experts! But, I would share with them that our experience is that, while at times, this business can seem complex, ultimately, it’s the simple, repeatable things that matter. Treat your customers the way you want to be treated, install quality parts and hire great people and inspire and motivate them. And, of course, buy all your parts and products from AutoZone!