Advance Auto Parts 2001 Annual Report Download - page 7

ADVANCE AUTO PARTS ANNUAL REPORT 2001 9
Come into an Advance Auto Parts store,
and it will look like it just opened, though it
may have been open for quite some time.
That’s because we’ve set the GOLD (Grand
Opening Look Daily) standard for each of
our locations. It’s about providing our
customers with an attractive, clean,
organized and clutter-free environment.
It’s about displaying merchandise attractively,
so it can be easily found, and making sure
that prices are prominently visible.
Furthermore, it’s about displaying signage
that tells our customers what we’re all
about as a company.
We are now introducing an exciting
new tool to help our team members give
our customers a valuable new reason to
visit our store. It’s called APAL (Advance
Parts and Accessories Lookup), and it’s
now being rolled out to all of our stores.
APAL is a new Windows®based electronic
parts catalog of hundreds of thousands of
parts that includes pictures, installation tips,
and more, all of which can be printed for
the customer to take for reference. With
a keystroke it also shows the customer
everything that will be needed to complete
the job right the first time– no more
running back to the store for forgotten
clamps or gaskets.
Of course, the best part of our stores
is the friendly and knowledgeable team
members who work there. They love cars
and trucks, and they communicate their
enthusiasm to our customers in everything
they do. We receive letter after letter from
grateful people who have experienced our
customer-first philosophy firsthand. They
rave about our team members who went
out of their way to deliver a part to a
stranded motorist or who installed batteries
even in the pouring rain.
Customer service is at the forefront of
everything we do. Part of that service
comes from the heart of good people we
are fortunate to have on our team. And part
comes from formal training programs that
we make a high priority. We train our people
on customer service, parts knowledge,
selling skills, store operations, and
personnel issues.
At Advance Auto Parts, our stores are clean, eye-catching, easily navigated,
stocked with a broad selection of parts and products, and staffed with
people who truly care about the customer. That’s why you’ll hear Advance
Auto Parts team members speak with such pride about our stores.
Our Stores
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Linda Wood, Store Manager, Charlottesville, Virginia When you come into the Charlottesville store, Linda makes sure you get a friendly greeting and excellent customer
service. Under Linda’s leadership, the 23 team members at that store focus on providing outstanding customer service, as well as maintaining the stores GOLD standard.
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