Advance Auto Parts 2007 Annual Report Download - page 14

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ADVANCE AUTO PARTS 2007 ANNUAL REPORT
CUSTOMER SERVICE: WHERE KNOW-HOW RULES THE ROAD
You can have every product available in your stores, but when you don’t have the right people,
you can’t win. Plain and simple. At Advance Auto Parts, providing legendary customer service
is more than a good business practice, it’s the way we do business. We have more than 43,000
knowledgeable, friendly and professional Team Members that represent our “wrench up” attitude
and keep our customers coming back time after time.
As part of our business strategy review, we saw a tremendous opportunity to grow our already strong
and product-knowledgeable Team. In 2007, we developed a parts assessment tool to evaluate and
develop a baseline measurement of our Team Members’ automotive expertise. In addition, we are
using this assessment tool with external job candidates. The feedback we received is allowing us to
target store-level training needs and develop better recruiting tools to attract the right Team Members.
Greater customer satisfaction, confidence and loyalty among our customers is something that can
only be achieved by having the most knowledgeable, energetic team. Properly training the
right people to serve our customers better than anyone else is a guarantee that
will have customers driving past our competitors’ parking lots and into ours.
And they’ll tell a friend, too.
CONVENIENCE: RECLAIMING GARAGES ON EVERY STREET
Meeting expectations for convenience and speed of delivery is yet
another guarantee that customers will exit our stores with the right
parts and meaningful experience, and it also means they will return.
Advance is committed to locating and operating stores that
are convenient to our customers and are well-stocked and
easy to shop, while also being cost-effective for the
Company’s bottom line. Future locations for new stores
will be carefully considered with respect to both DIY
and DIFM customers. This is a significant change
from our store location strategy in the past few
years, meaning we will look beyond “Main on Main”
locations for real estate that will be easily accessible
for our customers.
12
CHARLIE DEAN,COMMERCIAL PARTS PRO