Ep 14. The Tire Story Is True!

[BLANK_AUDIO] >> Can I ask you a question on microphone? You know what I'm doing a podcast? >> Okay. >> So what I want to try to do is just get a lot of unvarnished answers with no setup from people that work here, some for a couple years, some for 30 years, what they think the most famous service story that we have. As simple as that as we walk around here in the downtown Seattle store. Just trying to corner anyone we can to talk to us about it. [MUSIC] >> All right, we're gonna do this. Sorry, barging in. We're just asking random people around here what you think the number one customer service story is for Nordstrom. >> Well, it's definitely the tire story. >> Very good. Thank you. Carry on. It's okay. So have a question for you. >> Okay. >> Is there one that pops to mind of what's the most famous Nordstrom customer service story? >> The most famous would be the tire story, right? >> Well, that's up to you. >> That's what comes to mind. You're really putting me on the spot here. >> Indeed I am. >> The tire story, of course. Of course, it's the tire story. Of course. >> Well, of course, the tire story pops to mind. I mean, doesn't that pop to mind for everybody? >> Well, of course, it's the tire story. >> Do I have time to think on that or is it off the cup? The tire story. >> I mean, that's the first thing I thought of, but that's so obvious. I'd have to say the tire story. >> Fly far hands down. >> The tire story. >> The number one thing that comes to my mind is the tire story. >> What does that mean? >> The tire story. Maybe the number one story. >> When do you think you first heard about this? >> I don't even remember. It's been so long. Stories just been out there forever. >> How long have you worked for us? >> 39 years. >> Okay, so when did you first hear about the tire story? >> 39 years ago. >> When did you first hear this story, you think? >> I've been here 11 years. I'd say within the first month I was here. I first heard about it probably in my first two weeks. >> Do you hear like a class or something or just kind of a legend that was past or? >> It was a legend that was just passed around. A salesperson told me about it on the floor. >> Talking on the floor with co-workers. >> So tell me what you believe the tire story to be. For a long time, you heard this story that you weren't quite sure if it was myth or legend. >> Essentially the historical or at least at how I was told was. >> Somebody purchased tires elsewhere. >> Like a hardware type of store and it was a tire store. >> Like a sear or something, it's so tires. >> And then the tires were what went away or whatever closed down and it's placed down as a Nordstrom. >> And someone came in wanting to return their tires. >> A set of tires I believe is more than one. And the gentleman said, well, I bought the tires here because they had a guarantee. >> They came in and asked for reimbursement even though that's not a product that we sell. >> We're a retail business. We don't sell tires. And rather than say we don't carry those, we said, sure we'll take care of you because we are known for our policy. We take everything back so they wanted to test us. >> What's your recollection? What you first heard about that? >> It was all about empowerment of just doing what was right for the customer at that moment. >> It all boils down to the customer and how we take care of them. >> So it grained into you as an employee that we do what is best for the customer? >> So do you believe it's true? >> I believe it's true. I do believe it's true. Urban legend. [ Music ] >> Hey everybody, welcome to another episode of the NordyPod. I'm Pete Nordstrom, president of Nordstrom and your host for this podcast. Join me as I take you on an honest, authentic journey through our company and introduce you to many of the fascinating people in my life one episode at a time. [ Music ] >> So I got a little backstory for you about the NordyPod. So when we originally talked about starting this, it was like, well what's the theme going to be? And what are we going to talk about and why would anyone care? And the thing that I thought about was, you know, we've got this legend of the service story that happened at Nordstrom that a lot of people are familiar with and it's called the tire story. And we were going to call this the NordyPod. We were going to call it the tire story is true. At a certain point we thought maybe that was too narrow. So we abandoned that idea. But today in this episode is entirely dedicated to the Nordstrom tire story. [ Music ] >> This is really an interesting opportunity for me to talk to a guy I've known for quite some time. Robert Spector, who is a well-known author and speaker and consultant of a certain sort. And he's essentially made his living as far as I know over the last-- >> Gosh, Robert, what's it been last two or three decades? >> I'm saying 27 years. >> 27 years, okay. Talking about Nordstrom. You've written books about Nordstrom. You're not a Nordstrom employee. This is something you've done independently. You've been given some access to what we do and how we do it. And you've created a business for yourself about that. So that's all awesome. I think it's context about what we're talking about here. But just starting with the premise, the tire story is true. When I say that to you, what does that mean? >> Well, the tire story is, in fact, true. And when I give presentations, that is the number one question that people ask me. Is the tire story true? There's not even a close number two. Maybe the closest number two is, are the clothes you're wearing from Nordstrom? >> And what's your answer to that, Robert? Is there an answer, yes? >> Absolutely. >> Okay. >> But, you know, I actually make a joke about that. I say, by the way, a lot of people ask me if the clothes I'm wearing are from Nordstrom. Yes, they are. I'm going to be returning them on Monday. >> Don't do that. >> I don't know if that always gets left. But, yeah, so the tire story, when everybody initially hears it, most people think that it couldn't possibly be true. They'll say, I heard about this tire story. I mean, is there anything to that? And this has become the quintessential Nordstrom return story. >> Going back to, you know, you've been out there. You've had this book that you've written about us. It's largely, you know, it's a business book, but it talks a lot about our service ethic and this, the whole customer service culture that we've created and how things like the return policy is fundamental to that. So, in your 27 years since you've been writing books about Nordstrom and doing speaking, how many different speaking engagements do you think you've done? That Nordstrom was the subject. >> Well, I've probably done 25 or so a year. >> Oh, my gosh. And I've done it. I've spoken about Nordstrom in 27 countries. >> Oh, my gosh. >> And even people who have never set foot in a Nordstrom store know that Nordstrom has this reputation for customer service. And when I speak about that, I say, well, you know, Nordstrom doesn't advertise about, we don't, you know, we're the greatest customer service business on the planet. You don't really talk much about it, you know, do PR badly. And I say, well, if Nordstrom doesn't advertise it and doesn't publicize it, how do people know about this? And it's 100% word of mouth, which as we know is the most powerful advertising of all. And I wanted that, you mentioned, I did a book called the Nordstrom way. I've actually done four books called the Nordstrom way. So, I really call it a series of books on Nordstrom. And as I tell people, Nordstrom never borrows me. Because Nordstrom keeps on changing. And in the fact that you're the fourth generation still doing it, I think is one of the most remarkable American business stories, dollar for dollar that there is. >> So Robert, tell me the different types of companies that you talk to. You're not just talking to fashion retailers. Like, what kind of companies are you talking about service and about Nordstrom? >> Most of the groups I've spoken to again over now, 27 years have, most of them have not been in retail. I mean, I've spoken to, you know, a good number of retailers. But a lot of financial services, healthcare, real estate. I've spoken to language translation companies. I've spoken to cement companies and extruded plastic companies. But I always start out by telling them. And I started out my last Nordstrom book. This is not a book about selling shoes. You can learn how to sell shoes from this. And if it's not about selling shoes, it's again about creating that culture. So, especially when I speak to groups that are not in retail, I talk about the use of Nordstrom as metaphor. You know, if you ever Google the phrase, the Nordstrom of. >> I've done that before. >> I've done it. >> Are we just listening to the thing on the radio that there's a place that does diesel repair somewhere in King County. And their tagline is, we are the Nordstrom of diesel repair. >> I hope that's working for them. >> And, you know, there's a Nordstrom of hot tub. There's the Nordstrom of landfills. There's the Nordstrom of funeral homes. You know, satisfaction guaranteed with the Nordstrom of funeral. >> So tell me then how the tire story comes up in the context and when you're talking to people about the company. >> Well, I think it's an example of a couple of things. One is knowing above and beyond what is expected, but also solving problems. So this particular man in Fairbanks had these tires he didn't want or need or whatever. And this also leads into Nordstrom empowerment. That the manager was empowered to have the good judgment, to take back the tires. Based on the situation that he saw right in front of him. That this was the thing to do. And the whole notion of empowerment comes into communication and letting front line, not on front line people, but support people know that these are examples of going above and beyond the call of duty using your best judgment. And that's how you develop a culture. And in any culture, you pass down the culture through storytelling. >> Yeah, you know it's interesting when these examples come up, leveraging them to really describe what we mean and how people are in fact empowered. And in a lot of ways, I'll accountable for doing their part to advance our customer service legacy. Again, it goes back to is you go around the world. You've talked to different companies that this question comes up. Tell me about the tire story. It's just kind of remarkable to me that that exists out there. And it's grown to such a point of recognition that people know about it. Imagine if you wanted to create that amount of storytelling and word of mouth and goodwill, what that would cost in terms of straight up marketing campaign. >> Right, right. But the fact that it's a true story makes it so powerful. >> You know, you mentioned this idea about the culture gets perpetuated by storytelling. Do you still believe in that? Like you always have, you've seen these different companies that have built reputations. Because things have changed. There's the digital age and everything goes with that. But in terms of how companies develop cultures, do you think that storytelling and examples like this is still an important part of it? >> I think it's even more important now. Because we try and make digital as personal as possible. But I think that the physical one-on-one being in a brick and mortar store, I don't think that we're ever going to lose that because we're all social animals. We want to be in the marketplace. And you know, you can see companies that were once pure play, internet companies are now opening stores. And I think, you know, for you guys, as you get bigger and as the way of communicating with customers is different, especially whether it's the website, it's the whatever device you have to really keep that personal connection. That's the real challenge. And I know a lot of the best sales people are doing that. But I still think retail is still a people business. I don't think that's ever going to change. So, you know, that story happened a long time ago. From your perspective, do you feel like the notion of today, stuff like that could still happen, it's kind of the unbelievable that perpetuates a legacy of service and that reputation? Do you feel that spirit still alive in our company? >> I think, yes, it exists because I think, you know, you and Eric and leadership have maintained that culture, but also that attitude that we are in the customer service business. And I think by encouraging those things, that's what keeps the culture going. I know, I use the word culture as nauseam here, but I always come back to that as the bedrock, as the foundation of it all. But one other empowerment story, to me, it was very powerful. So, I was giving a talk to a financial services company. And at the break, a woman came up to me on crutches and unfortunately, her right leg had been apputated from the knee down. And she said, I have a Nordstrom story for you. She said, I would go into stores, other stores and ask, would you sell me one shoe? Because unfortunately, she needed only one shoe. And people would be, you know, a little, you know, barris. We didn't quite know it today. She said, I went to Nordstrom, asked the salesperson, would you sell me one shoe? They said, absolutely. Now, let's say it was a $700 pair of shoes. And instead of making a $700, so they made a $350 sale. She has told me that story. I've told this story literally around the world. Was that worth $350 in advertising? You bet. Yeah, we talk about that a lot. In the moment, the stuff seems painful. I mean, because you mentioned yourself, I mean, that you've got to do these things in the spirit of trying to make money for your company. And in that moment, all the thing that comes through your mind is, oh my god, we're losing money. But yeah, that's an interesting story that we would sell or shoot. That's great. I'm glad to hear that. I'm not surprised that that's happened out there. But again, that's not something that's in a rule book here. Somewhere in training. Right. But, you know, it goes back to, okay, this is the customer in front of me. These are her issues. Now, I can make her a very happy customer by doing this. And she will never forget it. And she will tell lots of people. And she told them to be, and I've told thousands and thousands of people. We're social animals. It's not just the exchange of money for goods and services. It's creating that relationship. It's that social part. The best definition of retail I've ever heard is where the economic order and the social order meet. I like that. That's as good a definition as I can think of. Yeah. And now, you know, your cousin, John Nordstrom, told me that the tire story, because I think I originally heard that story from him, that they took one of those tires and hung it up, you know, in the back, in the stock room. That has happened. It stores all of our company. If you walk into stores, stay to employ entrepreneurs. A lot of them have a tire hanging up there and say, what is your tire stories? So it's part of our creating a level of expectation. And, you know, some form of training, I suppose, and what the Nordstrom culture and the return policy and our service ethic is all about. It lives on in that story as the probably the best single vehicle I've ever been exposed to of what's possible, what it means. You have to allow people to use good judgment, because that would never be in anyone's training manual. Yeah. And by the way, when someone rolls a tire and here, you should take it back. I mean, just know whatever you consider that's even possible. For me, I've just, I've always had such a big appreciation for the impact that it's made in our company. And it's fun to talk to you, Robert, to get that perspective from the outside too, as you're talking to all these different people. So thank you for giving us your perspective. And not only just that, that story's true, but the context of what that has meant for our company in terms of the service legacy and whatever reputation we've earned with customers over the years. So thanks so much for being a part of this, Robert. Thanks a lot. All right. Take care. Thank you. All right, folks. Now for the moment you've all been waiting for, a legend literally 43 years in the making. Recorded once and for all time here on the NordyPod. The single most aspirational example of customer service throughout our company, straight from the source, untarnished by second hand, word of mouth, exaggeration, hyperbolic stories, folks, agreeably unbelievable, but entirely true, the tire story. We are so lucky today to have Craig Trounce, who now works at Alaska Airlines. And Craig is the guy that in what Craig was at 1978. I think it was 79. 79. So in 1979, in Fairbanks, Alaska, and by the way, we don't even have stores in Fairbanks, Alaska anymore, but Craig worked for us there. And the story goes that we took back a tire that customer wanted to return. Now most people find that completely unbelievable. And Craig, you need to know almost everywhere I go. This story follows us around. And someone says, well, there's no way that's true. I mean, you guys have perpetuated this myth, right? As a kind of a metaphor to talk about your service culture. I said, no, it's actually true. Yeah. I don't know if you knew my side of it, but I was kind of taken aback a few years ago. I think 2014. Because periodically, I've used this story through training sessions of my own. What is your job at Alaska Airlines? Currently, I'm now the manager of the Phoenix Contact Centers Gas Care Services. So I've used it a couple of times over the years. And one of my vendors knew the story behind it. She had had that story addressed in a training class that she attended for her company. So she went back and called our corporate offices and said, do you guys realize that your manager is the Nordstrom tire story person? So of course, they called me and they were asking me all these questions. Like, do you know anything about tire returns at Nordstrom and Fairbanks Alaska? And I was like, yeah, did that really happen? And I said, yes, was it you that did that? And I said, yes. I finally said, what is with all of these questions that happened like over 30 years ago? And they were like, do you know how popular this story is? And I was like, it is. No. She said you need to google it. And so when I googled it, I was just, I was like, wow, okay. For the most part, the things I read on Google are pretty accurate. But then, you know, there's variations as well all across from different folks, whether it was one tire or two tires, whether it was snow tires. Yeah, because it's just been kind of amazing how that thing is taken on a whole life and has been used as an illustrative example of what good judgment looks like. So Craig, if you could, could you kind of just tell us the story as it happened to you in Fairbanks 1979? So I grew up in Fairbanks from a young child and I happened to know prior to working at Nordstrom that northern commercial on that building, which was purchased by Nordstrom. So with Nordstrom acquired these businesses. And so to be clear, they were general merchandiser, right? They sold like fishing poles and tires and clothes. Yes, exactly. They sold like generators, lawn mowers, you know, different things like that. And my brother actually worked in that building for northern commercial. So when we would pick him up from work, you know, I would see the tires coming and going. I would see the lawn mowers being pushed back in from out in front. So I knew all of those things were true. Yeah. So when the gentleman came in with two tires, it was winter time. I remember that because at the time, a really popular fashion was leather downfilled coats with fur ruffs, like a parka. That might have been an Alaska special buy. I don't I don't remember that. Maybe that was just up there. I don't know. We had a round of them right at the front entrance to grab folks's attention when they first came through the door. So my station was just around the corner from that. So as he came down the stairs and I could see him carrying these tires, of course, my first reaction was, wait a minute. Well, I wanted him to just stop where he was so that nothing would get ruined. Yeah, he was conspicuous with two tires in his hands, walk up to the door for sure. Right. So definitely I came up to ask him if I could help him and share that I think he's in the wrong place. I did try to tell him that, you know, northern commercial no longer exists. And as you can see, we're a clothing retailer. We don't carry tires. And he said, no, this is the building that I bought these in. And I said, how long ago did you buy them? And he said a couple years ago. And they assured me that if they didn't work out, I could bring them back. And here they are. And so I'm like, okay, can we bring them over here? I just wanted them away from, you know, any of the shirts. So that was my first thought is to make sure and protect the merchandise. And this particular gentleman was kind of a hermit known in town. So did you know who he was when he came in? I didn't until I approached him. And then I figured out that it was Sam, the kind of hermit that all of us called him. He was a minor and a trapper and lived 50 plus miles out of town. And so he rarely came into town except for to stock up on food. Did he come in like prepared for some confrontation? I mean, was he kind of fired up? Well, I think it took him a few minutes to get his bearings to feel like something was different about the store, obviously. But the outside of the building really didn't change either than the name and the signage. So it wasn't until he walked through the door that I think he had kind of an idea of things are different. And then once I got him settled down a little bit and could talk through with him and he was going through the whole story. I was like, yes, I know that has to be true because everything he's saying is exactly what I know of that building and that store. I said, okay, let me see what I can do. And my manager was actually standing at the curtain for the backstock for men's shoes. And I could see him. And at one point he was going to walk out. But then as I started engaging with the customer, he halted and stopped and waited to see how I was going to follow through with it. And he kept kind of nodding like I was moving in the right direction. And so I figured if I was crossing any boundaries, he would step out because he was viewing the entire situation. But the other thing that's interesting, so you said by his own admission, these tires were a couple years old. I mean, that in and of itself, even if we did carry tires, a lot of reasonable people would say, well, I mean, you know, they're a couple years old. I mean, yeah, because I'm guessing he didn't ever recede or anything either. As I could just say, you know, I know I bought him this building. Yeah, I'm pretty sure he did not have a receipt. Otherwise, I would have just gone off the receipt. But I ended up calling the local firestone dealer to ask them what would be the residual value of these tires? And they they were asking me if I could measure the tread. Oh my god. And I was like, I you know, I have a tailor measuring tape. That's that's all I have. So I was trying to measure in with the tip of that. And I told him, you know, I don't think they've even ever been mounted. So the guy threw out how many do you have? I said two. And he said $25. Like per tire? Is that what it was for the two of them at that time? Tires were a lot less expensive in those days. And we actually kept those tires in the store for a little bit. And then I know that you can't just get rid of tires. They have to be recycled or brought somewhere where they can be taken care of. So I did end up taking them to firestone finally for them to at an off they recycled them or what they did. Well, Craig, you may not know this, but in lots of our stores now and over the last several years, there's a tire often nailed up kind of by the time clock or as you come into the employee entrance and it says, you know, recreate the tire story or what's your tire story or make a tire story today. The whole legend around what that means in terms of the spirit of what wouldn't we do to take care of a customer? It's just been remarkable. The life that this thing has taken on. But do you remember it being a big deal? I got you did it that it was kind of a story. And did you get congratulated for it? Or was it just another day at work and like no big deal? I did get congratulated from my manager who was going to come out and approach the situation and then realize that I was completely in control of it and that I was moving in the right direction. So he wanted to just hang back and that was really the extent of it. And it wasn't until like 2014 that I was even aware that the story had been utilized through so many different companies as you know the customer service legend story. So yeah, I kind of want to fast forward to that because I've been around gosh, I was selling shoes in 1978 here in Seattle and before that working the stockroom, what have you and it felt like that story was always part of our lore as far as I can remember. The idea that this has become a legendary story that's been perpetuated over like decades and generations. And in the moment and at that time, it wasn't necessarily considered a remarkable or unusual thing. Are you just doing your job? Did you think you know nice job? Okay. I mean as a leader, I want to always recognize my folks and of course I think we all try to stay on top of that when you have folks that do incredible things. You don't want to have them feel like oh it's just another day but I didn't feel that way. You know, I was young at the time too. So I think the important thing for me at that moment was that okay, good. I guess I did an okay thing. I'm not going to be in trouble. Yeah, you didn't okay thing Craig. You're not in trouble. So you didn't get a call from my dad or like John Nordstrom or something like say nice job Craig nothing like that. Well, look at they owe you a call. They owe you some things. There's no doubt about it. Now, the other thing I want to ask you though is and you mentioned a little bit but how did it help inform your ideas about service and you went on to be a manager and what have you. How did how did that help inform the way that you led and you talked about things like judgment and service. I always hold my hand to my heart and tell folks if you are listening to what you're feeling right here that is the right decision or the situation in taking care of your customer because you have to trust your instincts. You have to trust the customer and you have to listen. You know, I didn't even dawn on me that it wasn't the right thing to do. Yeah, and again, this story so illustrative of what our whole service proposition is always been all about and again using your judgment and to your point about listening to customers. I mean, if the customer feels like they've got a legitimate issue like that then that's it's a legitimate issue. And I guess the judgment comes in is is someone knowingly trying to rip us off or pull some kind of scam. But to your point, if you actually listen like you did, you know, it sounds like you were able to make that decision pretty quickly that this was this was for reals on the up and up and either we're going to do something to help them or not. And at the end of the day, $25, you know, I was not going to make or break our company. But if you think about what that does in terms of gaining a customer's trust or loyalty or what have you or lifetime value of the customer, I mean, it's it's invaluable. Now, I'm not sure if we ever got the Hermit's business. Have you ever bought anything else from those that are not? But it definitely didn't pay off in terms of the reputational advantages as afforded as over the years and how to set the bar of what actually is possible when you talk about taking care of customers. It's funny that you mentioned that because I want to believe that that crossed my mind. You know, with building his loyalty and his respect and his trust with us create future customer for life. So Craig, how does it make you feel now that you've been able to recount the story and validate that it's all true and kind of understand and appreciate the amount of mileage we've gotten out of this story and what it's done to help create a standard in terms of what good service looks like in the story. And then also the legend that lives out there with customers that this is what Nordstrom is about. I mean, how does it make you feel to know that something you did really just authentically and in the moment has had this life for over 40 years that has grown in such a way that the impact has just been really quite remarkable. Yeah, a great question, Pete. I love Nordstrom. So I'm thrilled that it has brought a great amount of energy to the company. I am very reserved. So again, for me, I do what I do to take care of folks and because I feel it's the right thing, you know, my grandmother from Germany had a saying that how you holler in the woods is how it echoes back and I've always carried that with me throughout my life. And I think there's so many people that are so quick to make judgment on folks. And when you talk about is the customer telling us the truth? Are they taking advantage of us? You know, I share with my team that there are those customers. We know that. But I truly believe that the percentage of them is very small in the number of customers that we have the pleasure of providing service for. And therefore, the majority of them we want to make sure we're taking care of and not everyone shares everything about their situation. You don't know if they've just had a death in their family or they just had this or they just had that. So I just always trust my instinct, trust the customer and want to do whatever is empowered within our company to take care of them. Okay, you know, that your explanation about why you did it in the moment and why it's just good business to always think about it that way. I mean, literally what you said there is the kind of stuff I grew up hearing from my dad and his cousins, you know, stuff around the dinner table talking about why we do these different things or when I used to get a ride to and from work with my dad when I was a teenager. And I would say, oh gosh, you know, this crazy thing happened or this customer was mean or something. And he would always put it back into perspective by giving us that conversation about, hey, look at it, you know, we are well served to listen to people and to do right by them because the large, large majority of people are honest with good intentions. And if we follow that, it's going to work itself out over time. And if I heard that once, I heard that a hundred times growing up. So I mean, just listening to you talk about it, it's as if I was listening to my dad talk about it. So that's great. I really appreciate it Craig. And I didn't start by doing this, but I should, I want to thank you for doing that. I mean, if you think about it and the kind of visibility that this story has had and how it's endured and how many people know about it and talk about it, what that story is done for our company in terms of cementing this ethos around service, I can't begin to tell you how big of an impact it's had into the positive. And it started with you Craig. And I mean, I'm just so glad that I've been able to have this conversation with you today and get a chance to meet you. You're a good guy, you're a humble guy. And it makes me feel all the better about the story and what it's all about. So thank you so much Craig. Absolutely. It's been a pleasure. Thank you. [Music] Well, there you have it folks. The tire story is indeed true. And you know, it's pretty much the way I'd always heard it. Mine is some of the more specific details, but to actually just get the chance to talk with Craig after all this time. And here is first hand account of this story that's played such an important role in strengthening our whole service culture. It was just incredible. And I mean, even though the tire stories undoubtedly the most famous story we have, it really is just one drop in a sea of exceptional service stories about our employees that I hear on a regular basis. The incredible people that work for us day in and day out on the floor interacting with customers are really the backbone of our entire company. So I'm really glad that we have a platform now to broadcast stories like these. So anyway, before we wrap up the show, we have one more story that happened fairly recently that we just have to share. So you know how this whole episode we've been talking about how unbelievable and unique the tire story is? Well, you're really not going to believe this, but it's actually just become a little less rare. [Music] So I'm happy to have Carmine Matera here on the show now. Now, Carmine is the store manager for us at the Americana in Glendale, California. Carmine, how you doing? I'd be great. How are you? Well, I'm pretty good. So you've been around for over 30 years. You've seen a lot of stuff happen. I want to start by asking you what is the one story you think that's been out there in our company that just gets everyone completely focused on what good service means? The tire story. When did you first share the tire story? Well, about 20, 25 years ago, through recognition meetings, through your dad and Mr. Bruce. And when you think about that story, it feels like such a random one off that could nothing like that could ever really happen again. Now, it is the spirit of intent that's led to all kinds of great heroic things we've tried to do to help customers. But literally returning a pair of tires as far as I know has not happened since 1978 or '79 in Fairbanks, Alaska. So I want you to talk about what happened in your store recently. That is a continuation and a reaffirmation of the tire story. Yeah. So one night while I was eating dinner, I get a text message from my manager in charge, Jonathan. So he sends me a picture of a tire and he said, "It happened again." And so now here I am looking at the picture and like, "What can you tell me more? What happened?" What happened again? So this entire time that I'm waiting for him to answer me back to get more details. My mind was working for the next day like, "What am I have to deal with tomorrow? I'm sure I have a customer to call. What the heck is the story here, right?" So he finally called me. And so he tells me the story that on track delivered a tire to a customer. Okay, so on track is a third-party delivery service that does like the last mile. So if they deliver stuff to people's homes. Correct. Yeah, like GPS, that ends. Right. And then the customer had ordered a baby blanket. A baby blanket. Yeah. And somehow this delivery service gave them tires. So now here you have a customer walking through the Americana, which is a pretty busy center, you know, with a tire coming into most of them. People looking at her. She felt a little bit embarrassed. Yeah, I've been to Americana and that must have been pretty awkward lugging a tire to a big shopping mall like that. Okay, so picking you up from there, we also have with us Mari Caron, who works in the customer experience department at our Americana store. Mari, thanks for joining us. Hello, Mr. Pete. So give me a little background. So you're the person that actually took this tire back. Yes, sir. So Mari, had you ever heard of the tire story before? Did you know anything about the legend of the tire story? When I got hired and the new hiring event, I heard the tire story. So I always have it in my mind as our leaders say, we need to take care of the customers, always make them happy. Wow. So you, I'm sure you've seen a lot of returns, a lot of things come and go. Did you ever think you would actually get something like a tire coming back? Were you surprised when that happened? I was also surprised and excited at the same time. Is it, wow, we're going back in time. It's really happening. Maybe you can describe for people like, what were the circumstances that created this situation for the customer? So when the customer approached, I asked her, what did you order? And she said, it was a baby blanket. And I asked her, well, how did the tire arrive? She said, no packaging, but the shipping slip was on the tire. So they delivered it to me. So her shipping invoice or shipping receipt was from Nordstrom because I'm trying to think, why did she come to Nordstrom? But because our name was on this, the shipping receipt was from Nordstrom. Yes. The packaging slip was taped onto the tire. So she said she called.com and they told her to go into the store. So she came into Nordstrom to process the return. So you credit her for the amount of the baby blanket. And then we kept the tire. Is that what happened? We kept the tire and I called the manager and charge for the night. I said, you will not believe what happened. And he said, what? I had a tire return. He said, no, you're kidding me. I said, no, seriously. So he rushed me down and he took it and he goes, wow, it really happened here in Americana. Is it a car tire or a bike tire? What is it? It looks like a spare tire. To a car. It's a small, yes, small tire. So Carmine, what did we end up doing with the tire? Did we call on track or something? What happened then? Physically, I have the tire ear in my store. So with the store. They didn't want it back. The on track people, we didn't send them the tire back. They never asked for it. So it's still in my store. I was waiting to see who belongs to chip it out again. I know I'm so okay, how have you used that experience to reinforce the spirit of intent you're trying to get across around customer service? You said you kept the tire. So what have you done with it? We use in how as telling the story to employees and reminding everyone that we need to say yes, that they care the customer to stop, listen to each situation is different. Even today with my new hires, I shared the story with them. So it just keeps that culture going. So I'm proud of Mari just for taking the initiative to take care of the customer after she listened to the customer's story and making her feel good because that's what we should do. Yeah, you know what's amazing about that. You talked about the manager in charge called to look what we did. They didn't call you to ask, should we do this or what the heck do we do? They took it upon themselves. They used good judgment. They took care of it and then they said, hey, look what we did. That's pretty great. I mean, that's our system really at work to your point people using their judgment. And so Mari, you're now part of this amazing legacy that has continued on. So we're going to tell your story. You're too, Mari is a way of saying don't think this could never happen to you. I'm so impressed by the way that you took that as an example of how we just take care of customers and that you did not hesitate that you just took it back. Mari, I got to tell you, I'm so impressed you did that. And I love it that you found a way to make customers happy and not even flinch and take it back. That is amazing. Mari, thanks so much and thanks for being on the podcast. Thank you, sir. I really enjoyed this. This is so exciting. Thank you. Hey, Carmen, you're a good guy for taking the time to share the story with us until your store and everybody there, thank you for keeping the legend alive. We'll try to make a positive example out of their efforts as well. Thank you Pete for having me as a pleasure. All right, folks, that's the show. Can you believe Nordstrom Naha's not one, but two tire stories? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the show. This was a really fun one for us. If you like what you're hearing, please subscribe to the Nordie pod wherever you get your podcasts. And please take a minute to give us a like, a share or review so other people can find this thing too. Because you know, Nate here, who is our production and editing guy and my buddy Sam was our advisor. I keep asking how we can grow the Nordie pod so it can reach more people. And this is how it's done, folks. That's what they tell me that we got to get you our true loyal listeners to share it out and talk your friends about it. So please do that for us. If you want more information about the show, head to Nordstrom.com/NordiePodcast where you can listen to all the episodes, see upcoming guests and learn about how to get involved. We really do want to hear about your experience with Nordstrom. So if you have a story about how you receive great service or even bad service, send us an email to [email protected]. You can also give us a call and leave a voice mail. And you might just hear your voice on a future episode of the show. That number is 206-594-0526. So don't be shy, drop us a line and be part of the Nordie pod. And make sure to tune in next time when we take a special in-depth look at a recent store opening featuring one of our new brand partners, ASOS. It's a moment in history for us, right? For ASOS, we've never had a physical presence anywhere in the world. It's testament to how much we value the partnership that we did that and with you guys. And it was like to see a customer shopping asus design and a physical environment was like super exciting, super interesting, really like unique moment for us. Opening this store was a fun and interesting experience for all of us. Because up until now, the ASOS brand has only been sold exclusively online. They're also a UK-based company, so still relatively unknown in America. And they're entirely focused on a 20-something customer. So I think you're really going to enjoy listening in on some of the more unique challenges we face while launching a store like we've never done before. So join us next time on the Nordie pod.