Last week I chronicled my recent purchase of a 2003 Subaru Forrester. There was only one problem with the car. The stereo was eleven years old and lacked any ability to connect my phone. How did we survive a decade ago?
As a faithful Amazon customer, I of course went to Amazon to find just the right car stereo with all of the modern bells and whistles. Easy enough right? Intent on installing this stereo myself, I did a bit of research to find what I would need. I learned that I needed a wiring harness to adapt the stereo to the preexisting wiring in the car. I had no problem ordering that as well from Amazon.
In the couple days while I waited for my purchase to arrive, Aaron, a colleague of mine approached me with an an awesome customer service story. He proceeded to tell me about how he had ordered a car stereo from Crutchfield and they sent him a really nice, handwritten thank you note for shopping with them. I think we’ve established that thank you notes are a great idea. Click here if you want more proof of that.
As we discussed his experience with Crutchfield further, Aaron told me more about how their stereo-buying process goes. Crutchfield first asks for the car model in which you are planning to install the stereo, and then proceeds to suggest all of the parts you will need in order to complete the job. They even include a step-by-step guide showing you how to install it!
Having already ordered the stereo from Amazon, it was too late to go with Crutchfield. I instead opted to fumble around and try to figure out the installation on my own with YouTube and forums being moderately helpful. After two installations that resulted in the AM radio not working and a few blown fuses, I finally obtained the Crutchfield guide, which of course answered all of my questions.
It’s one thing to sell a product to a customer. It’s an entirely different thing to anticipate the needs of the customer and tell them everything they will need in order to do the job right. By suggesting all of the components needed to install my stereo, Crutchfield does just that. They become a one stop shop for car stereo installation and avoid the risk of the customer purchasing certain components elsewhere. This process so impressed one of their customers that they told me about it!
This doesn’t reduce my admiration for Amazon, however I will certainly give Crutchfield a fair shot at my business next time I am in the market for electronics.
