Customer Satisfaction: Amazon and Yellow Freight System

Amazon and Yellow Freight System are two completely different companies in two completely separate industries. Amazon is a web-based company that sells a large variety of items at great prices with fast delivery. On the other hand, Yellow Freight System is a transportation company that prides itself on giving the customer exactly what it wants. Many people would say these two companies have nothing in common. My opinion would be much different by saying these two companies have found the secret to success: customer satisfaction. They have used customer insights to find out exactly what customers want and then have done everything in their power to give it to them.
Both of these successful and innovative companies have realized the importance of learning what the customers want and how they feel at any given time about their company. For Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, he fully relies on quantitative data to make decisions rather than any opinion or judgment calls. His philosophy is to use data to help make the best decisions; companies should “do the math and figure out the right answer.” (Vogelstein) Very similar to Bezos’ philosophy is that of Bill Zollars’, the CEO of Yellow Freight System, in which the company has a new focus on its customers. In order to find out what the customers are thinking, Yellow surveys 600 customers a month. Yellow is so focused on becoming the best service for its customers that it “strives to be as fastidious about service as Nordstrom, Starbucks, and FedEx.” (Salter) They want to take customer service to a higher level than any other freight transportation company has before.
Advanced technology is the main reason both of these companies have been able to succeed. Technology for both Amazon and Yellow Freight has led to greater efficiencies in operations that give them great competitive advantage over other companies in their industries. Yellow has equipped each employee with a wireless mobile data terminal that allows them to be much more efficient and speedy in their everyday tasks. Amazon, on the other hand, has used technology to create completely computerized warehouse systems that have the capability to also send information directly to employees about what item to get off the shelf and in what order to obtain efficiency. Both companies also stated in each article that technology has allowed their employees to make decisions themselves rather than waiting for an answer from supervisors which can be time consuming. Amazon even has an award called the “Just Do It” that encourages employees to do something without their boss’s permission to enable independent thinking.
By comparing these two companies, I have found that they both have been successful in using customer insights to transform their companies from average into highly technological companies concerned mainly with providing the greatest amount of customer satisfaction. In my opinion, companies will no longer be able to survive without a full emphasis on discovering and providing customers with their wants and needs. If your company does not do their research to discover these important customer insights, they will not survive because another company will come along and give the customer everything they need and providing them with a great customer experience. After all, customer experience is what brings customers back. Think about it, when is the last time you recommended a restaurant to a friend where you had a bad service experience? What about a restaurant where you had a wonderful experience? Overall, I think companies are starting to understand the importance of customer satisfaction exactly like Amazon and Yellow Freight System did.
Sources:
Salter, Chuck. "Fresh Start 2002: On the Road Again." Fast Company Jan. 2002. 9
Sept. 2007 .
Vogelstein, Fred. "Mighty Amazon." Fortune 26 May 2003. 9 Sept. 2007
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