Editor’s note: A big Thank You goes to Steve Jacobs, Lead Customer Service Rep, for a great idea and for taking time to share it!
Steve Jacobs joined WOW! in February 2008.
While working at our Taylor office one day, I noticed a bucket filling up with used batteries from remote controls customers had returned, to swap for a new unit due to an issue with the old one. I thought to myself, “Man, it can’t be that great to be a battery. You’re either working or you’re dead.” Personally, I’d much rather be working than spending the rest of my days sitting in a bucket waiting to go to that little battery heaven in the sky. Light bulb! WOW should test these batteries and let them live out their glory years doing what they were meant to do: powering a remote control unit so customers could get the most out of their WOW cable services!
I contacted our Warehouse to see if they could find us a battery tester for AA batteries. A few days and $12.99 later, a battery tester appeared on the desk. My coworkers and I got to work testing the life left in each battery in between assisting customers at the front counter in both the Taylor and Madison Heights offices. It took us a few days to test the backlog of batteries that had been piling up to be recycled, and come to find out over 90% of those batteries still had life! A LOT of life to be exact. A vast majority of the batteries in that bucket had better than 80% of meaasurable life remaining.
We find that many of our customers are appreciative, and even surprised, that we give them batteries too when they swap out a remote. It’s one of those little WOW! moments. This is a win/win/win/win situation for customers and for the company:
Win # 1: Customers get batteries that would have wasted useful life away in a cold, dark bucket. �
Win # 2: Batteries with a charge around 50% or so are donated to local organizations. So far in Michigan we have donated to Toys for Tots and The Judson Center, which is a youth assistance agency.
Win # 3: We’re going green! By reissuing these batteries, it cuts down on the amount of new batteries sent out into the world.
Win # 4: Profit Sharing Plan! Each case we test as good batteries saves us about $50. So far, in just 2 months we have almost 15 cases, or $750!
We took a current process, revamped it and found a way to serve our customers and our community all while saving the company money. Talk about the WOW! Way!!
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