I installed a
K&N Engineering air filter in the car the other day and found a bold and interesting card in the box; it was the
K&N Consumer Protection Pledge. Reading it left me both amused and inspired. The K&N company has long fascinated me for manufacturing something so simple - car air filters - yet building their product and brand to become known among auto enthusiasts everywhere as the makers of
the world's best air filter.
The Consumer Protection Pledge read,
The installation of reusable products may be discouraged by some service providers who are misinformed ... If your service provider claims your K&N air filter should be removed, replaced or is harmful to your engine in any way, please call immediately and let us talk to the service provider.
I don't think that I've ever read such a bold statement of customer support from any company. All I did was buy a $50 air filter for my car. It came with a pledge that if the kids at Jiffy Lube started pushing to replace the filter during an oil change, I wouldn't have to deal with them -
K&N would.
The pledge read on,
Your K&N replacement air filter or intake system is backed by one of the industry's best warranties. We also pledge you will never be taken advantage of by a service provider denying a warranty repair based on the presence of The World's Best Air Filter.
We will solve the problem so you don't have to.
The last sentence said it all;
We will solve the problem ...
Much of good business and good customer service is about solving the problem. The K&N company built their business on making the world's best air filter, solving customer problems of wanting easy ways to get more power from their cars and the costs of replacing disposable filters. Then they found another problem to solve, a customer service problem, and they created a pledge and a phone number as the solution.
When I created Lens Lenders in 2007, I also thought of the problems that a lens rental service could solve. I was inspired by Ziplens in the USA. There was nothing like it in Canada. A great product or great product alone is not enough to be a successful business. It has to be valuable and wanted by potential customers. I tried to create Lens Lenders with that in mind; to be a provider of a solution to a problem. The simpler the solution, the better.
Photographers face photographic challenges that different lenses can help overcome. But owning the right lens for every situation would be impossible for most photographers. Lens Lenders attempts to solve this problem by providing rentals through the mail across Canada. Expensive lenses don't have to be exclusive to full-time professionals or wealthy hobbyists or people who live in large cities with local rental options. Trying a lens before investing in buying one also becomes a possibility and is something several of our customers have done.