Reference no: EM133459996

Employees Provide Upward Communication at Cabela's, "World's Foremost Outfitter"

Unless you fish, hunt, shoot, camp, or cave, you may not know Cabela's, the largest mail order, Internet, and retail outdoor outfitter in the world. Established in 1961 as a specialty cataloger selling fly fishing lures, the company grew rapidly because of its philosophy that the customer was number 1 and that employees were critical to realizing that philosophy. Because the company was a catalog retailer for the first 30 years of its existence, it relied heavily on employees who were knowledgeable about the outdoors to describe products to consumers.

Its incredibly large (245,000 items) and varied (hunting, archery, shooting, optics, camping, boating, fishing) product mix make Cabela's the ultimate source for outdoor-focused customer needs and wants, but its many items make it difficult to match customers with products. From this challenge was born a novel and creative solution, one that made employees as happy as it made customers. The company decided to loan products to employees so they could learn what the products were like by using them. The extensive loaner program allows employees, who are typically outdoor enthusiasts themselves, to borrow the products for a month and learn to ask the same questions customers would ask. Employees then become experts both on products and on experiences that customers will have using them.

After using the product, the employee returns and teaches everyone else about the product-both by giving a talk to others and by filling out a form about the product's pros and cons. This information becomes part of a giant product database, called "Item notes," that allows easy access to employees, even call center reps, so that customer questions-even the most esoteric ones-can be answered quickly and accurately. The company also invites a small number of knowledgeable customers to borrow products and contribute information as well.

The upward communication extends to the company's cofounder, Jim Cabela, who intercepts and reads all customer comments as they come in before routing them to the appropriate employee. He likes to keep an eye on what customers want to know, so that he can be sure his employees are staying informed.