Joe McIntire, chief product officer for Vander Haag’s, takes parts orders on Snapchat.
“Everyone wants to communicate differently,” he says. Some customers send online chats, some email, some text, some call, some speak Spanish.
Vander Haag’s is there for all of them. And that’s why company is a Distributor of the Year finalist for the third time.
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“We’re all trying to take care of the customer,” McIntire says of the company’s nearly 400 employees at 11 locations across the midsection of the country. “We’ll figure out how to get the customer the part he needs, how he needs.”
Vander Haag's, a three-time Distributor of the Year finalist, says it's a bumper-to-taillight trucks parts operation.Vander Haag's
Vander Haag’s is a bumper-to-taillight trucks parts operations. It also offers service and body work.
“Anything you can think of, we can customize a truck to be,” McIntire says.
The niche, though, is in its used parts selection. Vander Haag’s has seven salvage yards, some of them stretching close to 100 acres. It ships parts from those yards nationwide and sells from storefronts. When a customer reaches out — on Snapchat or otherwise — McIntire’s team can offer them a new, remanufactured or used part, depending on the customer’s need and budget. They can also ship a part via a route truck to the nearest location to the customer or right to their doorstep. Customers can also shop online and use a web chat feature to make sure the part they’re ordering is really the one they need.
Powering the versatility of the company’s customer service are Vander Haag’s employees.
Joe McIntire says Vander Haag's employees are 'second to none.'Vander Haag's
“Our people are second-to-none,” McIntire says. “Every single one of our employees comes to work every day excited to take care of our customers.”
The enthusiasm stems from Vander Haag’s unique workplace culture, McIntire says. It’s something the company works diligently at, even as it grows. The company spends considerable time, energy and resources to make sure each employee feels valued and part of a family.
“We all have days where we don’t want to go to work,” he says. “The culture makes up a lot of the success with our people. I like to say we’re family owned still, and it’s a family atmosphere.”
Including time for each employee to reset. Vander Haag’s gives employees season tickets to sporting events, hunting and fishing trips, race trips, and maintains a network of vacation properties employees can use for a family trip. At Christmas, the company throws an on-location party and brings everyone in for a weekend of fun. Even with more than 360 employees, every child still gets a Christmas present.
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“We want people to like where they work and enjoy coming to work and talking about it,” he says, adding part of Vander Haag’s mission is to provide a better life for employees, their families and their communities.
Culture makes sure Vander Haag’s doesn’t have to look hard when it comes to filling a seat. McIntire says multiple generations of families work for Vander Haag’s, and the company also offers referral bonuses, including a cash option, extra vacation days or tool incentives.
“When you make it a place people want to work, they tell their friends and family about it,” he says.
Winning Distributor of the Year would recognize Vander Haag’s employees’ efforts, he says.
“It would mean a lot for our employees and our company. It’s the icing on the cake for all the hard work they put in every single day,” he says.
Coming full circle, culture also means the customer is taken care of just as well as the employees are. Typically, McIntire says, when a customer reaches out, they’re having a bad day. “They’re in a spot where they’re not making money,” he says. “You have to take care of that.”
Vander Haag’s employees are trained to identify the customer’s needs and take care of them. Each customer interaction is also documented in the company’s CRM, specifically designed in-house, so every employee knows how the customer operates and how they prefer to receive information.
This enables them to leverage Vander Haag’s network to best meet customer needs. For instance, a customer from Missouri broke down in Kentucky. Vander Haag’s was able to source the engine he needed and sent it on the route truck to the nearest location. Those are the kinds of experiences customers tell other people about, growing the business organically, both in each location’s local markets and nationwide.
“We’re not satisfied,” McIntire says. “We’re not going to settle. We’ve got 11 locations and we’re not good with that.”
The 2024 Distributor of the Year program is sponsored by Commercial Vehicle Solutions Network (CVSN), Cummins-Meritor, High Bar Brands, Interstate Billing Service and Karmak. The Distributor of the Year Award will be presented in January at Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week (HDAW). For more on our 2024 award finalists, check back in the coming days or go to our program website.
