A Customer Service and Empowerment Solution to Replicate

Once the associate realized the store didn't stock the model that the shopper requested, he called the store's Toro representative and asked if it could ship that model to the store. It was that simple. A few days later, the customer had the lawnmower he wanted.

Here's another very important point to that story: The associate didn't have to get his manager's approval. He was empowered to say "Yes" to the customer. He was given permission to find a solution. What's even more interesting is that the associate is required to get the manager's approval to say "No." That's the opposite of what most companies do.