Speech for Canadian Automobile Association annual meeting

I notice a number of our friends from AAA have joined us today, and for their benefit, I'd like to begin with an anecdote they might recognize.

During the Civil War, it came time to dedicate a cemetery in Pennsylvania.

Two people spoke: the state governor and the president of the United States.

The governor droned on for two hours.

The president, on the other hand, spoke for only two minutes.

In fact, he was up and down so fast that the official photographer couldn't get his equipment together in time.

Yet today, the Gettysburg Address we remember isn't the governor's, but President Lincoln's.

You will, I hope, be delighted to hear that I intend to emulate Lincoln instead of the governor!

So it is with great pleasure that I welcome you all to London and to the eightieth annual general meeting of the Canadian Automobile Association.

Given what a brutally cold winter it was, no doubt the annual general meeting is one rite of summer you've been looking forward to.

I know that the January cold snap was difficult for many of us, but we can be proud that CAA pulled through, in what were exceptionally trying times.

That resilience has always been a trademark of CAA - a tradition, if you will - but this past winter, many of our clubs must have thanked their lucky stars for the improved dispatching systems many of them have installed.

It is this mixing of tradition with technology that - in a roundabout way - brings me to the theme of this year's conference.

Our theme this year - tradition and tomorrow - is one that indicates transition.

It indicates a careful meeting of the best of the old with the demands of the new.

It indicates, in other words, an organization with a proud past and a promising future.

Throughout the past year, we have been reconciling tradition and tomorrow through our strategic plan, an ambitious restructuring of our association that is enabling us to better seize the many opportunities that are within our grasp.

A year ago, Bill Selby, stood before you in Regina and compared our strategic plan to a triptik for what he called a very long and important journey.

He said: just as a Triptik serves little purpose until the ignition key is turned, our strategic planning process takes on true meaning when we begin to act on it.

So now, a year later, we need to ask ourselves how far along we've come.

The answer, as it happens, is that we've come quite far indeed.

Our three new committees are up and running, our new structure of governance is in place, and we're already beginning to reap the benefits of a speedier decision-making process.

Let me give you an example.

The Motoring Services Conference saw the need to extend the warranties offered under approved auto repair service.

So, the staff at national office developed a proposal which was taken to the national program and strategies committee.

The committee approved it and sent it to the board.

But the remarkable part of it all is this.

That whole process took just a couple of months: the Motoring Services Conference made a recommendation, national office filled in the details, the national program and strategies committee came to a conclusion, and the board will make a decision.

That's the kind of responsiveness that will keep us afloat and prosperous in this fast-changing world.

Our competitors aren't showing us any mercy, that's for sure.

It seems like every time you turn around, someone new is offering emergency roadside services.

At this rate, we may soon be threatened by McERS and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Roadside Service!

Happily, though, we have advantages that will always give us a leg up on the other guys.

In fact, we have thirty-seven hundred advantages, because that's how many people we have working for us from coast to coast.

They are good people, drawn from the communities in which we have our hundred and thirty one locations.

Those people represent our roots into the community, and they are a real advantage when some of our competitors are little more than a 1-800 number.

This reminds me of something I heard from one of the staff at national office.

He tells me that in Ottawa, two of our competitors use a man who only answers emergency roadside service calls in the winter.

But that doesn't mean he's idle in the summer.

Far from it.

He takes out his ERS equipment, drops in a few bags full of buns and turns his operation into a chip-wagon.

You know, on second thought, perhaps I shouldn't have been so glib about McERS!

Stories like this really make you appreciate the quality services our thirty-seven hundred people provide.

That service is getting better, too.

Our clubs are committed to nothing less than total member satisfaction.

We are trying harder than ever to see CAA from a member's point of view.

After all, I'm sure we've all had the experience of seeing something every day but never really noticing it until somebody pointed it out to us.

That's where our market research comes in.

More than ever, CAA is asking our members what they think of our services -- both informally at the one-on-one level, and scientifically through polling.

We are asking our members what they think of group membership, a la carte, and there's going to be more to come.

We have also asked them about the roadside assistance programs offered by car manufacturers, and you'll be hearing more about those results on Wednesday morning.

But to say that we have good staff, quality service and market research doesn't mean that it's all we need to beat the competition.
 

Let's not kid ourselves - our competitors probably have good people, too.
 

There is a tendency in the vague world of corporate communications to deny you have any problems - to say that all you have are challenges.
 

In my mind, challenges are things you can rise to or not.
 

A problem, on the other hand, must be faced and dealt with.
 

Ignoring a problem doesn't make it go away.
 

Papering a problem over with a lot of pretty talk doesn't blunt its sting.
 

And everybody has problems of one kind or another - just take a peek at your local politician.
 

So, first, what is our problem, and second, what are we going to do about it?
 

Our problem is that more and more cars are coming with their own roadside assistance programs, more banks are offering competing services, and - furthermore - all of us are after the same membership.
 

Of course, those are the same problems our competitors have, except in their case they also have to deal with us.
 

We have three point seven million members, a much greater negotiating clout and vast - unexplored - potential.
 

All things being equal, I'd hate to be in their shoes, wouldn't you?
 

Now, to say there is a problem isn't to say that it can't be solved.
 

Far from it.
 

We've got quite a few aces up our sleeve, in fact.
 

Take Club Auto.
 

As a subsidiary of CAA, Club Auto bids to supply the roadside assistance programs being offered by the car manufacturers.
 

It has only been around for a year, but already it has a third of the auto manufacturing market - club auto clients include Ford, Hyundai, Suzuki, and a number of others.
 

You'll be hearing more about club auto at the presentation on Wednesday, which I think you will all enjoy.
 

Club Auto isn't the only ace we're holding, though.
 

We have a whole range of other benefits that you can't get without a CAA membership card.
 

Walk into our travel centres and you'll see what I mean -fee-free traveller's cheques, Triptiks, Tourbooks, free passport photos, special rates on fares - the travel side of CAA is an important lure for potential members.
 

Then there is Show Your Card & Save, and I want to dwell on this a little because survey data in the United States shows that a third of members are more likely to renew membership if they know about Show Your Card & Save.
 

It's not hard to see why: take a potential member aside and tell him that just by showing his card, he can get the best discount available from a number of hotel chains, Hertz, Ryder, Ziebart TidyCar, two hundred tourist attractions throughout North America and a wide, wide range of local businesses.
 

Tell him that and mention that a CAA membership can pay for itself through discounts alone, and you have yourself another member.
 

And then there is the benefit of ERS itself - I'd line up a CAA member's benefits against a car manufacturer's program any day.
 

And for the sake of a fair contest, I'll even leave out CAA Plus.
 

So with all these aces, you'll understand what I mean when I say we have a good hand.
 

Mind you, it used to be that we could take the pot with a pair of twos, but now we need those aces!
 

The easy dominance we've always had in the auto club market is going to have to be hard-fought.
 

That's okay - we're a bunch of hard fighters.
 

We have a more nimble governing structure, we have a quality product and we have a renewed dedication to total satisfaction.
 

And don't forget those thirty-seven hundred advantages I was telling you about before.
 

Put that way, we have a pretty impressive set of cards, don't we?
 

A little ways back, I asked, how do we deal with this problem.
 

Let me give you another answer.
 

With solutions.
 

There is no problem we face that can't be solved by the thirty-seven hundred of us under the CAA banner.
 

All it takes is a little creative thinking and a lot of hard work.
 

There are solutions out there, ladies and gentlemen.
 

Together, we're going to find them.
 

Now, before I step down, I'd like to take just another moment of your time to thank our hosts.
 

When it comes to solving problems, CAA Midwestern are true champions - organizing an annual general meeting is no easy feat, and the people here have done a terrific job.
 

You all deserve our thanks, and on behalf of all of us, I'd like to take the liberty of extending them - well-done!
 

We are about to have ourselves a productive, solution-filled four days, and I look forward to talking to many of you about what lies ahead for us.
 

Until then, good day, and thank you.