Customers Shops Want Coming Through Their Doors

We have customers who we will absolutely move heaven and earth to please, we have other customers who are simply faceless and yes, we have other customers we wish would go somewhere else. Which one are you?

Some customers want to know what might be wrong before they bring their car in. So they call Uncle Ben from Texas. He says you have a bad fuel pump. It is a bad idea to tell the shop how to fix your car. If they fix what your Uncle Ben says is wrong and that repair doesn’t fix the problem, you will still be expected to pay the bill.

Here’s what’s better. Write down all the symptoms, try and relate each issue to fast or slow, cold or hot, a/c on or off, fuel tank full or empty or accelerating, coasting or decelerating.  Write down as much as you can. You can never give us too much information.

Put your name and all of your contact phone numbers on this paper. Make a copy, give one to the service writer, and tape the other to the rearview mirror. That way you can talk directly to the tech that will be working on your car. You can tell the tech, “If you need more information, please call me at 555-555-1234, I will be very happy to answer any question you may have.”

Most of our customers aspire to be like Mrs. Caster. Mrs. Caster owns an older Camero and she is very involved in the repair of her car. She asks lots of questions, she give us symptoms and asks what the charge will be to diagnose her issues.  She reminds us to call her with an estimate and she asks for a ride home.

When we call Mrs. Caster with an estimate, she asks us to slowly go over each line item of the parts and labor, she asks up what the “not to exceed” total will be. Then she says she will call us back. Within a few minutes, Mrs. Caster will call back and authorize all of the work or some of the work. If it is just some of the work, she insists we write down all the other repairs she needs with dollar figures in the remarks section of her repair order so she doesn’t forget what she still needs to budget for.

Yep, we’ve screwed up Mrs. Caster’s car, but she never yelled at us. She always pays her bill and never authorizes the work, then wants to renegotiate the final figure at the front counter at 5pm. Mrs. Caster brings us donuts, food, cookies twice or three times a year. She always sends us a Christmas card. Everything she says and does, shows us and everyone else around she truly loves, respects and trusts us.

Now guess who gets free work, who gets taken home first, who gets small things fixed for free. Guess who never, ever, gets a repair bill one penny over her estimate.

If you have a repair shop you love, stay there and tell your friends. If you are new in the area or looking for a good repair shop go to NASCAR.com and click on the auto service tab. Enter your zip code for a list of good parts stores and repair shops near you.

This article written by Mark Salem, downloaded from the Car Care Council

http://www.carcaresupplement.com/word/ss2005/nascar4.doc