It’s Your Business
- Subject: Differentiating your shop through customer service
- Essential Reading: Shop Owner, Center Manager
- Author: Terry Greenhut, Transmission Digest Business Editor
One of my favorite words is “outrageous.” I use it in my telephone procedure, as in: “That’s outrageous; do you mean to tell me that in this day and age someone would still quote a price without first checking out the problem? Don’t you think that’s a little strange?”
Of course, if the caller agrees that it’s a little strange he or she might just come in to have the vehicle properly diagnosed so the right service at the right price can be recommended.
The word outrageous in itself conjures up the thought of something big, something very different from the ordinary, and that’s what “Absolutely Outrageous Service” is all about. With thousands of look-alike auto-repair facilities out there, what makes yours different and special? Why should a customer refer his best friend to you? What do you do that grays out the rest and makes your business the shining light?
You might think that the cosmetics are a big factor – how clean and sharp the building, the office, the waiting room and the restrooms are, or how squared away the service adviser and the technicians look. Sorry, today people expect that; it’s the norm, not the outrageous. If your shop and all the surroundings don’t look really good, prospective customers will probably turn tail and run.
So what does impress customers? Things they have never seen an automotive shop do. Things that are so far from normal they will be remembered and talked about at gatherings for years to come. Like, “Let me tell you what happened when I went to get my car fixed. I just couldn’t believe it.”
That’s the “wow factor,” and that’s what we should strive for. We need our customers to be wowed enough to not only recommend us but also do so in a way that compels their friends and neighbors to come visit us: “You’ve got to go there and see what those guys are doing.” Additionally, we want our already established customers to look forward to coming in to see what other new and outrageous service or stunt we’ve come up with.
There’s a story I read recently about a new Italian restaurant on the outskirts of San Antonio that was struggling. The location wasn’t great, it didn’t have the traffic count it needed, but the food and service were really good. The owner, a fellow named Phil Romano, didn’t have the money to advertise much and it was just taking too long to build the word-of-mouth trade. One night, when the restaurant happened to draw a pretty good crowd, Romano told his wait staff, “Nobody gets a check tonight; everyone’s meals, drinks and desserts are on me.”
Patrons were astonished. They couldn’t believe that for no reason at all their dinners were being “comped.” Phil did this again several times, but randomly. No one knew when he would do it. The restaurant’s reputation for good food and service might have spread slowly, but news of this outrageous gesture of picking up everyone’s check spread like wildfire. In a short time the clientele grew to the point where Phil felt comfortable opening another location and more. The name of the restaurant chain is Romano’s Macaroni Grill. You may have heard of it; they’re everywhere.
Speaking of outrageous, Mo Gridder’s is a barbecue joint in New York City’s South Bronx, or is it? It’s actually an auto-repair and auto-glass shop that, among other things, installs more than 50 windshields a day. The owner got into barbecue several years ago as a hobby. He started bringing in ribs and brisket that he had made at home for his customers to taste. It went over so well that he set up a trailer on the corner of his lot and started giving away food with every repair. He says it keeps the customers busy while their cars are being serviced and it’s really hard for anybody to get angry after they’ve been fed that well. Now lots of people come just for lunch and pay for it, but when they try to pay he asks, “Is your car in our shop?” If they say yes he says, “Lunch is on me.”
There’s no doubt about it; doing outrageous things gets you noticed. Some will cost money, but the advertising benefits may far outweigh any costs involved. On the other hand, there are the smaller, less-significant but still “above and beyond the call of duty” services and rewards you can give that set you apart from your competitors. The key is that whenever you do these things you get the publicity necessary to suit your purpose, whether that publicity is in the form of an article written about your business, a TV crew stopping by for an interview or just a very happy customer telling everyone he knows about your great service.
Think about your customers and what would make them go “Wow!” Here are some ideas:
- Ask one simple question of every customer at the very end of the sales and repair process: “If you owned this facility, what would you change or improve about the service you have just received from us?” Listen and respond to those recommendations unless they have to do with lowering your price. That isn’t what you are looking to do. If anything, you want to get a higher price for providing far better customer service. Every other concern they have, though, is valid. Take all suggestions under consideration and thank each customer for their input. You may even want to reward customers for innovations you adopt into your business.
- Comebacks being a fact of life in our industry, the best way to get a return from an otherwise losing situation is to do some things so different that customers not only won’t be upset but also might actually be happy to see how well they were handled. If a customer calls and starts the conversation with, “You know that car you fixed for me last week …” When it starts that way you know it’s a comeback, so you can be ready for what comes next.
As soon as the customer states the problem, say with a lot of enthusiasm, “That’s great. I get to work on your car again. I need as much practice as I can get. Can you bring it in right now? How soon can you get here? I’ll hold a lift open for you. Will you need alternate transportation while we are fixing it?”
If they tell you the transmission is leaking, get very excited and say, “We’ve told those transmissions a million times not to leak, but they don’t listen. You know, the last thing they do at the factory is cut the ears off them.” They may think you’re a little nuts at first, but jokes like that tend to lighten up the entire atmosphere.
If they come in at lunchtime, buy them lunch and always offer to give them something for their trouble. Remember that they aren’t the bad guys here. Something your shop did went wrong. They paid you in good faith, and in 99.9% of cases they didn’t cause the comeback. A free transmission service or oil change when they are due for one would be somewhat outrageous, but offering to do it on any other car they own would be totally outrageous while giving you the chance to get another one up in the air, and we all know what can happen then.
In a comeback situation always remember that you get only one more chance to do it right. Perform the final check and road test yourself. If you aren’t 100% happy, don’t let the car go out until you are. People will put up with mistakes once. Any more than that and it doesn’t matter very much how nice you’ve been.
- Throw a parking-lot party. Invite an intimate little group of a few hundred of your best customers. In your mailing be sure to mention that everything is on the house and that no soliciting will be taking place. You don’t want them thinking you are just trying to corral them in an effort to sell them something. Call it a “Customer Appreciation Party.”
A little music would be great, and really good food is a must. Anybody can do the hot-dog and hamburger thing. You might want to do the ribs, chicken, steak and brisket thing with some chili for good measure and some backup hamburgers and hot dogs for the little ones. Some terrific looking desserts from a really good pastry shop or setting up a do-it-yourself ice-cream sundae bar would also get the oohs and aahs going.
Make it a fun event with stuff for the kiddies to do. Raffle off something of value, like a TV. Be sure your flier promotes that it is a free raffle. You might even want to draw for some other less-expensive door prizes. The more you give, the more everyone feels as if they came away with something.
- You might try telling a customer something really ridiculous when he or she comes to pick up the car, like: “Congratulations, you’re our 142nd customer this week, so you win our $50 instant-rebate coupon. Let’s apply it right now.” They won’t forget that.
- Give some random customer a couple of tickets to a local sporting event, passes to a local movie, coupons worth a couple of free meals, or anything else that they can redeem easily without a lot of hassle.
- Carry a small aerosol can of WD40 in your pocket. When you go out with a customer to initially check their car, as you open the hood or a door and hear a creak or a squeak give that hinge a spray. By doing so you’ve started the fair-exchange process whereby you’ve already done something for them so they feel slightly indebted to you – enough, you hope, that they will let you work on their car.
- If you have the facility or a carwash nearby, wash every car that comes in for service, every time. People will definitely tell their friends about that.
- Walk every customer out to their car when they are ready to leave. Open the door for them. Have a very clean towel with you to give the steering wheel and the pedals one last wipe. Ask whether they would like you to remove the disposable floor mat. Make sure the car is pointed in the right direction, and inform them of any obstacles. Thank them sincerely for their business, reassure them that they made a good choice in having your shop perform their service, and comfort them by restating that they should call you immediately if any problem should arise.
- Follow up every visit with a thank-you note and a customer-satisfaction call a few days after their service. You don’t even have to talk with them. If they don’t answer, leave a message that you called to make sure that everything is all right. You’ll get the same mileage out of the call that way.
- Give all employees who deal with customers the right to make the decision to take care of their needs, especially in a comeback situation. Do they need a ride home, a rental car etc? Remember that the customer views any hesitation in offering or consenting to help as a refusal, even if it isn’t. The damage is done simply by hesitating.
- Give an employee a small bonus every time you catch one in the act of performing outrageous customer service.
- Most of all, if you are the owner of the business, make yourself accessible to your customers. One of the biggest complaints they have is that they can’t get to the person who’s really in charge when they have a problem.
Always remember that good enough is not good enough when you’re striving for excellence. Perfect is good enough.
Exceed everyone’s expectations and you’ll reap the benefits of loyal and happy customers willing to pay for the best in repairs and services.
Visit www.TerryGreenhut.com.
