Shop Management/Marketing Archives - Page 7 of 29 - Transmission Digest
How to do Impossible Things

49 hours and 17 minutes ago, 13 of my peers and I were beginning a challenge that was physically and mentally impossible. Broken into teams of two, seven on each team, we were to follow orders and perform various dreadful movements at the command of Navy Seal Special Ops veterans. We had all trained hard for eight weeks prior. Nobody knew what we were up against, yet we all showed.

Leading by Example

One of my first lessons upon going into business for myself was that if I wanted employees to follow and respect me I had to show them that I was the real thing, that I was someone who knew what I was doing and one who would keep my word to them no matter what. That wasn’t always easy to do; first because in the beginning I wasn’t the real thing. I had never worked on a transmission till I opened the shop, and I had never been in a business in which I had any employees who answered to me or for whom I was responsible.

The Karma Effect

The world is sometimes a competitive, cut-throat place. How can kindness win out? Should we quietly do good? Do we praise those who do? What about those who don’t?

Revisiting two excellent companies: Owner Must Solve Problems, Be Nice

Except maybe for me, I don’t know of anybody who enjoys bringing a car into a shop for repairs or services. I think I like it because it gives me a chance to evaluate the shop from a customer’s point of view instead of that of a consultant’s. I get to see first-hand how customers are being treated, how the facility stacks up against others, how well the problems are diagnosed and the repairs completed, and whether or not I get that warm fuzzy feeling that comes from believing that these people actually care and appreciate my business.

Disruption comes in many ways, often

Most of us accept that we have to adapt to whatever is thrown at us and we make changes accordingly and often rather quickly. There are some, however, who will stick staunchly to the way they’ve been doing things for many years whether it’s right or wrong and no matter how costly it may become.

The Cog in Your Customer Experience Strategy

At the shop, they were able to remove the stubborn cog in a few minutes and the service guy walked me to the register. “That will be $17.64,” he said. Hmmm, I thought. It was a bit more than I expected, but certainly worth the time and effort I saved not fighting this with a vice, torch, and other Medieval devices. “Really?” I asked him, wanting to confirm that was the correct amount. The line item in the receipt read FREEWHEEL REMOVAL – and my project was a cog removal. He confirmed. I shook my head, paid and left.

Millennial Marketing Can Be Awesome for Your Business

Encountering a millennial in the workplace is pretty normal for most of us now, depending on the industry. If you’re in a business that utilizes technology, then there’s a bigger chance you’re surrounded by millennials – or maybe you’re a millennial yourself. If you’re in the automotive or machining industry, it may be different. Regardless of your industry, you probably have people talking about millennials whether it’s good or bad, true or false, right or wrong, the stereotypes are out there in full force.

12 Ways to Build Better Customer Relationships

Deeply connected, trust-based, and authentic customer relationships are hard to come by. When you know how to create these relationships with your customers, you’ll win their loyalty, earn referrals and enjoy repeat business for years to come.

Tone It Up

Tone is important when working with others in pretty much every capacity. Even on a close-knit team, caps or a poorly worded (or punctuated) joke can come across as exhibiting a negative tone. If you let it, it can influence your tone and that of those around you. How your tone is received is how you are received.

Are Customers Any Tougher Now than They Once Were?

I received an email recently from one of my readers who seemed to feel that I’m teaching the industry to be too nice to customers in an effort to get their business. Is there such a thing as being too nice? Maybe if you spend so much on a customer that you could never have a chance of making it back, but other than that I can’t see how you can be too nice. The gentleman also seemed to feel that customers are more demanding, harder to sell, and possibly nastier than they used to be. I think they just have a lot more information available to them than ever before and it’s making them feel like they are in control.

Today You Have to be the Entire Package!

Is it enough to do an excellent job of repairing a customer’s car? Maybe it once was but not anymore. Today’s customer expects more, much more. The entire experience of doing business must be spot-on if you expect to get outstanding reviews and a lot of referrals.

Ideas Don’t Work Unless You Do

One poster caught my eye: “Ideas don’t work unless you do” – an aphorism from product designer and creativity guru, Tanner Christensen.