Customer Loyalty – You Can Expect It Only When You Earn It

It’s Your Business

Subject: Customer Loyalty
Essential Reading: Shop Owner, Center Manager
Author: Terry Greenhut, Transmission Digest Management Editor

Too many choices; that’s what the world offers us today. Not only are we free to choose from sources we already know, but also every day we are bombarded by advertisements for products and services we weren’t even aware existed. With so many opportunities to try something new or different, why would we go back to the same old place time and time again? The answer has many facets, all of which are important.

Many in the transmission and auto-care business claim that customers aren’t loyal anymore. I guess my first question then is, “Were they ever?” On their own, without the necessary effort on the part of shop owners and managers, were those customers ever really loyal?

I don’t think so. Loyalty has always been earned, or it didn’t exist. If it wasn’t earned, customers returned only because either they couldn’t find another shop to take care of them or they were too lazy to look so they kept going back to a place they really didn’t care that much for. Today, with so many choices, it’s just too easy to find a replacement for a shop that doesn’t try hard enough. I’m not saying that the shop doesn’t fix the car, because most do. It’s the way they go about it in the eyes of the customer that counts. So what do customers want? What would make them say, “I had a great experience at that shop. I’m going to go there again and tell all my friends about it.

Although there are desired benefits that vary among different customers, there are some standards that apply to most, and because our goal should be to cater to the vast majority of our customers, those are the benefits we need to focus upon. Since you and I are probably in the vast majority of consumers ourselves, we need to think about what we would want from an auto-service facility that would keep us coming back.
So here’s my wish list:

1) I want to see a facility that welcomes me. I want to look at the front of the building and see clean. I don’t care that much about opulent, because if it looks too ritzy I’ll get the idea right away that it’s going to be expensive, which might turn me off, but I want it to be well kept and inviting me to come in.
2) I want to know where I should park and which door I should go through to bring me into the reception area. I don’t want to wind up standing in a bay waiting to be served while mechanics keep walking past, making me feel as though I don’t belong there. So I want clearly marked signs telling me where to go and what to do.
3) I want to see a service counter or desk with someone behind it who looks as if they belong there; someone who is dressed and groomed appropriately, with a pleasant manner.
4) I want to be acknowledged immediately when I come through the door. I know if there are others ahead of me I won’t get waited on right away, but I do want to know about how long I will have to wait and where I am supposed to be waiting. I don’t want to be standing on a line to sit down at a desk with a service writer. If that’s the setup, I want a place to sit while waiting to be served.
5) I want a service writer who focuses all of his or her attention on me when it is my turn. I don’t want them taking other phone calls or having conversations with others in the room. I want them to be listening with both ears so I have to explain my problem only once.
6) If I need to wait while my car is being checked out or serviced, I want a nice place to sit with a soft drink and something to do. I need reading material or a TV to watch, something that will make the time pass quickly and keep my mind off my car.
7) I want a clean, well-stocked restroom in case I need one.
8) I want an explanation of my problem that I can understand. I don’t want to be spoken to in abbreviations or mechanic’s jargon.
9) I want to know what I’m paying for. I want an itemized estimate that tells the story of the repair process, the steps that will be taken, and the labor and parts for each operation. If someone wants to sell me the “globulator pin that goes under the cluster bar,” he or she had better be ready to explain it to me.
10) I want to be notified as to the status of my car. I don’t want to have to keep calling to ask whether they’ve found out anything or whether it’s finished. I want communication so I can plan.
11) I don’t want a 5 o’clock surprise – unless the surprise is that the bill is less than the estimate. Even though some states have regulations that say you have to call the customer for approval only if you exceed the estimate by 10%, I would want to be notified immediately and asked for my approval if there were any additional charges.
12) Make it convenient for me to pick up my car. Don’t make me wait while the paperwork is being completed. If I can’t get there ’til after closing time make sure I have a way to pay for the job in advance and to get the car from a well-lit parking lot without being attacked by the German shepherd.
13) Don’t spring any last-minute critical repairs on me. If you want to make me aware of services I will need in the future, that’s OK, but don’t make me worry over some big problem after I’ve just paid you to fix my car. If you found something that critical I should have been notified early enough to have it taken care of while the other work was being done. Making me come back for additional repairs that should have been done is a waste of my time that I really don’t appreciate.
14) I want a final explanation. When I come to pick up the car I want the same service writer who sold me the job to go over the repair order with me, to point out what was done and why. I don’t want a cashier who can only take my money and offer no answers if I have questions.
15) I want follow-up. I first want any additional service recommendations written on the repair order. Then, because I will probably stash it in the glove compartment, I want a service reminder mailed to me, not only for those services or repairs but also for all my regularly scheduled services so I don’t forget. If I don’t make appointments when I should, I want a phone call offering me those appointments. It would be hard for me to turn them down when the service writer and I are checking our calendars together.
16) I want to know that somebody cares about me after they’ve taken my money. A thank you note is rare today but would be very well appreciated, especially one that someone took the time to write by hand, but a phone call to make sure I’m happy and that everything is working OK would be the icing on the cake. That call would have to sound as if the person who made it were sincerely concerned, not as if they were just going through the motions. If I indicate that there is anything that isn’t perfect I want to be invited in immediately to have it handled with the highest priority. I don’t want to wait in line, and I want someone to realize and care that I have already paid for this and it didn’t go right so I need and deserve some TLC.

The price of a repair or service is not going to be a factor in keeping me from returning to a facility that treats me well and fulfills all of my other wishes, unless that price is far out of line with the normal. Price many times is an excuse people will use not to return when it really wouldn’t have bothered them if the service had been any good.

The only other time price is a major factor is when the customer can make a comparison between identical items with the same ease of acquiring them all from reputable sources. Then, of course, people would opt for the lowest price and be right to do so.

In transmissions and auto care we have the advantage that our services are not nearly as easy to compare as the prices of items on a shelf in a department store. There are many subjective factors, including the most-important one that we haven’t yet mentioned – trust. In our business, unlike many others, trust builds loyalty. If I trust my mechanic, it isn’t likely I’ll try another until he loses my trust. I certainly won’t take the chance just to try to save a few bucks. So all the factors mentioned earlier add up to one: trust. If your customers trust you to provide the ultimate service experience and you continue to earn that trust, you will continue to have loyal customers.