ACtion Magazine - November/December 2012 - (Page 8)

Expansion Valve I Jim Taylor No charge true, but here’s a different approach that worked nicely. Long ago I worked as a service writer at an import dealership in a very tony and bucks-up area of suburban Philadelphia. Sales boomed because the cars had a reputation for reliability and economy, and our customers spent money to maintain them. The service department never lacked for work and little of it was warranty. The eleven shop technicians were busy, happy and well paid. Understand first that this store was part of a five-dealership chain, but often served as the flagship because the dealer principal, “Mr. L” lived nearby. Mr. L was a very talented businessman who prided himself on knowing the name of every employee in every store and a bit about each. That alone made it a nice place to work when he’d stroll through with an airy greeting and a kind word about your kids. Mr. L was also a motorhead of the first order. He knew cars and demanded an honest shop with no shenanigans — always let the customer decide. Or else! He wanted customers to get value for money and he let customers know they could call him direct for any problems in sales or service. Any attempted overselling, upselling or other BS tactic got the tech and the writer an immediate trip to his upstairs office for an explanation. We learned that many of the customer “complaints” proved really to be about the cost, not the need. They wanted the car fixed, they just didn’t want to pay that much for it when the car was three or four years old. Over time, we began losing business to other shops that would do the work for less. Curing this problem fell to Tony, the service manager. Tony, a great schmoozer, had gotten his position by being a close buddy of one of Mr. L’s business associates. He was singularly non-automotive and couldn’t tell a camshaft from a coil spring if you handed him the labeled boxes. His management style was mostly bluff and bluster but as long as he kept the shop revenue flowing he was golden. But Mr. L wanted the problem cured and the customers back. Initially, Tony was very puzzled, and plainly, lowering the shop rate or parts prices wasn’t an option. To this day I’m still not convinced Tony thought this up on his own, and it surely seemed counterintuitive when he brought it up at a shop meeting. But to his credit, grudgingly, it proved to be a bit of genius. “Whenever it’s possible,” he said, “I want a no-charge item on every ticket. Don’t give the place away, just look for what works.” Most of our daily tickets were for normal maintenance or common repairs, and the technicians were skilled enough to make money on all the common jobs and still do them right. There were a couple grumbles but nothing serious, and a few extra minutes wouldn’t be missed, particularly if it brought the customer back again. We never advertised it, we just did it. For example, our state safety inspection required pulling a front and rear wheel anyway, so another three minutes allowed “Rotate tires – N/C” on the bill. Full tune up and oil change?—yes ma’am, we changed that left headlight at no charge because the hood was already open. (Three screws, four minutes…) Replace wiper blades for 0.2? Nah…click, snap, N/C! Three or four of those No Charge entries often softened the blow on a big dollar ticket or a 30k service. I have no idea how the word spread among our missing owners but it worked, and what we “gave away” wasn’t close to what we gained. Within six months our customer count was back to previous levels, we were seeing a lot of new customers, and our complaint rate was down as well. Mr. L was very happy. Customer perception is important, and for some it’s reality as well. This wasn’t about the dollars – most of the labor we N/C’d was under $10, and Parts occasionally threw in an item or two as well. It was the simple appearance of looking out for the customer and showing a bit of courtesy when it made sense. Done right, “free” can work, but never as bait. ❆ You can reach Jim at jt@macsw.org put this column aside last month when Andy Fiffick’s piece came in. Always better to give the boss the right of way, I reasoned. You may recall that Andy’s excellent column took several of his competitors to task for giving away excessive free stuff, oil changes, tire rotations, brake pads, etc, simply as an enticement to get cars into their shops. Andy considered it slimy bait in the water to hook unknowing customers in for a lengthy list of “other work needed.” He also noted that many employees at those places were “embarrassed to work at the facilities and were seeking honest jobs with a fair wage.” His greater point was that our industry needs to clean up its act and that “free stuff” makes us look bad. That’s usually 8 Reader Reply No.16 ACTION • November/December 2012 http://www.justthebestmarketing.com/action http://www.macsw.org/MACS/Publications/ACtion_Reader_Reply/MACS/Publications/ACTION/ACtion_Reader_Reply.aspx?hkey=ac24bddb-c045-442a-813c-cbf05f88ac4d

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ACtion Magazine - November/December 2012

ACtion Magazine - November/December 2012
Contents
Outlook
Expansion Valve
Leonard’s Law
Under the Southern Cross
News & Updates
Meeting the Need
See the Best of the Best
The Bumpy Road to R-1234yf
Virtual View
Association News
Obituary
Quick Check
New Products & Services
Last Watch

ACtion Magazine - November/December 2012

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