Repair Shop Advice

November 4, 2016

Last week, we discussed the best ways to convert a shopper into a customer in a short phone call.  But it’s much more expensive to gain a new customer than to keep an existing one.  So once that customer decides to give your automotive repair shop a chance, how do you convert them into a long-term customer?

Here are five tips that will help your shop stand out in a sea of uncaring franchises and dealerships.

• Be available. Customers want a hassle-free experience that fits into their schedule. If it’s a drop-off service, make sure to minimize the amount of time they wait before they are talking to someone who’s working to get their questions answered and get them out the door.  If it’s a longer repair that needs to be scheduled, give them several options, and make sure you’re giving them times when they can be a priority as soon as they show up.
• Show sympathy. It’s nothing personal, but unless they’re dropping their car off for a detail, they’re probably not happy to be in your repair shop. Best case scenario, they’ve shown up for routine maintenance like an oil change or new tires, and they’re spending time and money they’d prefer to use elsewhere.  If it was an unplanned repair, their entire day probably just got wrecked by their vehicle. When you’re dealing with customers like this, ask yourself what would be the best thing that could happen to you if you were in their shoes, and try to offer it.  Maybe they need a referral for a rental car that can come pick them up, or you have a loaner you could offer them.  Maybe they’d appreciate it if you could offer them some certainty as to what the problem is or how long they’ll be out of a vehicle.  Even acknowledging how frustrating it is for that to happen can make them feel better.  It’s uncommon to get great service like this these days – those conversations stick out in a customer’s mind.
• When telling the customer about any unexpected repairs that need to be made, make sure to mention things that are in good shape, and other things that may need to happen later but you wouldn’t recommend yet.  This indicates that you’re not trying to find every possible thing wrong with the car and get them to fix it today.  It also makes them feel less like their car is ‘bad luck’, which can cause frustration that they might take out on the nearest person (that’s you).
• When recommending unexpected auto repairs, also make it clear you know it’s a surprise and you want to be as transparent as possible. Offer to show them the issue on their vehicle.  If there’s another vehicle in the shop where you can show them what it should look like, show them that too.  If it’s a serious issue, indicate that, but take extra effort not to come off as pushy, especially on their first visit to your shop.
• Meet your price and time estimates. A shop being able to meet their price and time estimates is not just a sign they are honest and customer-focused. It also means that a shop can accurately diagnose a problem, how long a car will be ‘in line’ and how long it will take to fix.  If you run into ‘unexpected delays’, customers might wonder why you weren’t expecting them. That being said, no shop can meet their estimates 100% of the time.  Sometimes digging further into a problem reveals more problems.  Sometimes part suppliers are flaky.  If you are unable to get the vehicle back to a customer when they were expecting it, apologize, acknowledge the impact that’s going to have on them, and work with them to make sure they aren’t left stranded.

To learn about how Repair Shop Websites can help you better serve your shop’s customers, call us at 855-219-7506 or email us at Team_RSW@repairshopwebsites.com.