I don't know why but my area my customer never appreciate good service

[YarisSedan]

So i manage a auto shop in the bay area. We try to pride ourselfs by providing impecable service and using always oem parts at a very competative price.

But it seems like no matter how hard i try customers never appricate it. I will give you 3 examples that have happen very recently.

Example 1. Customer comes into our shop its first time hes been here. He said his car wont start and if we could help him out. I explained to him we do not do service calls because if a mechanic gets injured off premises he is not covered by insurance and that he would have to tow the vehicle to our shop. But i would be happy to look at it for him for no charge for the initial inspection. My mechanic who was eating his lunch in the office said dont worry jason and volunteered to go to the guys house. I told him to bring a jumper back with him just incase. So the customer saw him put down his food just to help him. About 45 minutes later he brings him back and the mechanic told me just the battery was drained cause the car hasnt been driven for a month. The customer did not say thank you or anything. At the least i would say heres a couple bucks for your trouble I really apreciate it.

Example 2. Car came in for timing belt job. When removing the tensioner for the power steering pump i found out someone had installed it backwards. When i put everything back together it started to make a lot of noise cause the bearing was bad. I noticed that his drive belts were new still so i took the money from the belts and used it to purchase a new pulley also the pulley was more expensive. Also we performed a headlight cleaning service since his headlights were heavily oxidized.

So when customer came in we gave him a 10 percent off because he brough vehicle on a weekday plus we fixed a problem at no additional cost to the customer and we provided a few service. Showed him the damaged pulley and how it was previousely installed incorrectly showed him how his headlights look brand new. Most people would be like wow thank you so much. All this guy said was can you give me anymore discount. No thanks or i appreciate it. Its like what was did was expected. I dont even think this customer would reccomend us to his friends.

Example 3. Happend this very day. Customer calls says his key wont turn to start the car. Leaning from my past mistake i said sorry we dont do service calls. Plus all my mechanics tools at here in the shop so we wouldnt know what we would need to fix the car. I asked him to please tow it in and i would take a look at it for free. I had my mechanic look at it and he sprayed some wd 40 in the lock and it started to move. So we just put lithium grease on the key and inserted it a few times and the key turns over now. I told the guy we fixed it for him and not to worry about the charge. I said if you like you can thank the mechanic who worked on your car and maybe give him a few dollars as a tip for his time.

The mechanic gave the guy his keys back and he went on is way. later on i asked him how much did he give him he said nothing. not even a thank you. If i really wanted to i would have just wrote him up estimate for a few hundred for a new ignition lock cylinder but offered to help him to try to earn continued business to show how honest we are. But to me no one seems to apprciate it.

[rningonfumes]

I hope this doesn't detour you from continuing to offer great service. If you were near by I would have no problems being a patron. I guess it's more of knowing when you should give "extra" care? If it were me, I would give the good standard care to newbies, if they came back, I could then give them the extra stuff.--Shows you appreciate the customers and begins to build the loyalty base.

If you give out free stuff to people who don't know you yet, it's worthless. Let me elaborate, many folks don't realize you are doing a good thing. Assume that they are self-centered, it's usually me, me, me. The more someone knows about something, the more they care. In this situation, if those potential customers knew anything about cars, they would have been more appreciative. The way to get around people who should know better....Give them the standard good polite care, give them the business cards, do the usual stuff--show them fairness in pricing. Then be nicer when they come back. Give that extra care with customers whom you've already built the rapport.

Then again, it's hit or miss, you're going to luck out a lot.

[YarisSedan]

Originally Posted by PK198105

ok first off it is very comendable of you and your shop for being service and customer oriented. However how do you make money with all these little no charge services? I mean im not here to lecture you on managing a buisness since i have no clue , but I get the feeling people are just gonna take you for granted more and more, and the time you will charge them they will give you even more grief and start to cause trouble. You have 3 perfect examples that a lot of people just don't care and want everything for free and expect it. I can give you plenty of examples where in my job i went above and beyond for a customer , a lot of time people will appreciate it but a lot don't and just expect it. So now if i fall on the same customer that pulled the I expect everything is given to me i give him the basic service no exceptions no waiting no bringing anything anywhere , sign and take care of your own problems my job ends at your doorstep

I feel exactly the same way you do. But right now business is very tough. The location of my shop without offending anyone has 95 percent of a certain type of people that from a certain country and background that is part of thier culture to be very "frugal" If we do not offer to look at stuff intially for free we loose the customer. Before i would charge 19.95 for a brake inspection. If the customer performs the brake service with us i remove the initial inspection fee. Now i just say bring it down we will be happy to look at the brakes for you. I guess the term is loss leader. You dont make any money initially but hope to make up the money later. Like our our oil changes for example is 16.95 normally 19.95 ify ou have the current coupon. It includes 5w30 or 10w30 synthetic blend oil and filter up to 5 quarts. We also top off all the fluids do full underhood and vehicle inspection and adjust tire pressure for the customer. At that price i dont think we make enough to even cover the cost of oil and filter. let alone the pay of the mechanic for the 20 or so mintues it takes him to do the oil change. And people still freak out at that price. Sometimes i want to say you idea go to your local parts house and buy your own oila nd filter and see how much it would cost to do your own oil change. And it wont even be as good of a oil as we use. Some of the competion in my area uses bulk oil or recyled oil. Which isnt even api service raiting SM.

[Bob_VT]

The key to customer service is to get the customer to trust you and return to you. In the Toyota Dealership where I had worked they were ranked #1 in the Northeast USA and even #1 in the Nation for some time.

A simple LOF included a car wash. We know that a LOF is a lose money deal but where they make the money is on the upsell and return business. I believe is was Speedi-Lube that had the up-selling record for the USA for quite a long time.

Thier game was to offer to do a simple chore (ie. replace the cabin air filter or an injector cleaning) at less money than would be charged at a dealership and since the car was on the rack they could have it done today or would you like to make an appointment?

LOF is the time to up-sell an inspection. Inspect the brakes, the serp belt, the charging system, the fliuds I know you understand.

Our best techs were our best people to help upsell.

Do not give anything away. If a mechanic has to look at a car with an engine light on then it should be up front there is a minimum of a 1 hour labor charge. Hell if the mechanic can do it it 10 minutes you have made money and have time to poke around and look for work. The mechanic who fixed the guys ignition should have started the car and advised the customer for a better or proper repair he needs to visit the shop. Explain that it would probably be an hour of labor to fix it right..... and hand the guy a bill.

Honestly, people are assholes and they are cheap. No one really tips the mechanics anymore so the mechanics and the staff have to resort to up selling. The biggest compliment that you can get from ANY customer is a referral who walks in the door.

If you get 1 or 2 extra customers per week from a referral you will be a rich man. Reward your mechanics for upselling too.

You can shear a sheep every year but you can only eat lamb once.

[YarisSedan]

In my area everyone offers free services. The nissan dealer a quarter mile from us has free check engine light diagnosis. Its almost like you have to to be competative. Customers would be like 80 dollars for a check engine light! Man ill just go to the dealer they are free. Even the dealers around my area are super super competative. Thier rates for jobs are about the same what independant shops charge.

[enobmort42]

wow.. i wish you guys were over here! anywhere i bring my car, i need to be very specific and even more careful with how i phrase it to get what i need done.. anything 'above and beyond' is out of the question!

[YarisSedan]

This just happend at end of the day today right after my earlier post. Customer with a mercedes called said his car has trouble starting ocasionally. When he came in i asked him whens the last time he changed his battery. He said never. I said well its 7 years old more than likely its bad. He kept saying he dosnt think it could be the battery. So i performed for him a free diagnosis and tested the battery starter and altenator with our tester. Turns out battery is bad. Also the battery terminal for the negative post was loose and heavily corroded. I told him the battery would be 189 it was a special order battery 850cca. He then told me oh its okay. I have a special service with mercedes roadside assistance when they come and install a new one for me for 150.

So to save just a couple of bucks instead of having us do it he called mercedes. And my personal opinion i think the batterys we sell through interstate are better quality anyways. They are rated #1. We pushed the car into our parking lot since it would no longer start even after tryign to jump start it and charge it the battery was completely discharged. And i watched mercedes fix his car in our own parking lot. Then the guy from mercedes had the nerve to ask if i had some hot water. I just gave him a can of battery cleaner since we only have cold water. I assumed it was to clean the terminals with. I also told the owner that to change the battery you need to use a battery saver to keep the memory on the computer otherwise it will reset everything since these mercedes are a little sensitive. Also he will loose the memory of the stereo and gps and have a lockout and since his car is used i dont think he has the passcode.

I watched the service call guy just swap out the battery and didnt use a battery saver. So the guy is going to go down the road and realize his stereo stopped working. And car running a little funny now since it has to go through an entire relearn.

And then he is probally going to have to take his car to mercedes later to get his passcode for his stereo. I dont know if they will try to charge him for it but for some people time is money and he wasted a whole lot of time to save 30 to 40 dollars than to just let us do it. To me its just a total slap in the face insult.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

That sucks. People these days are just plain stupid. Heck, if you worked on my car for free, or gave me a discount, I would have at least treated you out to lunch and some beer.

[yaris-me]

I feel for you. Doing a lot for free and not being thanked. I use to take my car to a garage next to where I use to work. He did a good job, used expensive parts and charged a lot. I went to him not because of convenience but because he didn't make any bones about what he was going to do and never said anything about what a great job he would do, but because I knew he would do the best job and use the best parts. My friend who I worked for at the time, complained about the cost, but later realized that repairs stayed repaired and his brake jobs lasted three times longer than the other shop. He towed a heavy trailer 300 to 500 miles per week.

The point I'm trying to make is that I'm willing to spend the money on the proper repair. If people want free or cheap repairs, they will suffer in the end.

[ddongbap]

Originally Posted by Bob_VT

Do not give anything away. If a mechanic has to look at a car with an engine light on then it should be up front there is a minimum of a 1 hour labor charge. Hell if the mechanic can do it it 10 minutes you have made money and have time to poke around and look for work. The mechanic who fixed the guys ignition should have started the car and advised the customer for a better or proper repair he needs to visit the shop. Explain that it would probably be an hour of labor to fix it right..... and hand the guy a bill.

Totally agree with this.

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BTW, whats worse? The guy who doesn't say thank you? Or the guy who expects it?

[MadMax]

I’m sorry to hear about your lousy customers, but don’t think that all of us are ingrates. I take my cars to a local, family-owned shop that I have very good relations with and whom I am always very cordial. Heck, the mechanics there joke because I always shake their hands when I stop by, and I tell them I don’t mind the grease because it probably came from my car!

I am a dedicated customer and often refer others to the shop. It is a win-win situation for both of us, they get the business and I get great customer service and work I can trust. I think there are a lot of people who do the same with their shops, so I wouldn’t let a few bad apples get to you.

Plus, you are in the Bay area, which is beautiful but full of a bunch of pretentious liberal snobs…

Cheers! M2

[Phaeton]

People in Larger metropolitan areas tend to be a lot less polite.
We went to Disneyland a couple summers back, and the shuttle driver that picked us up from the airport commented on how we were really polite compared to normal Californians.

[bobselectric]

Originally Posted by ddongbap

Totally agree with this.

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BTW, whats worse? The guy who doesn't say thank you? Or the guy who expects it?

We should all be expected to show graciousness, politeness, and simple common courtesy. I see nothing wrong with expecting a "Thank You".

As someone in the service industry, it seems that too many people who are removed from blue collar labor by a generation look down upon skilled labor. I have been in homes that cost millions of dollars, and when trying to collect on a few hundred dollar bill the customer states "I didn't make this kind of money when I was a lawyer (or doctor or executive, or etc.)." My usual retort is "Neither did I- that's why I do this now".

I don't feel bad when I hand the customer a bill- this is my living, puts food on my table, and clothes on my back. I spent the last 25 years gathering the experience that makes me proficient at what I do. It took 11.5 years to gain the necessary training to become a licensed electrician, before I could take my licensing exam. Yes, that is more time training than a doctor or a lawyer, not counting continuing education. This is why I don't feel bad.