Consumer Reports Magazine Kills a Sale. MUST READ!

[Joe Marconi]

The other day, one of my service advisors, Kristina, was speaking to a customer about worn control arm bushings on her Honda. The customer was in the waiting room, sitting and reading a magazine, while her car was being serviced along with a New York State annual safety inspection.

Kristina got half way through her explanation of the control arm bushings when the customer said, "Stop right there." She then opened up the magazine she was reading (a copy of March 2016 Issue Consumer Report), which was in our pile of magazines and said, "Look here, Honda control arm bushings are among the 5 Sneaky Mechanic Scams!" Kristina did not make the sale and Thank You Consumer Reports, a motorist is now driving a car with worn lower control arm bushings; a potentially unsafe condition.

The Consumer reports article was written by a so-called expert, and is slanted against the repair shop. No surprise there, we are easy targets. I don't know how that magazine got into my waiting area, but I will pay more attention to the magazines I offer to my customers.

I will also voice my opinion to Consumer Report Magazine and urge everyone to voice their opinions too.

PLEASE NOTE: I checked online and the March 2016 Issue is not on the web yet.

[mspecperformance]

That is horrible!

[bigdonstang]

Sometimes I feel like we are fighting an uphill battle in this industry. Smh

[PAPShop]

At that point, customer should have "show and tell" on their car. The magazine may warn you, I'm showing you. Tisk, Tisk on customer for believing a magazine making generalized claims versus someone in front of them talking about their car specifically.

[Joe Marconi]

At that point, customer should have "show and tell" on their car. The magazine may warn you, I'm showing you. Tisk, Tisk on customer for believing a magazine making generalized claims versus someone in front of them talking about their car specifically.

Kristina offered to show her, but she wasn't interested. In fact, after she sat down, another customer who was also waiting for his car said, "why don't you let her show you?" She ignored him too.

 

We have come a long way, but still hold the perception of mistrust in some people's mind.

 

We all need to do what we can top raise the image bar.

[[email protected]]

http://www.consumerreports.org/car-maintenance/5-auto-repair-shop-scams-your-mechanic-might-try/

[HarrytheCarGeek]

After6tuning, thanks for the link.

 

Guys, it's a PR war, not only in our industry but pretty much any industry where trust matters.

 

Like Joe says, "We all need to do what we can top raise the image bar."

 

Here is my latest article.

 

http://blog.harrythecargeek.com/

IN AUTO REPAIR, KNOWLEDGE IS THE TOOL THAT LETS YOU MAKE THE RIGHT DECISIONS.



My father used to tell me that the secret to success was knowledge, and practice, practice, practice.


You become a master by understanding the subject matter, and giving it the time to practice, practice, practice. I am certain that in your career or life you have come across people that talk a good game, but you can tell that they are not really qualified to the job they are getting paid to do. Or like my wife explained to me, no man could understand how tired and worn out a woman is after giving birth, and the conflicting emotions, the physical changes, stress, and tremendous love of being a new mom. Only new moms that go through the school of hard knocks of being a mom have the knowledge to guide other new moms.


It's the same in auto repair, in school we are taught the necessary vocational mathematics, science, and physics to comprehend the principles behind what makes a complex machine such as a car work. It's from there that we draw the knowledge to help our customers keep their car in roadworthy condition, so they may travel in safety and comfort.


Bear with me, and I will get to the point of sharing with you some knowledge to help you keep your car in top shape while avoiding the waste of your hard earned cash.


If you don't understand something about your car, a good mechanic will not have any reservations about explaining how something works in simple terms that you can understand. Granted, an anti-lock braking system (ABS) is a very complex mechanism, but its purpose is simply to help you avoid a car crash because you may panic and slam on the brakes, causing the wheels to lock up and the friction of the tire against the road melting the tire's rubber which in turn would make you crash into the car in front of you that you were trying to avoid.


Having said that:


1. Talk to your mechanic, tell him your expectations for your car.

2. Use the best quality parts that you can afford, they save you money on the long term.

3. Plan ahead, don't wait until your car becomes un-driveable to fix problems.

4. Don't drive around with the check engine light on, have the issue fixed asap, something simple as a broken hose or worn gas cap can end up costing you $$$.

5. You know your car better than anyone, if something feels off to you, have it checked out.


As you may already know, most things in life go smooth if you develop a good relationship with someone that has the knowledge to help you. Don't wait until you are stranded on the side of the road to look for a mechanic, by that time nothing is in your favor. If you already have a good relationship with a mechanic, the chances of getting stranded are highly minimized, as you would already know the condition of your car and no nasty surprises would be lurking under the hood.


I hope you find this information helpful and to your benefit. Please drive friendly, and remember, not everyone is as good a driver as you.


Harry the Car Geek

 

 

Edit: Notice that there is no listed editor, they quote their mechanic John Ibbotson regarding scams. But fail to point that unethical people are the problem, a thief is a thief. A skilled mechanic is worth his hire, and would not have a problem making money honestly. http://www.consumerreports.org/car-maintenance/5-auto-repair-shop-scams-your-mechanic-might-try/#social_fb_comments

Edited April 1, 2016 by HarrytheCarGeek

[Tires Too]

After reading the article and the comments, all I can say is WOW. People are so misinformed! There is a shop owner agreeing with the comment about not changing your transmission fluid if you have high mileage on the car. We are doing it to ourselves when shop owners are perpetuating these internet myths.

[stowintegrity]

Kristina offered to show her, but she wasn't interested. In fact, after she sat down, another customer who was also waiting for his car said, "why don't you let her show you?" She ignored him too.

 

We have come a long way, but still hold the perception of mistrust in some people's mind.

 

We all need to do what we can top raise the image bar.

 

Mr. Marconi, you've been doing this job for a long time, and although I truly don't want to come across as rude, I must remind you all that you can't fix "stupid".

 

My wife complains sometimes that she thinks I'm too cynical, and I always respond by telling her that I think I'm more of a realist. In any industry we're going to find that there are people who simply won't listen to reason, or be willing to open their minds to hear a kind word from an honest professional. This is largely because:

 

1. Unfortunately, we live in a fallen world, and it's full of some truly rotten people.

2. Our industry is riddled with unsavory types, while in the minority, they still make it difficult for the honest people.

3. EVERYONE operates from an unconscious sense of bias, and reacts based on past experiences.

 

The woman in your lobby probably possessed the perfect mix of ignorance & bias, that's all. In the magazine article, although I'm also saddened by the editorial "slant" against our industry as a whole, there are likely SOME facts that unfortunately ring true.

 

Does YOUR staff regularly scheme to try and sell service that's unnecessary? Mine doesn't, either. So what are we to do?

 

In the quick, emotional moments that ensued in your lobby over such a simple, straightforward service recommendation, I would contend that the "lost" customer was the one most injured by the article, as you so poignantly referenced, she's still driving her vehicle with a compromised suspension. Eh. That's her choice, and all we can do is realize that regardless of whether we agree with their rationale, our customers ALWAYS have the right to say,"No."

 

I would assure your service advisor by reminding her that no matter how effective we are at our job, we will never reach everyone we hope to be able to serve, and quickly move on toward taking the very best care of the next person in line.

 

I would, of course, remove anything from your "customer experience" that distracts or takes away from your ability to be of sound, professional service, however. In this case, you're right again - try replacing that magazine with Redbook or Cosmopolitan.

 

The next young woman might just be so engrossed in the new pie recipe, list of ways to satisfy her man, or decorating ideas that she'll be more clear-headed and not question the staff of professionals in front of her who've likely proven their value to her time and again in the past.

 

Just my 2 cents.

[chasauto]

Just some thoughts from our shop.

 

We don't have magazines in our customer lounge. We have a TV, bottled water, coffee and one newspaper. Magazines tend to get old quickly and add a lot of clutter. If a customer leaves one, we throw it away. We pull insert ads out of the newspaper before leaving it in the lounge. Sometimes those inserts can be from Sears, tire store chains etc. Best to try to control the message.

 

We generally take the customer to their car when recommending work. We try to get them away from other customers in the lounge. Show and tell works great, the tech usually is helpful and we have more privacy in the shop than a sometimes crowded lounge.

[benzfxr]

that's why I love the digital inspections we use with pictures emailed to the customer (even if they are waiting!)

[Joe Marconi]

that's why I love the digital inspections we use with pictures emailed to the customer (even if they are waiting!)

I agree Frank, and nice to see you on the forums!

[UsedTireShop]

I love our digital inspections as well. The work needed up sells itself.

[alfredauto]

Reading articles like this is frustrating to say the least. It puts us in a defensive position at the counter, and God forbid if the car has multiple problems we become crooks or feel we need to work for free. Brake pads only in New York? Is that even remotely possible? So say we try and save the customer money with a $100 pad slap. The rotor has rust all the way through or s caliper piston is tight now we're crooks, or if we suggested it in the first place we're crooks. Oi