Quantcast
Jump to content

SOCIAL MEDIA ATTACK SNOWBALL

DUFRESNES
 Share

Recommended Posts










HarrytheCarGeek Experienced

HarrytheCarGeek

Posted
Posted (edited)

First, step step back and look at it with fresh eyes. DON'T panic. Some people like gossip, but if you have been in business 48 years, many people have experience with doing business with you and know you are a straight shooter. People that are scandalous tend to be known as such and other people take them with a grain of salt. Having said that, resolve the issue as soon as you can in a reasonable manner.

Edited by HarrytheCarGeek
a word
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
mmotley Proficient

mmotley

Posted
Posted

I'd say you handled it correctly. I also agree with xrac. The gloves have come off. You bent over backwards to make it right, now they are just being *****. File a mechanics lien and call the cops if they show up again. If they showed up yelling, I'd tell the police it's harassment and they have abandoned their vehicle on your lot. We've all heard it before, but you can't make everyone happy. And some people just can't be made happy by anyone. They sound like scum, so treat them as such. Get your money out of em or take the car, forget about it, and move on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Junior Collaborator

Junior

Posted
Posted

I also agree with XRAC's statement. I would add that it might be time to call an attorney and file a suite for slander. The case will never go to court, you offer to settle with an agreement to remove social media posts and an NDA. People tend to get off their high horse when papers get served from the court. If you're concerned about the damage to your rep and that this may continue it might cost you a grand a two with an attorney but it will stop the bleeding.

As long as you were prompt to respond to the issue (which I assume you were) it looks like you did what you could to rectify it. Sounds like more that you needed to. Its fine if she leaves but continuing to make a scene is not helping anyone. Especially if she hasn't even picked up the car. Not sure on your state laws but in NY a registered letter must be sent before you can collect storage charges. Then start racking them up and add it to the law suite.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ewelchtx Rookie

ewelchtx

Posted
Posted

Not to sound trite, but if you're shop lives by social media, it can be hurt by it. Let your good customers decide based on their personal experience, not rumor, grapevine, hearsay, innuendo..etc.

I would bet your best customers are not big "social media" people but are busy, productive and have more to do than stare at their phones.

I've seen it, lived, it won it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jeffa1958 Apprentice

jeffa1958

Posted
Posted

My policy is: I will repair at no charge anything that myself or my employees break. I know that people make mistakes. I WILL NOT pay for damage not caused by myself or my employees. If the customer does not believe me when I tell them it is not our responsibility, my response is to go get it repaired elsewhere. Bring me a receipt from a repair shop (not your boyfriend or some guy in his garage) stating that we caused the damage and I will write you a check. I will and have bent over backwards to make people happy. If I reach a point where I realize I cannot make this person happy I stop. I have never gotten above a 3.8 star rating and don’t really care if I ever do. I always ask how a person found us. They will say, I read your reviews and they were good. I always respond, did you read the bad ones? Nine out of ten respond, yes if you didn’t have any bad ones I wouldn’t believe the rest. EVERYONE knows you can’t make EVERYONE happy.  Many years ago a shop in town was busted for not re[lacing parts they were paid to replace. I thought, wow goodbye to them. Ten years later they are still there. Just as busy. I learned THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS BAD PRESS. It is time to get nasty with these people. Your good customers know your good, the rest all think we are thieves anyway. It’s our job to prove we are not. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
jeffa1958 Apprentice

jeffa1958

Posted
Posted

In case anyone doesn’t know this. The Better Business Bureau is NOT A GOVERNMENT AGENCY. THEY HAVE NO POWER TO DO ANYTHING. They are a for profit non profit just like your non friends at AAA. Another fine institution out to fill their pockets. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jeffa1958 Apprentice

jeffa1958

Posted
Posted

As soon as someone mentions the words court or sue I tell them, "From this point on the only interaction we will be having is written." I will not accept your calls and there will be no verbal discourse. In court the only things that speak are paper, photographs and an ASE certification of the tech working on the car and or you the presenter of your side. When I invoke my written only policy you would be surprised how many people want to suck the words back into their mouths. In forty years I have been sued once. I was much younger then. The customer wanted me to not only refund his money for what he spent at my shop but also the repair he had to do. I refunded him what he paid us. Hes sued me and I wanted to see what a judge would say the correct answer was. The judge said that he had to made whole. He had paid 22$ more to have the car repaired in Chicago, so I lost and had to pay 22$ plus 85$ court costs. A side note to anybody, I would recommend avoiding court at all costs. What your think is black and white becomes gray in those rooms. Never walk in the door thinking its an easy win.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Junior Collaborator

Junior

Posted
Posted
On 1/18/2018 at 12:50 PM, DUFRESNES said:

According to the attorney, which he is right, the BBB is a marketing group.  If you are a member, you sign a contract, that you will arbitrate a complaint and abide by their decision, at least in our city.  I used to belong for 30 + years as a A+ credited shop.  When they raised us to 800 a year from 435, I said no more.  So, in this case they can present, but couldn't hold me to a decision.  They did close it out in our favor, there was nothing more that could be done. They say they may show under your shop name the answers.  Ours would show we bent over backwards.  Below is the letter sent to her .  The other thing the attorney said was always show a paper trail.  If you have to go to court he said she said won't hold up , but written between the parties will.  One good customer came in happy with us, but had read all of the neighborhood site.  She asked my daughter, "What have you learned"  Her answer was, we should have turned it over to the insurance company and let them battle her..

 RE:  2002 AUDI A4 ..........................

 

 

 

Dear Randi,

...................................

 

 

I would remove this post with details specifically about the customer and complaint from this forum. No need to post that information on the Internet, you are opening up the possibility for it to cause you trouble. Keep it confidential. Also, hire the attorney, I wouldn't send this letter, hire an attorney and have them send the letter. Not to be impolite but your letter is only going to make the issue worse. It is a lot of he said/she said banter. It will only fuel the problem. Loose the arguments and stick to the points and the facts. Let go of your emotions. File a suite alleging slander and loss of business if you want the social media comments removed. You could also petition the forum owner. Check their terms of service on false claims. You may get it removed that way.

The facts of the current issue are (or it seems are) the vehicle is still on your premises, amounts may be due. Those are the ONLY things your letter should state along with instructions on how to deal with THOSE issues with  deadlines. Loose the rest, it will only cause you grief.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 1 month later...
jeffa1958 Apprentice

jeffa1958

Posted
Posted

My shop just received a five star review. The person that wrote it states she came there after reading a horrible review about us. The review was placed on a private network for the University Hospitals and clinics. I could not respond to it there. They filed a complaint with BBB and I responded to the complaint there. A customer of mine was nice enough to put a link directing people to my response. Good customers are not stupid. Not sure I can say that about the bad ones. You don’t want to work for everyone. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 3 weeks later...
PAPShop Collaborator

PAPShop

Posted
Posted
On 3/15/2018 at 12:07 PM, DUFRESNES said:

Sadly, it has not been resolved.  1st she went to the BBB and we agreed with what she wanted.  Then she decided to put another on the BBB and again we agreed.  Finally the BBB closed  the complaint.  She then filed a small claims but she filed it in the wrong county.  We finally go to mediation and court in the end of May.  We replaced her engine with one that had 7000 miles less, did a timing belt for free.  Now she want more money.  We will see.  We had many customers came in to keep us up to date.

We had a situation like this.  We filed a counter claim in small claims court.  The judge requested that all parties try to come to an agreement before he will hear the case.  We came to an agreement, and found that some of the case was based on misinformation between the husband and wife, and some was just misunderstanding of vehicles.  We shook hands in the end and both parties felt the agreement was fair.  Good Luck

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 1 month later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Have you checked out Joe's Latest Blog?

    • Joe Marconi
      Want to End Your Technician Shortage? Focus on Retention!
      By Joe Marconi in Joe's Blog
         5 comments
      I recently spoke with a friend of mine who owns a large general repair shop in the Midwest. His father founded the business in 1975. He was telling me that although he’s busy, he’s also very frustrated. When I probed him more about his frustrations, he said that it’s hard to find qualified technicians. My friend employs four technicians and is looking to hire two more. I then asked him, “How long does a technician last working for you.” He looked puzzled and replied, “I never really thought about that, but I can tell that except for one tech, most technicians don’t last working for me longer than a few years.”
      Judging from personal experience as a shop owner and from what I know about the auto repair industry, I can tell you that other than a few exceptions, the turnover rate for technicians in our industry is too high. This makes me think, do we have a technician shortage or a retention problem? Have we done the best we can over the decades to provide great pay plans, benefits packages, great work environments, and the right culture to ensure that the techs we have stay with us?
      Finding and hiring qualified automotive technicians is not a new phenomenon. This problem has been around for as long as I can remember. While we do need to attract people to our industry and provide the necessary training and mentorship, we also need to focus on retention. Having a revolving door and needing to hire techs every few years or so costs your company money. Big money! And that revolving door may be a sign of an even bigger issue: poor leadership, and poor employee management skills.
      Here’s one more thing to consider, for the most part, technicians don’t leave one job to start a new career, they leave one shop as a technician to become a technician at another shop. The reasons why they leave can be debated, but there is one fact that we cannot deny, people don’t quit the company they work for, they usually leave because of the boss or manager they work for.
      Put yourselves in the shoes of your employees. Do you have a workplace that communicates, “We appreciate you and want you to stay!”

  • Similar Topics

    • carmcapriotto
      Will I Qualify for that Loan? Will the Buyer of My Business? [E113] - Business By The Numbers
      By carmcapriotto
      In this week’s episode, Hunt gets into the financial intricacies faced by auto repair shop owners, from refinancing debts and selling shops to securing new mortgages in today’s unpredictable market. He explores the strategies and tips to steer through the banking hurdles and optimize your financial operations.
      • Market Update & Interest Rates: Starting with a quick market update, Hunt discusses the current state of interest rates and how they're affecting both personal and commercial loans. Despite the unchanged rates by the Federal Reserve, the historical highs are impacting mortgage affordability and commercial borrowing costs.
      • Loan Acquisition Challenges: The episode sheds light on the complexities of acquiring loans in the current financial climate. Hunt discusses the often opaque criteria banks use to approve loans, offering some tips for what shop owners can do to increase their chances of securing financing.
      • Listener Q&A and Acknowledgments: A special thanks to listeners for their engaging questions in the previous mailbox episode. Your curiosity fuels our content, and we’re here to address your concerns, guiding you toward informed financial decisions for your auto repair shop.
      • Rapid Fire Tips for Financial Management: Closing the episode, Hunt offers some rapid-fire advice for managing your finances better, from understanding the nuances of loan interest rates to practical tips for ensuring your business stays liquid and prepared for any financial challenges ahead.
      Thanks to our partners, NAPA TRACS and Promotive
      Did you know that NAPA TRACS has onsite training plus six days a week support?
      It all starts when a local representative meets with you to learn about your business and how you run it.  After all, it's your shop, so it's your choice.
      Let us prove to you that Tracs is the single best shop management system in the business.  Find NAPA TRACS on the Web at NAPATRACS.com
      It’s time to hire a superstar for your business; what a grind you have in front of you. Great news, you don’t have to go it alone. Introducing Promotive, a full-service staffing solution for your shop. Promotive has over 40 years of recruiting and automotive experience. If you need qualified technicians and service advisors and want to offload the heavy lifting, visit www.gopromotive.com.
      Paar Melis and Associates – Accountants Specializing in Automotive Repair
      Visit us Online: www.paarmelis.com
      Email Hunt: [email protected]
      Get a copy of my Book: Download Here
      Aftermarket Radio Network
      Click to go to the Podcast on Remarkable Results Radio
    • nptrb
      6 Financial Pitfalls That Are Affecting Your Business Profit
      By nptrb

      Premium Member Content 

      This content is hidden to guests, one of the benefits of a paid membership. Please login or register to view this content.

    • Changing The Industry
      Episode 160 - Oz Mechanics on Business, Cultural Impact, and Fighting City Hall
      By Changing The Industry
      Episode 160 - Oz Mechanics on Business, Cultural Impact, and Fighting City Hall
    • Changing The Industry
      Shop Marketing Pros Live at L&N Auto
      By Changing The Industry
      Shop Marketing Pros Live at L&N Auto
    • Changing The Industry
      The Basics of Owning An Auto Repair Shop - Part 6
      By Changing The Industry
      The Basics of Owning An Auto Repair Shop - Part 6


  •
    nptrb

    Spring Clean Your Finances: 5 Steps Every Business Should Take

    By nptrb, in Automotive Industry,

    1 comment 301 views
    nptrb

    Understanding S-Corp Distributions and Draws | Are They Taxable?

    By nptrb, in Automotive Industry,

    0 comments 536 views
    nptrb

    Tax Season Preparation: A Comprehensive Guide

    By nptrb, in Automotive Industry,

    1 comment 429 views

  • Our Sponsors

Main Sections

More Sections

Discussion Forums

×
×
  • Create New...