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The person answering your phone may be killing your repair shop

Joe Marconi
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JustTheBest Rising Star

JustTheBest

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Joe, I agree with you 100%! I'm actually surprised you made THAT MANY CALLS! But one thing I'd like to add is the fact it's not just the person on the phone - it's the FIRST 59 SECONDS. Really! We host countless website for auto repair shops, and always use a tracking phone number (so the shop owner knows what phone calls are generated from the site). But what we see that's interesting is that an overwhelming number of INBOUND calls to our repair shop clients are UNDER 60 SECONDS. 

So as much as I agree with having the right person on the phone - I believe you have to go even further - because in so many cases, you've got less than a minute to make that (all too important) first impression. 

Hope this helps! 

Matthew Lee
"The Car Count Fixer"
Join me on YouTube at Car Count Hackers or just Google #CarCountHackers

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John Fabrega Contributor

John Fabrega

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Having been in telecommunications for over 25 years, I can't agree more with Joe. It is easy to have the 'newbie' answer phones and when they get really good at it, they end up getting moved to something more 'valuable' and a new neebie takes over. It's difficult not to do that but can have a major impact.

Make sure to occasionally 'mystery shop' your number. Have a friend or call while you are monitoring and make sure the experience is one that you would feel good about if you were calling a business.

A very old trick is to put a mirror by the phone or attached to the computer screen. Take a look when you're on the phone. If you're smiling it comes through in your voice and your attitude. It also helps you have a better day.

Keep Smiling!

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gandgautorepair Enthusiast

gandgautorepair

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Good article, Joe. Unfortunately, good phone skills don't come naturally, it takes a little training. One of my pet peeves is long phone answering scripts, which sound way too impersonal and end up getting spoken so fast that the caller doesn't even know what was said, and even if they called the right place. Smile, speak slow, company name and your name, listen, connect.

 

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  • 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!”

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