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[Podcast] RR 447: Jonnie Wright – Customer Service: What Are The Three Things You Want To Get Better At?


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Jonnie Wright was raised by three women (mother, grandmother and aunt) on a hobby farm in rural Iowa. He discovered a penchant and passion for writing and talking to people during an unsuccessful 5 year run in college, and applied both to a 20+ year career in radio and TV broadcasting.

In 2005, he “put down childish things” and entered the world of adulthood and business ownership, as he started a customer service training and marketing company called The Buyosphere. He started training retail but eventually saw greater opportunity in the auto repair service world, which he planted the flag, with the incredible help of Ron Haugen.

“I” became “we” as Jonnie and his team added trainers and clients, but the WOW moment of realization that his team were relative equals among industry giants came at VISION 2015, when he taught several classes and was honored to be keynote speaker. Then along with NAPA EXPO, they trained in front of nearly 1,000 automotive professionals. That is when things got real! Jonnie branched out beyond auto repair in recent years and also works with attorneys, computer repair shops and health care professionals. 

Not bad for a farm kid who grew up on one acre with one cow, one pig and one pitchfork. 

 

Key Talking Points:

  • Customer service
    • Jonnie never turned a wrench, always had a customer perspective 
  • Secret shopping- started with telephone calls then went to shops in person 
    • Took note of signage, cleanliness, organization, smells, the whole experience, incentivize return trip to the shop
    • Built training program from secret shopping experiences 
  • Phone skills
    • 70% of a phone conversation is tone
    • Words, pace and onboarding
    • Getting to know me
    • Scheduling in an organized way
    • Seeking other problems
    • Will have less importance in the future with millennials and Gen Z/Y
    • Apps and convenience becomes customer service
    • It is gut-wrenching to listen to your calls and get better. An important tactic 447 Jonni for owners and service advisor professionals
  • Future
    • The important customer becomes the one you work alongside 
    • Three types of customers- external, internal (coworkers), a customer inside our heads
    • How do you work and communicate inside the business efficiently? 
      • Creating an army of the  – committed to vision and mission of the company
  • Negative reviews
    • Opportunity to make things right- more afraid of customers that have a bad experience about and never posts about it
    • Always respond to negative review somehow

Talk soon,

 

 

 

Resources:

  • Thanks to Jonnie Wright for his contribution to the aftermarket’s premier podcast.
  • Link to the ‘BOOKS‘ page highlighting all books discussed in the podcast library HERE. Leaders are readers.
  • Link to RepairPal website HERE.
  • Leave me an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one of them.

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Learn more about CarVantage and the hundreds of other benefits NAPA offers. Talk with your servicing NAPA store or visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

 

 

Click to go to the Podcast on Remarkable Results Radio

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  • Have you checked out Joe's Latest 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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