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Do Your Technicians Talk to Customers?

Joe Marconi
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Great Tire Deal
bantar Community Regular

bantar

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We allow our customers to talk to our technicians, but ONLY IF a manager is present.   Manager's job is to keep it brief.    For instance, today, my lead tech and myself discussed why one of my better customers' Jeep was saying HOT OIL during a grueling 4WD mountain climb.   Short and sweet and he got personalized service.   A new or basic customer would not get such a privilege, unless a manager deems a specific topic to have value.   Sometimes, we'll have folks walk into the shop after hours (they see an open door among the many closed ones) and we have to chase them away.  Techs are generally nice, so, will take an interruption and offer to help, but I will nicely be the meanie / protector.

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juanpablo4219 Contributor

juanpablo4219

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2 hours ago, Joe Marconi said:

You make good points.  And having a manager present is a good protocol.

With regard to customers walking into the shop or standing behind the bays, I was adamant about getting that customer back to the customer service office.

I remember way back when I was a tech, before a business owner, if a customer stood over me, or behind the bay, I was bold enough to tell the boss, "Get that guy away from me." 

There's only 3 persons in our shop and we all talk to customers. When the techs are ask for prices, they're referred to the office/me. Get him a quote and it's the customer's decision, and yes, I am part of the techs/ service advisor/manager/owner. And yes, I am a working Boss,like one of my friends told me, I also work as a tech and I am the one that tells the customers that they need to go to the office/customers' area.

 

We even got a bad review for telling this one customer to come and wait in the office. 

I answered the review with respect and told him that we have a designated area for a reason, if you go to Restaurant, they won't allow u to go into the kitchen for a reason, same principle.

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newport5 Enthusiast

newport5

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Here's what a technician told me years ago about talking to a customer when asked about the cost of a certain repair.

The tech answered like this: "I'm the "how," they are the "how much."

I think the tech has to be careful when the customer asks: "How long does it take to replace it?"

The tech's first thought is to simply answer the question, say one hour, because he/she's done it 10 times. 

But it pays one and a half or two hours. Then it puts the service advisor in a tough spot.

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Eric Roberts Apprentice

Eric Roberts

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Not only do they do the job of repairing cars but they can also take the customers through the whole procedure of paying for the work done and issueing sales invoices and dealing with credit card payments.

I find that this gives the staff and the customers a better shopping experience due to the personel contact. Another thing I ask for is that my staff should have total access to our computer system and also can answer any phones from incoming calls.

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Eric Roberts Apprentice

Eric Roberts

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Hi believe me it is possible to train most enthusiastic people. it also depends on the geography of the premises. We have all open fronts and can see our customers drive in and park up. Meet and greet only takes a minute, but it puts customers ar ease. Especially female customers who now make up a liitle more that 50% of the customer base.

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Eric Roberts Apprentice

Eric Roberts

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Hi I guise we all have some good ideas which is going the right way. I suppose this started when I wa a young mechanic. To be truthful I could not concentrate enough and as time went by I discovered that I was a good talker. This attribute became useful to me in later life as I progressed to owning my own garage business. Some mechanics are good at explaining things to customers. I find that the guys who are say a little shy will soon get used to the idea and conversations will start to flow.

What does help is that we have a great reception with a TV and a free coffee machine. This is where the talking starts and very rarely in the workshops.  

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Eric Roberts Apprentice

Eric Roberts

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Hi Thanks for that ! We copied your way of working with the so called Autocentres. Mainly doing tyres and mufflers. However many of us have gone full circle in my 50years in the trade. So, repairing/servicing and tyres of course. We also have an MOT test for cars carried out annually. This is regulated by the government but works very well. When a car fails the test then we very often get the job of repairing the car back to standard. The tests are highly regulated, but there are dodgy garages out there who bend the rules. So a question !

How are American cars regulated for safety !If at all ? 

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Eric Roberts Apprentice

Eric Roberts

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How Will Your Garage Cope With Inflationary Pressures

 

I am writing about this because I feel that it is going to be a general business problem, especially new starters. Inflation  will not just be a problem for my garage business.

Many garage/autocentre owners are from a similar background. We started up in the sixties, seventies and eighties with no capitol and built a thriving business out of nothing. We were either mechanics or worked in the automotive industry from a young age.

So, I worked for a few national tyre companies before deciding to go it alone. I am sure such start ups are more difficult to achieve these days. Timing is of the essence. We started when cars were a growing industry. The working class blue collar workers could now afford a car.

Because we never went to any kind of business school then we had to take on problems when they manifested themselves. One of our first encounters was the dreaded inflation.

 From the very beginning we (I say we because I had a business partner at the beginning of my business adventure) were advised to employ a good accountant). This I did and our adventure into the world of business began.

I was lucky enough to secure a mortgage on a plot of land on a main highway. The land had an old stable on it. Both of us were pretty handy at DIY  so we set too and transferred the barn into a fitting bay for tyres.

 Soon Expanded into servicing and repairs.

Because of our prominent main road position the business took off at great speed. Soon we would be looking to expand. These were the days when you had to meet the Bank manager face to face. I have always been a confident person and boldly asked for a loan to expand the premises on our then spare land.

Interest rates were going through a steady period and the money from Mr Stead at the bank was secured. This was then the Yorkshire bank and we had nothing but good experiences with them.

A new service bay for four cars was complete and the garage went from strength to strength. This was in the late 60,s and we were about to hit by our first real crisis! The dreaded inflation. When the seventies arrived then inflation had started to rise. Due to a few things but mainly a world oil crisis.

It averaged out at around 12% and peaked in 1975 at 23%. Ironically the same problem is hitting us today. High oil prices and energy costs, combined with supply chain bottlenecks were the exact same problem that we had to cope with.

Supplier price rises came first

Just like todays business environment the first thing we noticed were that prices for our goods were rising almost every two weeks.

These came out as makeshift leaflets produced by the tyre manufacturers. In that period of time there were no computers everything was calculated by discount table books. First thing to do was to make storage space. This was to enable us to buy more stock and partly beet some of price rises.

Other suppliers would also offer more payment terms. Standard then was 30 days. Most decent suppliers offered 60 days credit line. This enabled us to carry on with our advertising campaigns in our local newspaper.

This was our main form of advertising in those days. However it was effective. It was also a lesson learned. Our main competitors in those times were all owned by the tyre manufacturers. So, National Tyres were owned by Dunlop and ATS by Michelin and so on.

Although our prices were rising they were kept lower than our competitors. Motorists were shopping about and we soon became a popular destination when wanting to buy a tyre or two. This was my first lesson. Inflation can be used as an advantage.

 It just means you have to work a bit harder. Smaller items such as puncture repairs were increased by a small amount and kept up with inflation without the public even noticing.  

Hard work kept down prices

Although our prices did go up we could make inflation less destructive by sourcing our products better and by doing better deals for quantity. I was sort of a reborn entrepreneur. As inflation came under better control then I was proud at the fact that because of the extra pressure I had become a better businessman and proud of it.

This period brought many new business friends . Especially among the different suppliers that I met an did deals with.

These days we are able to cope better because of computer software dedicated to our kind of business. We can set stock levels up so that price increase can be minimised. Especially popular sizes of tyres. Another bonus for the automotive industry is with the parts suppliers.

Importantly, they are all competing to supply us to keep their own sales and profits up. This means that we can source the best price for our customer when pricing up a particular job. Once again keeping the price down but retaining your profit margins.

Another good idea was to start selling addons. In my case we offer a selection of “Poor boys” car valeting products.

There is no doubt that this is a period that can establish your garage business as the best in the area. Inflation in my eyes means chances to gain customers by buying better and keeping in the right products at the right price.

Especially fast movers such as tyres. Service parts can be bought from the replacement parts market at the best price. Having a local website is also a good idea. Making it easy for local people to find you. I write the blog on our website giving consumers an idea about your services and location.

So in my opinion Inflation should spark up a new energy to create a better business and get some new customers as a bonus.

Hope you guys can come up with some other inflation busting ideas that we an use 

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bantar Community Regular

bantar

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14 hours ago, Eric Roberts said:

Hi Thanks for that ! We copied your way of working with the so called Autocentres. Mainly doing tyres and mufflers. However many of us have gone full circle in my 50years in the trade. So, repairing/servicing and tyres of course. We also have an MOT test for cars carried out annually. This is regulated by the government but works very well. When a car fails the test then we very often get the job of repairing the car back to standard. The tests are highly regulated, but there are dodgy garages out there who bend the rules. So a question !

How are American cars regulated for safety !If at all ? 

In Texas, annually, we inspect tire tread, min 2/32" on center treads, outers can be bald, but no secondary rubber or belts or sidewall damage, with all lugnuts present.  Then all lights working and not falling off, horn working, wipers clear the windshield with no tears or major streaking, 1 rearview or side mirror, no torn seatbelts, no worn serpentine belt, no exhaust leak (hearing test only), no power steering leak,   We do drive the car to test steering lash and braking stopping distances and verify that the parking brake works and verify brake fluid is near full.    We are not allowed to disassemble the car, so if a hubcab hides the lugnuts, these remain uninspected.    And we do a smog test that is read from the ODB2 monitors (can have 1 failed monitor, but not 2) .   The engine can be making crazy noises, the wheel bearings can be screaming, the control arms or body can be rusted to an unsafe point, but these are not inspection items.   A test failure blocks your ability to register your car.   We charge $7 for a safety inspection and $18.50 for the smog test, for a total of $25.50.  This fee is set by the state.   Takes us about 15 minutes to do these.   Thank goodness that we don't need to disassemble anything at these prices.  

FUN FACT:   We just inspected a Superformance GT40 MKII this morning!   (A brand-new 1967 continuation.   See here.)    Most of the inspection consisted of a runway parade with lots of pictures being taken and then a few boring minutes of inspecting.

When people are happy that they pass the State Inspection, I tell them not to be super-impressed.  It's the minimum necessary to be on the road.    We do a more thorough inspection when we are doing their oil change than we do with the State Inspection.  We can tell them about other noises, but we can only fail for what is on the checklist.  

I'll say this.   A majority of the people would want to fix the problems that we find, but are unaware of them.   I didn't know my tires were bald.  I didn't know that noise was bad.  It helps them stay safe.   Some others will find a shady shop to pass very unsafe vehicles for "an extra, let's say, convenience fee". 

Next state north, Oklahoma does not have an annual inspection requirement.

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Eric Roberts Apprentice

Eric Roberts

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Hi at least it is some kind of check. I think most law abiding citizens are decent people and will have their vehicle fixed for safety reasons. However there are millions who are not in this bracket. Because our testing is mandatory  then it sits with all the other motoring laws. When a driver is pulled up or in an accident then the MOT is part of the vehicle checks. Also if the car does not have an MOT  then the insurance is void, making it a double whammy !

Whet happens say if a car drives from Oklahoma and has a bad collision due to say faulty brakes or steering ?

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  • Have you checked out Joe's Latest Blog?

    • Joe Marconi
      The Toolbox is Last to Leave, First is the Heart
      By Joe Marconi in Joe's Blog
         0 comments
      It always amazes me when I hear about a technician who quits one repair shop to go work at another shop for less money. I know you have heard of this too, and you’ve probably asked yourself, “Can this be true? And Why?” The answer rests within the culture of the company. More specifically, the boss, manager, or a toxic work environment literally pushed the technician out the door.
      While money and benefits tend to attract people to a company, it won’t keep them there. When a technician begins to look over the fence for greener grass, that is usually a sign that something is wrong within the workplace. It also means that his or her heart is probably already gone. If the issue is not resolved, no amount of money will keep that technician for the long term. The heart is always the first to leave. The last thing that leaves is the technician’s toolbox.
      Shop owners: Focus more on employee retention than acquisition. This is not to say that you should not be constantly recruiting. You should. What it does means is that once you hire someone, your job isn’t over, that’s when it begins. Get to know your technicians. Build strong relationships. Have frequent one-on-ones. Engage in meaningful conversation. Find what truly motivates your technicians. You may be surprised that while money is a motivator, it’s usually not the prime motivator.
      One last thing; the cost of technician turnover can be financially devastating. It also affects shop morale. Do all you can to create a workplace where technicians feel they are respected, recognized, and know that their work contributes to the overall success of the company. This will lead to improved morale and team spirit. Remember, when you see a technician’s toolbox rolling out of the bay on its way to another shop, the heart was most likely gone long before that.

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