Too High Priced?

[Joe Marconi]

A customer accused me the other day of being too high priced on a brake job. He actually called back to complain. This customer has only been here twice.

 

The funny thing is that we did the job in a timely manner (he waited for the job), the service advisor explained in detail exactly what needs to be done, we informed him at his last visit that he would need brakes soon and the price for the job was fully explained before we started and was itemized in detail.

 

I got the phone call when he called back, but no amount of reasoning would make him happy. I said to him, “So you not questioning the quality of the job, the quality of the parts, the fact we did it right away for you and that all the charges were explained in detail before we started?”

 

He just kept on saying we were too high. At this point I thanked him for his business and said hope to see you soon….although I don’t think I will ever see hi again.

 

I would you have handled this?

[xrac]

A customer accused me the other day of being too high priced on a brake job. He actually called back to complain. This customer has only been here twice.

 

The funny thing is that we did the job in a timely manner (he waited for the job), the service advisor explained in detail exactly what needs to be done, we informed him at his last visit that he would need brakes soon and the price for the job was fully explained before we started and was itemized in detail.

 

I got the phone call when he called back, but no amount of reasoning would make him happy. I said to him, “So you not questioning the quality of the job, the quality of the parts, the fact we did it right away for you and that all the charges were explained in detail before we started?”

 

He just kept on saying we were too high. At this point I thanked him for his business and said hope to see you soon….although I don’t think I will ever see hi again.

 

I would you have handled this?

 

Sounds like buyers remores. Someone must have told him they could do it cheaper or someone told him he paid too much. I think you handled it correctly. The only thing that maybe you could have done otherwise was to offer him a special discount on a future service or something like a free oil change. We use a free oil change sometimes if there is a complain or problem. This seems to divert some of this. However, this customer looks like the problem not you.

[Joe Marconi]

I did think of offering him something, but his nasty attitude really turned me off.

 

I am a business man, but I am a "man" first. Don't some things transcend business? If you have an issue, why can't we discuss it like gentlemen?

 

Maybe your right, the problem is with him.

[xrac]

I did think of offering him something, but his nasty attitude really turned me off.

 

I am a business man, but I am a "man" first. Don't some things transcend business? If you have an issue, why can't we discuss it like gentlemen?

 

Maybe your right, the problem is with him.

 

Joe, I know what you mean. If someone comes in talking really nasty to me they are going to be lucky to get anything out of me. My service manager was an Army Ranger and if your get him stirred up he is likely to toss them out on their head and he is capable of doing it. It is funny that the people who set me off he can handle and vice versa. There are not too many people who set us both off at the same time. This may be a customer you just need to turn loose and not worry with.

 

The only complaint we received at Car-x Chicago in 2009 was from an older woman that we told had a bad catalytic converter and that a direct fit replacement was $300-$400 or so. She called and complained because she said she could buy a converter at AutoZone for $75. Yes mam! Let's see someone cut and bend and fit and weld that universal converter onto her car. Let's see how long that takes. We have a bender. We bend pipe and we do custom exhaust but this was not one we would try to do. Now here is the really funny part. We looked at the woman's car for free. She was never charged anything. She has never spent $1.00 at our shop and she called Chicago and complained because of the price! How does that figure?????????????????

[Joe Marconi]

First, I love that Army Ranger you have. Coming from a military family, that's great!

 

Your story is more bizarre than mine. How dumb can people be? If you don't like the price, go somewhere else. Why make it a point or a mission to go out of way to hurt someone? I don't get. After all these I still do not know why some people act way they do.

 

We need to look at the positive and all the great customers we have. Forget about what we cannot change.

[xrac]

First, I love that Army Ranger you have. Coming from a military family, that's great!

 

I love my Ranger friend too. He is not really an employee but a friend and absolutely the best. He looks out for our shop, for me, for our guys, and for our customers. I salute him.

 

 

.....Your story is more bizarre than mine. How dumb can people be? If you don't like the price, go somewhere else. Why make it a point or a mission to go out of way to hurt someone?......

 

Bizarre is the word. Someone looks at your car, doesn't charge you anything, wishes you a good day, and then you complain. People like this who worry about spending money on repairs are always driving cars that are either junk or rapidly becoming junk.

[Joe Marconi]

Well, sharing the hell stories helps bare the pain.

[xrac]

Joe, we had an experience this week that you will find interesting. We had a man (60ish) stop in with a problem on his Explorer. The blower motor blowed constantly and would not shutoff unless the vechicle was turned off. My service manager spent a good 10-15 minutes looking at the vehicle, discussing the problem with him, and booked him an appointment for two days later. He came in and our diagnosis was a bad blower controller. There are many similar fixes reported on Identifix.

 

When my service manager began talking to the customer the first thing the customer did was dispute the diagnostic charge telling him that it was $1.00 more than he had told. My service manager than outlined the problem and the needed repair which with parts, labor, and diagnosis was about $170.00 and asked the customer if he wanted to fix it. The customer immediately began to say well let's talk about this and are your sure and going back through all his symptoms. There was somethings you could read into the man's tone and demeanor: that he was affluent, he didn't like to spend money, he didn't trust us, he thought the repair was too much, and he thought he only needed something like a fuse. Whatever it was my Army Ranger Service Manager didn't like it. My service manager immediately made the decision that this guy would be more trouble than he was worth and that we would wind up spending a lot more time with him then we would ever be paid for. My service manager said to the man that if this is the case I think that your should take it to Ford. I am not charging anything for today and have a good day. The man offer to pay the diagnosis but my service manager declined and sent the man on his way. What do you think?

 

As a footnote I will say that my service manager is very good with people, very patient as a general rule, and very informed in describing repairs. He is a ASE Master Tech. At the time we had a shop full of cars and people.

[Joe Marconi]

First, thanks for sharing this story. Situations like this help everyone.

 

Something does not sound right with this guy. To dispute a $1.00 difference for the analysis charge is a little strange. To start a ridiculous dialogue after the diagnosis is done in that manner, and to suggest that the problem is a fuse is also quite strange. Plus $170.00 sounds like a very fair price.

 

I think your service manager did the right thing. He sounds like a man that can think quickly on his feet and make decisions that are based on what is best, in the long term, for the business. This is a rare quality and if I were you I would support him on this (Please tell him I said that). As far as not charging anything, I agree too. In the big scheme of life, it means nothing.

 

You can’t be everything to everybody. If you try you will end up pleasing no one.

 

Great story!

 

I’m glad to see you get your share of “questionable” people coming thru your door too.

[xrac]

First, thanks for sharing this story. Situations like this help everyone.

 

Something does not sound right with this guy. To dispute a $1.00 difference for the analysis charge is a little strange. To start a ridiculous dialogue after the diagnosis is done in that manner, and to suggest that the problem is a fuse is also quite strange. Plus $170.00 sounds like a very fair price.

 

I think your service manager did the right thing. He sounds like a man that can think quickly on his feet and make decisions that are based on what is best, in the long term, for the business. This is a rare quality and if I were you I would support him on this (Please tell him I said that). As far as not charging anything, I agree too. In the big scheme of life, it means nothing.

 

You can’t be everything to everybody. If you try you will end up pleasing no one.

 

Great story!

 

I’m glad to see you get your share of “questionable” people coming thru your door too.

 

I thought you would enjoy the story. Yes, we get our share of characters too but we have whittled it down from what it once was. Cheap oil changes bring all of the bottom feeders with junk cars out. Yes! I did support him in this decision. This guy just had the look and feel that he wasn't worth the hassle. My Service Manager got a chuckle out of what you wrote and I am inviting him to join the forum. He will be an owner in the future if I have anything to do with it.

[Joe Marconi]

Great idea, get him to join in, tell him I am looking forward to it!

[Jeff Monson]

I like both your stories and how they were both handled,

 

Joe, If a customer is given a detailed estimate and the work is performed in a timely matter and all was ok'd by the customer, then I stand very firm when a complaint on pricing occurs. These customers are not the ones we desire as business owners, they help pay the bills but......are usually more of a pain to deal with than they are worth.

 

I feel the blower guy was handled correctly also, I will swallow a little dia time to rid myself of a cronic complainer. I think your service manager made the best decision for your company.

 

Its a good thing there are enough good customers to keep our businesses afloat, dealing with the price checkers and the complainers constantly would put me to an early grave.

[kellyurl13]

Just wanted to add my 2 cents. When I first got into this business, 16 years ago, a wise man told me that not everyone who walks in your front door is a customer. That is why there are lots of other shops out there. Sometimes you talk politely, like the Ranger did, and invite them to go elsewhere. Sometimes it is just a personality problem. I have one customer who does not like to talk to me, but loves my partner. Doesn't hurt my feelings at all. It has always bothered me when people complain, after the repairs, about something that was explained and agreed to before.

 

The same man once told me, it is not how you handle the things you do well, but how you handle the problems that will ultimately improve your business. Boy was he right. If someone is upset, they will tell a lot of people. It is worth something to mitigate that.

 

Kelly Wilson

[Joe Marconi]

The same wise old must have talked to me too, because I agree with it all. We cannot be everything to everyone and not everyone can be our customer. I am a business man, but a man first!

 

There are a lot of great customers out there. It took me years to find them and business is great.

 

We have to realize that everyone has a unique personality and sometimes must be dealt with a little different. The quality and image of our business will help to draw the people you want. We all need to examine our customer base, find out what type of customer we want and market to those customers. Will it be a perfect plan? No, but nothing is perfect.

 

Glad to see so many shop owners on the same page.