Something I avoided doing for a long time...

[mspecperformance]

This has been something I've seen that has changed to attitudes of my customers dramatically and I will be employing it all the time now. It is something so simple and so basic but for one reason or another I never did it. It seems to be really getting a lot of positive feedback from my customers and I am hoping this will parlay into more business for my shop.

 

The thing I am talking about is simply telling my customers how much I appreciate them and their business!

 

For the longest time I thought if I told a customer how much I appreciated their business they would walk all over me!! Irrational thoughts like, "So and so is going to think I am really struggling is I am telling them I appreciate their business. They must think I am not doing so well." I must have been out of my mind!!!

 

I got the idea from one of my techs so is an ace with people, he shakes all my customer's hands, runs them through what he did to their vehicle and at the end he would say, "And thank you sir or ma'am, we really appreciate your business." The positive feedback I got from this was tremendous!

 

So me as the owner and the lead service advisor, I started doing the same... and BAM I have gotten so many nice and positive reactions its a wonder why in the hell I never told my customers! The crazy thing is, I really sincerely do mean it and I think they can tell. These people are allowing me to make a living and to live out my dream of owning my own shop and being a business owner, of course I appreciate them!

 

I have also started complimenting my customers on their cars (if its warranted) and in every way try to convey a sense of honesty in the work that we do. I just simply can't believe I haven't done this more often.

 

 

Just figured I would share, I am generally pretty good with people however I know how introverted some of us are in this business and the standoffness ( new word LOL) can really rub people the wrong way. I hope this helps someone out there, a simple, "Thank you sir, we really appreciate your business" or "Thank you sir for letting us work on your vehicle we really appreciate your business" Can go a LONG way.

[Joe Marconi]

I agree with you. People do business with people. When you create an atmosphere where people feel good about doing business with you, they also begin to have trust in you. The better the experience, the more odds the customer will return. Everyone likes to be recognized, even customers. It's makes them feel good. When customers know how much you appreciate them, it will go a long way to establishing long term customers.

 

In addition, this will set you apart from so many other businesses, who show little to no appreciation for anyone.

 

Lastly, don't forget to thank the people you work with. Like I said, everyone likes to be recognized.

[ngar]

Great post I see that same effect in our business and another thing that has worked is a week after the repairs are done we call our customers with a courtesy call to make sure everything is good and thank them again I

can't tell you how many times I have been told that they have never had a shop care enough to do this and how much more work this one step has brought I hope this will help someone thanks again for sharing