When saving the customer money; backfires!

[Joe Marconi]

When saving the customer money; backfires!

 

A few months back a customer came in with a broken seat frame on her Honda Pilot. The car has over 150,000 miles on it and the seat frame broke through use. Replacing the seat frame, with labor, would be well over $1100. My foreman recommended welding the frame, saving the customers hundreds and hundreds of dollars. Two months later the car returned. The seat frame broke in a different spot.

 

Explaining this to the customer is difficult. She paid for a repair and wants satisfaction. The service advisor informed her that the seat frame broke in a different spot and that we were looking to save her money by welding the frame, as opposed to replacing it. She asked why she was not given a choice.

 

After a few go-arounds with the customer, the service advisor told her we would credit what she paid on the weld repair toward the job of replacing the seat frame. She was ok with this.

 

The lesson here is to clearly explain to the customer all the options. Don’t let your first inclination to “save” the customer money influence you into not letting the customer decide what the repair should be. Present all the options, the pros and cons, and have the customer be part of the decision making process. You can certainly give your opinion, but there are times that you should not decide for the customer. Plus, we need to clearly state all the options on the invoice and review again at time of car delivery.

[xrac]

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[phynny]

You guys nailed it. I really believe there is no such thing as "saving money", in the end someone will pay for it.

 

 

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[nmikmik]

The sad or/and funny thing is, she may come back with a broken seat in a couple of month again.

But I definitely agree with Xrac, or if I my add to his statement my personal observation.

Most likely your best/most paying customer = less complaining, happy, referring customer

your least paying, most given attention to and white gloved customer = most complaining, never could be pleased customer.

Please note, i am not advocating neglecting or mistreating the customer, the above is just another cost of doing business imo.

Edited September 23, 2013 by nmikmik

[mspecperformance]

I have learned however not always followed is to always offer the best and "right" fix at all times. I tell my customers that we have to perform this repair procedure and/or use this part for their benefit and to do the job right. If there are any issues with the repair or the part we can surely warranty the work and would take responsibility for the job. Otherwise there would be a larger possibility of a failure with no recourse.

 

Of course in the interest of keeping a customer happy I have resorted to breaking my own rules which has bite me in the ass many times but thats a different story!

[xrac]

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[Gonzo]

 

Me too and some of the biggest messes I have gotten into were when I tried to save someone money. It is the "No good deed goes unpunished syndrome."

Seems everytime you look at a situation and you know the cost of a replacement component is more than the car is worth or out of the customers pocket book... AND you take the initative to go the cheaper way it always bites ya in the seat of the pants.

 

I totally agree with everybody... give them the option first! Then the decision is entirely theirs and if the patch job fails it's their problem not yours. (Considering too...that the patch job was first done well.)

 

Been there..done that...got the chew marks on the ars to prove it.

[nmikmik]

I thought there was a law for that:

http://www.anvari.org/fortune/Laws/275_drews-law-of-professional-practice-the-client-who-pays-you-the-least-complains-the-most.html

[phynny]

I thought there was a law for that:

http://www.anvari.org/fortune/Laws/275_drews-law-of-professional-practice-the-client-who-pays-you-the-least-complains-the-most.html

Can I get an A-men people!

 

 

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[xrac]

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[Joe Marconi]

AMEN! AMEN! AMEN!

[TheTrustedMechanic]

Seems everytime you look at a situation and you know the cost of a replacement component is more than the car is worth or out of the customers pocket book... AND you take the initative to go the cheaper way it always bites ya in the seat of the pants.

 

I totally agree with everybody... give them the option first! Then the decision is entirely theirs and if the patch job fails it's their problem not yours. (Considering too...that the patch job was first done well.)

 

Been there..done that...got the chew marks on the ars to prove it.

I agree. If I feel there is a viable option I will always present it to the customer and let them make the decision. It gains far more trust I find to not dictate but to educate. Such as with brake pads, we can go with compressed cigarette ash like the $99.95 brake place, but you're going to have shorter life, more noise, more dust and lower braking power, or we can go with a premium pad, restore the factory performance and all that other stuff. When faced with options and reasons why the cheaper option is cheaper, not better or of greater value, the customer has to decide how their ability to pay and the value of their life plays into the decision.

.

With that said I absolutely hate the good/better/best scenario because if you use economy or inferior grade parts, it doesn't matter if you explain to the customer the short life-expectancy and poor performance they won't remember the discussion 6 months from now when the part fails. You can put in on the work order, video-tape the discussion, have the customer sign the disclaimer and promise you that they are actually selling the car (haven't we all heard that story before?) you just know you're going to see that car 19 months from now, the 12 month warranted part has failed and the customer is complaining, "But you JUST fixed it!"

 

Yeah, well you were selling it too!

[phynny]

I agree. If I feel there is a viable option I will always present it to the customer and let them make the decision. It gains far more trust I find to not dictate but to educate. Such as with brake pads, we can go with compressed cigarette ash like the $99.95 brake place, but you're going to have shorter life, more noise, more dust and lower braking power, or we can go with a premium pad, restore the factory performance and all that other stuff. When faced with options and reasons why the cheaper option is cheaper, not better or of greater value, the customer has to decide how their ability to pay and the value of their life plays into the decision.

.

With that said I absolutely hate the good/better/best scenario because if you use economy or inferior grade parts, it doesn't matter if you explain to the customer the short life-expectancy and poor performance they won't remember the discussion 6 months from now when the part fails. You can put in on the work order, video-tape the discussion, have the customer sign the disclaimer and promise you that they are actually selling the car (haven't we all heard that story before?) you just know you're going to see that car 19 months from now, the 12 month warranted part has failed and the customer is complaining, "But you JUST fixed it!"

 

Yeah, well you were selling it too!

Oh man did you hit the nail on the head. This is exactly why I won't sell or install parts I am not willing to back.

[hancock18]

 

Me too and some of the biggest messes I have gotten into were when I tried to save someone money. It is the "No good deed goes unpunished syndrome."

 

That's great! Thanks for putting a name to this, xrac. It seems that we have been having more than the usual bouts of this in the past couple years and we have been here for 31 years. What is really difficult to deal with is when the "good deed" is put into a review as a less than stellar experience for the customer. So not only did we go above and beyond eating things that weren't even ours to eat seems we don't even get to keep the customer and we have to explain why saving a customer money was a bad thing. Oh well, such is the life we have chosen! :-)