Sometimes, A compromise is a win

[Joe Marconi]

A long time customer came in the other day for a LOF service and an annual state inspection. He also needed a battery, but said that he would come back for it. When I tried to explain to him that we had to jump start the car, he said he knows about it and he will come back.

 

This did not seem right. Being me, I pushed a little; “Tom, why won’t you let me install the new battery today?” He was silent. I then said, “Tom, you are going to buy the battery from someone, why not buy it from me.” He replied, “Joe, I can’t afford your price.” I replied, “Tell me what you want me to do.” He said, “Nothing, I will put the battery in myself and save the labor.” I told him, “No Tom, I will put the battery in, you pay for the battery and I’ll pay for the labor, deal?” He was silent again, and then said, “Yes, you got a deal and thank you.”

 

Sometimes, you need to close the book on sales strategy, profit margins, and quotas and just do what you feel you need to do.

 

Sometimes, a compromise is a win.

 

[mspecperformance]

Sometimes we have to take care of our customers, the good ones that have been there when we were counting pennies and praying we had enough money for the rent the same month. Those same customers that have come back time and time again.

 

Had an incident somewhat related to this topic. I am in the middle of trying to transition my technicians to flat rate from salary (Joe probably knows lol) and my slower technician in terms of hours weekly and I had a bit of an argument today about certain services. He was taught in tech school that everything he puts his hands on he should get paid for. I agreed with him however the subject of wiper blades is what we were talking about. My policy is we install wiper blades complimentary for our customers. It takes a tech 2 minutes to do so and it builds a lot of good will with our customers. I was explaining to him that we are going to always get paid for work that we do however certain things we do for our great customers (all of our customers are great or else they aren't OUR customers) such as wiper blades, tire fill, safety inspections (visual) will almost always be complimentary. It is part of the value we bring to the table that sets us apart from our competition both independent and dealer.

[KMS]

Sometimes we have to take care of our customers, the good ones that have been there when we were counting pennies and praying we had enough money for the rent the same month. Those same customers that have come back time and time again.

 

Had an incident somewhat related to this topic. I am in the middle of trying to transition my technicians to flat rate from salary (Joe probably knows lol) and my slower technician in terms of hours weekly and I had a bit of an argument today about certain services. He was taught in tech school that everything he puts his hands on he should get paid for. I agreed with him however the subject of wiper blades is what we were talking about. My policy is we install wiper blades complimentary for our customers. It takes a tech 2 minutes to do so and it builds a lot of good will with our customers. I was explaining to him that we are going to always get paid for work that we do however certain things we do for our great customers (all of our customers are great or else they aren't OUR customers) such as wiper blades, tire fill, safety inspections (visual) will almost always be complimentary. It is part of the value we bring to the table that sets us apart from our competition both independent and dealer.

 

We have the same policy here, and all of my techs understand completely. We also will replace some bulbs for free. What we did to make up for some of there time is pay them for a courtesy inspection .25/hr. It has not only helped with doing the small things for free, but also has help with upselling on every vehicle that comes through our door.

[Shopcat]

Perception is reality for customers. If you do a few of the small labor jobs at no charge, you are looking out for them. Its a matter of having long term business vision. Your customers develop affinity if they stop by their regular shop with a problem and leave feeling like you are looking out for them, not just charging for every single thing. This will pay off a lot more than the couple of tenths labor you could have charged.

[bluewater182]

I have my general service guy do tires, visual safety checks (with shop foreman supervision) He gets to keep the tips from tire checks, bulbs (I usually don't charge for good customers) Wiper blades goto the tech that recommended (they get $1 a blade spiff).