Are you selling all of the jobs you possibly can? Can your customers see the passion you have for servicing their vehicles? A Sense of Urgency (SOU) can really make the difference in creating lifetime customers.
Learning a Sense of Urgency for Customer Service
Whether you’re a Service Advisor working front of house, or a Mechanic working in the back, a sense of urgency is key.
Brian opens up this segment with an analogy about walking into a local restaurant. Their staff instantly bowls you over by bending over backward to serve you. The host or hostess greets you with a smile and quickly directs you to an open table. Your Waiter rushes to your seats to take your order. How do you think that affects your buying mood? Aren’t you more likely to start with an appetizer or order a dessert afterward?
It should come as no surprise to you that many auto repair clients become repeat customers because of how friendly a shop’s staff are. When front counter staff are quick to greet you politely and take a genuine interest in you and your vehicle, you are more likely to want to come back.
Brian provided evidence of this by using an example of one of his Service Advisors at the shop he once owned in Georgia. Since this employee demonstrated a sense of urgency, as well as an eager to please attitude, it made a huge impression on his clients. They even remembered him years later!
There’s no reason why this can’t work for your shop! When you encourage the traits of friendliness and speedy service in your Service Writers, Managers, and Technicians, everybody wins.
Learn more about customer service – get your FREE Strategy Session
How much can we influence buying mood when we increase customer comfort? From our members only Clear Counter Communications Series, here’s some great advice for your Service Writers on how to make customers feel at home. If you really want to make auto repair sales, then you need to put yourself in your customer’s shoes and do whatever it takes to make them feel comfortable in your shop.
Customer comfort factors: restaurant analogies
Brian opens up with an analogy about restaurant service. You made plans with a friend to meet for lunch at a local taco restaurant. You show up, walk inside, and you have to wait to be seated. The staff seems to be ignoring you! When the host finally shows up to seat you 2-3 minutes later, they don’t even apologize for making you wait! In this environment, how likely are you to spend extra money on cocktails or dessert after your meal?
In much the same way, you must make the effort to get acquainted with customers when they walk in the door. Engage with them by making small talk, or even complimenting them. Nobody likes having to spend extra money for repairs. Beginning the process with a friendly Service Advisor will make it less painful. You’ll be surprised when you start getting more “YES” answers, just from implementing this simple step.
Could you increase customer comfort in this situation?
Influencing your customers’ buying mood through personal connection
Many customers have made buying decisions before they’ve even walked in the door. Like it or not, factors outside your control may have influenced them negatively toward paying for necessary service. As a front counter worker, you will be the first person clients see when they walk in the door. Can you go above and beyond to break the ice?
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It’s the kickoff show for our December 2020 Clear Counter Communications series! We have a great group of YNR members and guests assembled to discuss phone skills and scripts. Here’s the rundown of topics:
Series/Booklet Overview 0:50-5:45
Getting Acquainted / In Person Counter Contact Overview 5:46-7:28
The automotive repair industry comprises a variety of distinct positions. Check out this this short clip from our members only People Process workshop. Brian Gillis and the callers explain automotive jobs. The You Net Results group members outline both the jobs’ tasks and their relationships to each other. Each shop owner on the call shares their knowledge from decades of adapting to an ever changing industry. Do you think you know everything about each job description in the automotive field? These pros all bring up some great points that you may have never considered. Don’t miss out! Watch this clip now.
Explain automotive jobs: Owner and General Manager
First, Brian asks members what it means to be an automotive repair shop owner. Andy recalls his experience working his way up to the position of Owner of his own family’s repair business. He describes “replacing himself” by delegating tasks to other staff members. Sometimes it does not work out immediately. In those instances, he needs to resume said chores temporarily. The bottom line is that owners have to wear many hats within the auto repair business, thus they need to stay on their toes to adapt to change.
Our own Jim Ryckman chimes in to describe a General Manager is responsibilities. He or she also must delegate jobs amongst the team. However, the GM is often on the floor, right in the action. Thinking on your feet is the key principle! Managers may assist with tickets, tracking parts inventory, and weekly organizational tasks for both the front and back of house staff. Sometimes, perhaps most importantly, they are the face of the shop to customers.
Your GM may need to engage clients in “show and tell” about the repair process, or grab them a cup of coffee. A great General Manager is willing to do anything to make your customers feel welcome! This important position is very challenging, but the more dedicated and flexible you are, the more rewarding it can be!
Explain automotive jobs: Front Counter Staff
Explain automotive jobs: Your Front Counter Staff, or Service Advisors, are crucial!
Whether you call it Front Counter Staff, Service Advisor, or Service Writer, this job is a crucial spoke in the automotive shop wheel. Cory explains what this job means to him, since he has experience with training his own front counter staff.
Service Advisors are the conduit between both your customers and your mechanics. They’re responsible for explaining the car’s repair needs to customers. They also must estimate how long repairs will take and how much they will cost.
“Job stacking” is a critical task for a Service Writer. Managing multiple jobs can be tough, so Front Counter Staff need to have excellent time management and organizational skills. Not to mention, they must work with vendors in order to ensure all necessary parts are in stock. The COVID-19 pandemic has presented new challenges to these workers, such as online communication with customers, due to social distancing requirements.
Cory believes that no other position is as integral to an auto repair shop’s income stream than the Service Advisor. You could say that no other auto repair position requires people skills more than that of a Service Writer.
What are the responsibilities of General Service Technicians?
When we explain automotive jobs, we must not leave out the General Service Technician – the heartbeat of your shop!
A General Service Technician is sometimes called a Mechanic by a lay person. It is undoubtedly the heartbeat of any auto repair shop. Techs often perform a thankless job. That is despite the fact that they are required to take regular ASE certification training.
While many facets of the auto repair process don’t change, technology advances dictate their continuing education. Who knows, your shop may have to service a self driving car in the very near future! Mechanics need to know everything from transmission repair to how to fix the computerized engines of 21st century cars and trucks.
Joe is a veteran shop owner who hails from the state of Alabama. He has seen it all in his day! First of all, Joe runs down the ever evolving responsibilities of technicians. He then recalls his own experiences as a mechanic, which began over 50 years ago. Before they engage in continued learning, each tech must have a strong foundation of general know how. Speed of service is also a crucial factor for technicians.
Mechanics are typically the lowest paid team members, but they have plenty of opportunities to advance their careers. General Service Technicians can learn many skills on the job. Whether at their existing shop, or in another industry, they can be valuable hires. Their communication with others in house, plus their flexibility, are important traits. Those skills can help a General Service Tech to eventually move up to an A Tech, Service Writer, or even Owner position over time.
Ready to learn more? Grow your shop’s bottom line with our weekly meetings!
Are staff relationships and automotive repair training confusing you? Do you struggle to put all of the pieces together? Then why not join one of our monthly coaching groups! You will have access to join our live weekly Zoom meetings. They cover topics such as budgeting for profit, hiring, leadership, and much more. Members also have 24/7 access to hours of previous training calls. A library of valuable documents will help to guide you. Sign up today!
In the excerpt above from our Front Counter Workshop series, Brian discusses the concept of professional obligation in the automotive industry. We owe it to our coworkers and clients to be both honest and consistent. The members of your community, as well as your profession, talk. Word of rudeness, dishonesty, and overall unprofessionalism travels quickly.
YNR Members on the call talk about the similarities between auto repair shop staff and medical doctors. It is up to us to not only correctly diagnose a vehicle’s problems, but to also remain up front about them with their owners. Think of how you would feel as a customer if a service advisor withheld information about problems with your car because he or she was afraid of charging you more. Imagine if these problems caused your car to break down, and cost you even more later. You probably would not visit that shop again. You may even leave the shop a poor review online afterward. What if that review included the service advisor’s name? Surely, that would cause harm to the shop’s reputation, as well as the front counter staff.
Our professional obligation as Auto Repair Shop owners and staff
You owe it to your team to model both honesty and integrity. As Warren Buffett famously said, “It takes twenty years to build a reputation, and five minutes to ruin it.” If your staff sees you practicing what you preach, then they will get buy in from you.
When mechanic technicians, general managers, and service writers work together to perform their professional obligations, customers respond. They will reward your honesty and consistency with the one thing every automotive shop needs: return business and referrals!
Learn more about professionalism in your own auto repair shop!
Could your front counter staff use a deep dive on the concept of professional obligation? Learn the systems that run a successful automotive repair business, as well as how to teach them to your people. You Net Results offers LIVE online meeting groups every week. They are also archived on our site for you to view at your convenience. Sign up for a free strategy session!
In this short clip from the May 20th, 2020 Front Counter Workshop meeting, Brian Gillis discusses a few scenarios that your automotive Service Writers might encounter. When your customers bring their vehicles in for recommended checkups at 30,000, 60,000, or 90,000 miles, Service Advisors must print out a checklist. During this regularly scheduled maintenance, it is important that both our front counter personnel and our technicians are as thorough as possible. Your car service system should always include making the right recommendations when you share the printout.
30/60/90 Maintenance Discussion
The You Net Results members taking part in the call then propose some specific services we should recommend. What if the customer objects to your recommendation after that? Perhaps your customers who have read their manuals will reject recommendations when your auto repair Service Writers make them. “The manual does not recommend checking that part at this mileage amount, so I will opt out,” they may say.
Brian then guides us on how we should all respond when such instances as these occur. These are the must have core tenets in any car service system. They will build customers’ confidence, as well as maximize your profits, guaranteed!
Put the most effective car service system to work in your auto repair shop today!
Do you and your front counter team need repair sales training that is both hands on and in real time? If your profit margins are not what you wish they were, then the answer will always be yes! Learn the car service system that runs a successful automotive repair business, as well as how to teach them to your people. We offer LIVE online meeting groups via Zoom each and every week. They are also archived on our site for you to view at your convenience. Sign up for a free strategy session today!
You owe it to your team to model both honesty and integrity. As 
30/60/90 Maintenance Discussion
