Shop owners have a lot on their minds. From getting repairs out on time, monitoring staff to budgeting for new equipment, the last thing that he or she needs to run into is a delayed part delivery that results in an unsatisfied customer.
The suppliers that a shop owner chooses to work with are a reflection on his or her own shop. The way that the supplier treats its shops will directly correlate with how its technicians are able to provide for their customer. To put it simply, a faulty part that is delivered to a shop will result in a poor repair from a technician and end with a dissatisfied customer.
Because of this, shops need to be extremely selective when it comes to choosing a supplier. Shop owners should figure out what’s important for them to demonstrate to their customers, and then choose a supplier that can provide and deliver those results.
Shop Owner Nate and Service Advisor Richie, at Bronx Auto Service, which purchases 90 percent of its parts at the shop through AutoZone, share how partnering with AutoZone and ALLDATA has helped them provide for their customers and, because of that, become a more successful business.
“With [AutoZone and ALLDATA] we have basically the same information as the dealership,” Richie says.
That means they know what the dealerships generally charge and can be competitive.
1) The Faster the Bays, the More Opportunity for Profit
“Everybody’s in a rush. Getting parts quicker saves time, gets the car fixed faster, makes the customer happy and you can get another car in the shop,” says Bill Rhodes.
According to Rhodes, inventory availability, speed of delivery and ease of doing business helps do that.
For Richie, AutoZone’s staff has helped locate parts over the phone and eased the strain of tracking down parts.
“They’re excellent; they’re very courteous on the phone,” Richie says. “They’ll do anything to help get you the part. If they can’t find the part, they’ll outsource it so you can get the part in an hour,” Richie says.
AutoZone has also increased its available parts to customers with the addition of 25 MegaHubs—stores that carry up to 100,000 SKUs that supply surrounding stores with inventory multiple times per day—across the country. This ensures that AutoZone shops will get the parts they need when they need them.
2 ) Your Business Thrives Off Trust & Reputation
The last thing a shop owner wants to see at the end of a long day is a comeback vehicle. When selecting a supplier, shops need to make sure that they’re choosing a company that values quality above all else.
Duralast parts, only sold at AutoZone, are engineered to meet or exceed OE performance and go through rigorous testing to ensure they meet the Duralast quality standards.
Not only can shops rely on parts from AutoZone, they’ll also be able to assure their own customers that they are providing high quality parts at the best possible price, which is a win-win.
3) The Dealership-Equivalent Experience Secret
Customers are looking for a sleek, dealership experience when they enter the doors of an auto repair shop. AutoZone recognizes the difficulty shops face when it comes to providing a top-notch experience and has made it a priority to help its technicians provide that.
Without the assistance of AutoZone, providing customers with quality parts that are OE equivalent would be a challenge, Nate says.
Justin Pons of Pons Auto says that AutoZone is the best service that he’s ever seen from a “chain store” and that his commercial manager and delivery driver from AutoZone have helped make his shop what it is today.
“Their customer service is like no other,” Pons says.
“I’ve been running the shop for 10 years and ever since I’ve been here, we’ve been using auto parts from AutoZone and we’ve never had a situation,” Nate says. “It’s been 10 years for a reason.”
With a focus on customer satisfaction and growing a shop’s repair business, companies like AutoZone aim to be more than just a supplier by looking for ways to improve the experience of its professionals and maintaining a dedicated investment in helping grow their business.
“We recognize that delivering on this commitment across 50 states, several countries and more than 87,000 AutoZoners is always an aspiration that is never fully achieved,” Rhodes says. “We continue to strive for it every single day, in every single customer interaction.”
Partnering with a supplier like AutoZone can provide many benefits to your business. Not only will technicians be able to provide a better customer experience, they’ll also be able to turn work out quicker, which will ultimately retain and drive a loyal customer base.
