A survey conducted by the AAA from 2016 that stated that two-thirds (63%) of U.S. drivers didn’t trust auto repair shops. That same survey also stated that two-thirds of U.S. drivers found a repair shop they can trust. Those conflicting results make me question that survey. However, browsing on-line I found another survey online that read: The majority of Americans don't trust car repair shops to treat them fairly.
The article continued: “nearly 9 out of 10 respondents admitted to feeling overcharged or suspecting they've been overcharged at some point.” I didn’t like the wording, “at some point.” When? in the last ten years… More vague wording: “feeling overcharged or suspecting they've been overcharged.” So, they felt overcharged? They don’t know they were overcharged? Does that mean they saw the parts cheaper online? Big surprise! Also, “more than half believe they've paid for services they didn't actually need.” How would they know? Again, no certainty, just a feeling.
Wait! Did they get this feeling from the interaction with the service advisor? Ouch! It’s certainly food for thought.
Here’s my theory. I believe the public has linked auto repair to car sales because they both deal with cars. Especially used car sales where there’s a lot of negotiating and what seems like underhanded stuff and manipulation. Many independent car dealers sell cars with problems, but I’ll bet few people enjoy buying a car because of that.
I just talked with two people who recently bought cars from a dealership. Our lady customer called ahead to get the exact price because her company was going to write a check, which she brought in with her. They still sent her on to the finance guy. He tried to sell her an expensive extended warranty. She said no. He tried to sell a lower priced warranty. She reminded him she had the check already written. He continued to offer more upselling products. She said it took an hour to get through all the pushy sales. Ouch! Notice the selling and the dealing with objections. Does that sound familiar?
A friend of mine, who was a Porsche technician back in the day, went to a Subaru dealership to buy his granddaughter a car. He knew the negotiating game and didn’t want any additional items for the car. The same thing happened to him, he was sent to the finance guy. The finance guy went from expensive warranty to medium priced warranty to which my buddy politely said no. The finance guy said, “OK, here’s what most people go with.” And he handed him the tablet to sign. I think most of you know the drill: sell, sell, deal with objections.
I’d guess the motoring public believes auto repair falls under the umbrella of car sales because similar tactics are used. Heck, shops are selling, upselling, and also dealing with objections when a customer says no to things, just like the car sales guys. It’s no wonder we have a bad reputation.
I have some ideas and suggestions to solve this problem. First off, quit selling (and quit using the word selling). We don’t have to sell because the car is already in our shop and most of the time they are already a customer of ours. If we build up a great relationship with the customer, we just need to advise, that is, to explain what is needed now and what can wait. We are not like a mattress store or any other one-time retail outlet. What percentage of mattress store shoppers are regular customers? They have to sell.
An independent car lot isn’t trying to help you buy a (used) car. They are trying to sell you one of the cars on their lot. If the car salesman doesn’t sell you a car, they have to answer to somebody. Few of those car salesman care about you, they just care about their job and their commission, and we can’t fault them for that. I hope you care about your customers.
How about when you get a cold call at work? They want to sell you something auto or business-related. If you’re polite you say no thank you. Then they launch into more benefits of their item. Does that sound familiar to what the advisors are taught to do? If you say you’re not interested because of any given reason, they launch into dealing with objections. Again, isn’t that what old-school coaches advise you do?
Here’s another tactic I disagree with, giving your customer a good compliment about the great shape their car is in except for a few things. You know, to soften them up for the additional expense. Here’s an example from 20 years ago. I remember a customer complementing my boss. My boss jokingly said: “What? Do you want to borrow 20 bucks?” As if the compliment was softening him up for the loan request.
Quit trying to get the approvals for everything on the DVI. You would naturally fall into the selling mode, therefore dealing with objections, both of which irritate customers. Do a search for “everybody likes to buy but nobody likes to be sold.” Suggest a few things that can wait, which will relax your customer, knowing you’re not trying to sell them everything. The trust that’s created makes everything better.
I’m trying to think of another trade where they find other things to do besides what you hired them in for in the first place. What if the gardener says you’ve got some weeds in your yard. “I’ll pull those for additional $$.” And the stain on your fence is starting to fade. “I can take care of that for $$.” You might start thinking about other gardeners because you figure he’ll do the same thing to you next time.
I recall one automotive writer who said it’s the few disreputable shops that are ruining our reputation. I don’t think so. I think it’s the nature of our business, pointing out the additional things that need attention on their car. Unfortunately, the current method of bringing up those additional items sounds like we’re doing it for our own benefit, to make more money. We’re not taking the psychology of the customer into account. It’s time to upgrade our methods.
