Building Trust Through Technology

All great relationships, personal and professional, rely on trust. Trust becomes even more important when one party is recommending large investments to the other. 

In the automotive repair industry, a customer-shop relationship is just that. Customers who sometimes have no automotive knowledge are put in a vulnerable position when talking to a shop about the needed repairs for their vehicle. Big money can be involved in the discussion, and customers want to be sure that they are doing what they need to maintain their vehicle without feeling like they are being “ripped off”.

Mitch Moncur, owner of Denny’s Auto in Riverton, Utah, has been able to build trust with his customers by using Kukui DVI. The digital inspections have strengthened the relationship between customers and his shop, pushing Denny’s Auto to continue to grow. 

Added Transparency 

To build trust, Moncur ensures that there is a level of transparency with his customers, and digital vehicle inspections through Kukui provide that. By allowing technicians to take photos and videos of specific vehicle parts, a full digital report can then be sent directly to the customer’s phone or email. This photographic snapshot provides clients the evidence they need to better understand vehicle recommendations, and doesn’t leave any unanswered questions or doubt. 

“Kukui DVI lets us be even more transparent than what we were previously capable of, and we always want to be as transparent as we possibly can,” he explains. “Our customers absolutely love it, and it builds that level of overall trust.”

Digital inspections become even more useful with customers who are newer to the shop, or may have had unfortunate experiences at a previous shop. In an instance like this, Moncur is able to show the cautious customer the progression of photos from one DVI report to another. This way, customers have visual proof of the part wearing down, and can feel confident about their choice of shop and purchasing decisions. 

Easy to Use for All

With all new technology comes a learning curve. Luckily, for Moncur, the learning curve for Kukui DVI was less than a day with his team. 

“Using Kukui DVI is easy on the service writer side and easy on the technician side,” he explains. “I have a technician who has been with us since 1993, he learned how to do it in like a day, it’s easy for all generations.”

On the owner side, Kukui has made it easy for Moncur to track how many DVIs his team has sent out, along with the conversion ratio and other key KPIs. He also has a 30 minute call once a month with someone from Kukui to help grow his business. 

“It's amazing, I’ve learned so much more about my business,” he says.

The simple, easy-to-use format is also helpful to customers, and makes reading their digital inspection report quick and digestible, no matter how much previous vehicle knowledge they have. 

“Our customers absolutely love it because all of our recommendations on the inspection are color-coded,” Moncur explains. “So they get their email, and it will show all the pictures and videos and technician comments.”

Within the report, customers will see a green section noting everything that looks good on their vehicle. Then there's a yellow section, these are the repairs that need to be looked at in the near future. Lastly, the red section, showcasing the items that need to be taken care of immediately. 

“They like it because it acts as a built-in priority list for them,” he says.

Expanding Technology

Moving digital is the best way to stay up-to-date in the industry and attract younger customers who rely more heavily on technology.

“If you want to stay relevant in the automotive industry, you have to be cutting edge,” Moncur says. “You have to be sending pictures and you have to be taking videos.”

As more and more customers from younger generations enter your shop, new challenges of trust arise. 

“Our industry has a harder time earning the trust of younger generations,” he explains. “They've never really had experience at an automotive repair shop and they're scared they're gonna get screwed over. If you can visually show them what's going on with their car, you're going to have a customer for life.”