The first impression upon calling Toole’s Garage is a good one. If a service advisor can’t answer right away, callers are automatically put on hold long before the third or fourth ring. The hold music is casual, sunny, and driven by a bass guitar—Toole’s Garage is in California, after all.
“We call that the ‘garage funk,’” says Dave Toole, owner and operator, smiling through the phone.
First impressions matter—perception matters, whether in person or online. To bolster the qualities of the shop that bears his name, Toole looks to KUKUI.
Good Business in the City of Good Living
Toole’s Garage is located in San Carlos, Cali., a.k.a. “The City of Good Living.” The San Francisco Bay Area is one of the top hotspots in the world for tech, and Toole knew that if his shop was going to be seen—he took over ownership in 2009—he’d have to use the resources available to him.
Tesla’s U.S. headquarters are a short drive away. And so is KUKUI.
“We were on board very early,” Toole says.
“KUKUI helped strategically put me on the map as a new business and in immediate competition with shops that had been around for years. The software suite helped visually grow our presence.”
Customer perception is one aspect of consumer satisfaction. In other words, how much the actions of business can be divorced from the business of business is one way your shop can stand out from its competitors. If a shop offers “service with a smile” and you don’t get one, what are your perceptions of that shop?
Toole cites the digital vehicle inspection (DVI) tool as being particularly useful to his client’s perceptions (and repairs) within his shop.
“Being a technician by trade, our goal is always to fix the car. As a service advisor, you have to translate that to a customer—’the mechanic sees this, etc. etc.’—and in the past, there had always been a loss in translation,” he says. “Now, the ability to show clients the recommended repair digitally in the comfort of their own home is huge for transparency.”
Diagnosing Your Money
Key performance indicators (KPIs) are becoming increasingly common as shops track their input, output, revenue, challenges and opportunities. Micromanaging everything from first point of contact and post-appointment follow-up to monitoring daily ad spend and click-through rate is now the norm rather than the exception.
Toole cites the “leads” tab as another way to elevate the customer experience (even potential customers).
“As far as marketing and advertising goes, it’s scary to throw money out there and hope people get a hold of you,” he says. “This tool allows you to really dive in and get technical; I can access unique leads from the Google ad campaign, how many came in, and see our conversion rate. I can diagnose what’s worth spending time and money on.”
The daily review of KUKUI dashboard coupled with its ability to schedule, track, and summarize long-term shop goals and campaigns allows Toole to get a bird’s-eye view of his own company in a way not really possible before.
“Like many shop-owners-as-techs, I like to figure stuff out—that’s why we are who we are,” he says.
“This tool allows you to tailor and diagnose your money.”
If his leads aren’t converting, he can tell. And then he can adjust at a moment’s notice.
