The go-to repair shop. It’s safe to say most vehicle owners hope to find a trusted shop they can count on, but more are likely to settle for a less than ideal experience than pursue a search for the shop that will best suit their needs.
You might have already had a chance to check out Ratchet+Wrench’s new Inside the Consumer’s Mind project. Through the reporting process, the Ratchet+Wrench team surveyed repair shop customers across the country, only to find that the average repair shop experience still leaves much to be desired—something our own editorial team can relate to on a personal level.
Despite each having nearly a decade of auto repair reporting experience, editorial director Anna Zeck and Bryce Evans, vice president, content and events, have yet to find their own go-to shops.
The two may fall into unique customer demographics—Zeck chose her vehicle for its dependability and isn’t one to log extensive mileage, while Evans chose his for its family-friendly features and drives most often to transport his family to school, and activities, and his commute to work—but both have found their repair shop experiences to be hit or miss. Why exactly?
Evans notes he’s felt pushed into repair sales and even shamed by shop staff as a “bad vehicle owner” in past repair visits and Zeck actually experiences anxiety at the thought of calling the shop she’s visited most often.
“The owner is the gruffest man I've ever met. It's genuinely terrifying to call him up on the phone and I have to pump myself up to actually give him a call,” Zeck says.
She’s returned to the shop, which she describes as the antithesis of the top shops regularly featured in Ratchet+Wrench, because she can trust his work, he charges reasonable prices, and will clearly communicate the repairs that can wait, “and those factors have so far outweighed the terrible experience of visiting his shop, but when it comes to basic maintenance I’d rather just go to the quick lube down the street.”
Evans’ and Zeck’s highlight the value of trust and transparency, as well as some of the biggest customer pain points that prevent shops from winning over key customers and keep vehicle owners on the hunt for greener pastures.
“As a consumer, it's the negative experiences that stick out and that you really remember. Those are the experiences that make you guarded going into that next repair shop,” says Evans.
Tune in tomorrow for an upcoming episode of the Inside the Consumer’s Mind video series featuring candid conversation as Zeck and Evans talk repair shop experiences, customer expectations, budgets, and the first steps in finding an ideal fit.
And check back throughout the month as Ratchet+Wench checks in with industry experts for an in-depth look at how the repair industry’s best practices truly translate to the customers they’re designed to support.
