What Your Customers Really Want

As a counterperson, you have both a simple job and an impossible one. All you have to do is ensure that an order for a part is filled; of course you can often end up left with incomplete information.

The fact is that your customers, the technicians and shop owners at the other end of the phone, want to spend as little time as possible telling you what they want. The problem is that they also want you never to make a mistake. Oh, and to be friendly too.

In a survey conducted by Jobber News, automotive service providers ranked those things that they felt were important, and those things that drove them most crazy as well.

For example, while being friendly and quick on the phone were ranked highly, knowing how to work your catalogue was very important too. And tops on the list of things that you don’t want to do was punch in the wrong part number. Or leave a guy on hold. Or give up when you can’t find a listing in the catalogue.

The fact is that what your customers want is to be as efficient as possible in conducting the repair–and that may not always mean getting them on and off the phone as quickly as possible.

It is a simple–okay, maybe not so simple–fact of life that in your quest to give the customer what he wants (quick, friendly service), you may not give him what he needs (the right part for the job).

Here’s an example: a customer calls you for rear drums on a Ford Focus. You say no problem, and punch it in, give him a price, he says fine and hangs up. So does he want the drum with or without the bearing?

You can call him back, or just send both (if you have them in stock), but it would have been quicker to take an extra few seconds on the phone to determine what the customer wants.

A callback always takes more time than taking care of things comprehensively on the first occasion. So it’s inefficient at best.

Want to really get under the skin of your customer? “[The] biggest moment of discomfort is [a] counterperson’s ineptitude, lack of ability, and lack of confidence. Also, forgetting to fill the order, or not keeping me informed of any failure to supply until too late, etc.,” says David Friedman, of Partly Dave’s Neighbourhood Garage in Vernon, B.C.

Case in point: if you have to order a part from another store, tell the customer. Failing to let him know of a potential delay will not get you any brownie points.

“I like to have a return phone call if they find [a] part not in stock and have to order from [an]other store, making delivery longer. I need to anticipate which job should go on which hoist,” says another respondent who wished to remain anonymous.

One respondent astutely noted that ordering the wrong part number and getting the price wrong go together. From your standpoint, this may just mean sending the right part and an apology; it may, however, have put the service provider in the position of having misquoted the price on the job, forcing him to requote the customer, eat the price difference, or face an angry customer who wants to know why the provider is charging more for the part than the shop down the street.

Still, those are the uncomfortable exceptions that make doing a good job so important.

On the plus side, conversations regarding this survey made it clear that a good counterperson is a valuable asset to the trade customer. They may not need your abilities to find those rare parts or oddball application quirks every day, but when they do need them, they sure appreciate your input. And they sure remember it too.

Professional Counterperson Dos and Don’ts

* Do respect the time of your customer, but always ensure you communicate the appropriate options.

* Don’t just rely on the printed catalogue as your only resource.

* Do take the time to input the notes on your e-catalogue.

* Don’t fail to follow up on orders that can’t be filled out of stock.

* Do make every effort to know what information resources are out there–from manufacturer reps and tech trainers to web and CD–they can add immeasurably to your customer service.

* Do read everything you can get your hands on: catalogues, tech bulletins, advisories, special notes, and quick fixes.