The importance of being convenient

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An auto repair and service shop needs to be seen as convenient in customers’ minds because it sets the stage for future business, a shop owner and coach explained.

Turning away a customer is something all aftermarket shops should be avoiding, noted Jay Huh, a business coach at Shop Fix Academy and owner of CarMedix. Some shops don’t like to do just an oil change on a vehicle and would rather package it with other services or repairs. So a customer calling about just an oil change may be told to try the place next door. However, with the right auto repair shop software, businesses can efficiently manage even small jobs, streamlining operations and improving customer retention by accommodating a wider range of services.

But being convenient doesn’t mean taking in anyone and everyone. If you specialize in Hondas you don’t need to take in the BMW that rolls into your parking lot. What it means, he told attendees of the Midwest Auto Care Alliance’s Vision Hi-Tech Training & Expo, is that you can say yes and offer convenience to the customer who may need a last-minute oil change in between their kids’ soccer game and their mother’s medical appointment.

Bottom line, you want to make it convenient for a customer to visit your shop.

“It’s all about convenience. You never underestimate the power of convenience,” he said during the session How to Run your Shop Stress Free.

He painted the picture of a driver having something go wrong with their car on a Tuesday. They call their shop but they say to come by on Friday. If you’re the customer, are you actually going to wait those extra days before going to the shop, Huh asked. No, and what happens next is the customer will pull out their phone and search “auto repair shops near me.” They will call around until someone says they can come over now.

It doesn’t even have to be something major to show convenience to the customer, Huh pointed out, going back to the example of oil changes. Look at how many quick lube shops there are. That’s because they make it convenient to drop in and get an oil change performed, he said.

These places have led customers to believe an oil change is a 15-minute job. So when a customer calls a service shop and they’re denied an oil change that day, they’re put off. And it sets the stage for months down the road when the customer’s check engine light comes on or they’re in need of a major repair.

“Do you think they’re going to call your shop?” Huh asked. “In their mind, you can’t even squeeze them in for a 15-minute oil change. You think they’re going to trust you to get their car in for major repair?”

Look back to the last year when your shop was busy and you had to turn away customers. “Do you think you being slow right now might be the result of that?” he posited to attendees.

Here’s what he suggested: When a customer calls in need of an oil change or help with a failure, ask if they’d like to come “now or …” and suggest an alternate time, like later that afternoon or tomorrow morning.

“The answer is always now — ‘Can you come in now?’” Huh said. “It’s the ability to say yes.”

It’s these decisions that help shops have a strong customer base so owners aren’t stressed during slow times.

“You guys are stressed out because you guys don’t have enough cars,” Huh pointed out. “So these are the basic principles you need to have in place. Saying ‘yes’ this is one of them.”