Trade Secrets

Motor,  Jul 2005  by Cerullo, Bob

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Customers come to you for help with their car problems, but it's not a two-way street For their sake, any difficufties you're having in the shop are best kept to yourself.

I'm not sure if trouble comes in threes or if it just seems that having two problems turns a third situation into a problem more easily than it might if it were not preceded by the other two. You know, kind of like "the straw that broke the camels back." I do know that trouble in the shop often snowballs into more trouble often because it can put the shop owner in a bad mood.

One lunch hour a while ago I drove over to a jewelry store my wife had recommended because I needed a new watchband. I thought that would be a simple in & out deal until I walked into the shop with my watch in my hand. The guy behind the counter, who, I later discovered, was the owner, glared at me and barked that he had no time for watchbands right now and that I should come back later. I didn't say a word and, of course, went to another store. When I told my wife the story, she was amazed. She said she had been in that store several times (no surprise to me) and the owner had been perfectly charming. She even questioned me about whether I went to the wrong store. I had not.

Obviously, the jeweler was having a bad day and fully embraced his misfortune by growling at me. Maybe he felt better after having vented his frustration. I don't know. What I do know is that I wouldn't go back to his store if he were giving away watches.

The auto repair business is not like most other retail businesses. It's not just a matter of someone picking an item off the shelf and presenting it to the cashier. Repairing automobiles is a highly complex, technical business that requires interaction between the car owner and the shop owner or manager. All through the situation, the car owner is assessing the shop owner and the shop owner is assessing the car owner. Often the shop owner is trying to give a f airly technical explanation to a person who is not enthusiastic about learning, but is more worried about how much it's going to cost him than understanding the problem. It's a highly personal situation, and moods-both yours and the customers-can make a big difference.

I had one customer who complained that I never smiled at him. Perhaps it was because he had the uncanny knack of arriving just when a technician had announced to me something like: "Remember that car that came in for a tuneup this morning? Well, the spark plug hole in the aluminum head is stripped." Or "the bleeder valve isn't on top in the already installed new right front caliper for the car on number one lift." Perhaps it was his lecturing me just after I learned that two of my technicians had called in sick.

The thing is, he was absolutely right. Somehow it worked out that I never smiled at him, which is odd because I do try to smile and laugh with customers all the time. Maybe I knew, subconsciously, he was going to reprimand me for not smiling and that made me scowl. He also complained that I always smiled at his brother. He did succeed in getting me to think about subconsciously justifying my being abrupt with him, and perhaps other customers, simply because I had a few problems in the shop or maybe he irritated me at that moment.

You can't really instantly like every customer. But you can try to separate your problems from your dealings with them and not allow one wrong move on their part to set you off, like the jeweler did with me. Everyone has problems, and some far more serious than a shop owner having to get through a day short two technicians.

As a case in point, let me tell you about a former customer I'll call "Mr. Smiley." Smiley was one of the nicest, laid-back customers I have ever dealt with. He never complained, never missed an appointment and never argued. He was never in a hurry and almost always left his car for service. Smiley was an ideal customer who brought his car in regularly, went along with my suggestions on needed repairs and generally never, ever made a pest of himself. In fact, he was rather aloof, but then again, many customers keep their interactions with us to a minimum.

One day Smiley came in for a routine oil and filter change. He never did talk much, but this time he was even a little more aloof than usual, and in a hurry. I accommodated him by putting his car on a lift immediately. Smiley waited for the job to be done, then paid the bill in cash. That was unusual for him, since he always paid by check. Our cashier was impressed by the lengthy thank-you she got from him for all our past service. It was, she thought, a bit much for only an oil and filter change. She also thought that Smiley seemed very sad.

A few hours later a detective stopped into the shop asking about Smiley. I said he had been in for an oil change earlier in the day. The detective told me that neighbors had found Smiley in his car, sobbing uncontrollably. He was inconsolable, and no one could get him to say what was troubling him.