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We made a mistake, but the customer crosses the line


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Joe I am glad even a pro shop owner like yourself is not immune to bone heads!!!

 

the "customer is always right" mentality could have certainly applied to the situation if she had politely asked that you honored the quoted price. I think you guys did the right thing in even offering her a discount. However her actions pretty much threw that out the window quick. It sucks to have a customer walk away unhappy. You start to question your methods and what you did that didn't meet their expectations. For me at least it always hits home as if I failed Math Class in school because I was too lazy to do my homework LOL. Customers like that however are unavoidable nightmares.

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Only advice I can give is do not let these rare instances influence you moving forward. there will always be that 1 out of a million that really rubs you the wrong way. Unfortunately we can let these rare instances influence our future behavior. Apologize, do the right thing and move on....

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Funny story, years ago I had a very strange experience with a customer. I am a second generation Chinese American and I speak English fluently. I had many conversations with this one customer with no problems whatsoever. He was one of those "wants to be your buddy" customers. Long story short, he had a real problem with the final price of his repairs and started ranting about, "In this country, WE have honor" basically implying I'm some foreigner looking to rip him off. Needless to say it did not end well. Talk about crossing the line LOL

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  • 3 months later...

At the first sign of her loudness and ignorance I probably would have asked her to depart with her car. There's nothing to salvage there. You don't want to work on her car as she will be the type to try and look for something wrong. Customer is always right until I say that they are not.

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A first time customer arrives at our service counter requesting prices on a set of tires. My service advisor, using the vehicle information she gave him (big mistake), priced a set of Goodyear tires. She authorized the job and made an appointment.

 

The customer dropped the car off this past Wednesday for the tires. A few hours later the car brought in, only to realize that the tires were the wrong size and the tires that belong on her car would be more money. The advisor called the customer and she went ballistic. She screamed and demanded what we honor the price. The service advisor reduced the price to cost, but that was not good enough.

 

She decided to cancel the tire job and pick up her car. We made a mistake; we should have never given her a price without actually checking the vehicle information and tire size. It was a mistake, we admitted that to her.

 

But here is where it gets ugly. She came in with a friend to pick up her car and she started to insult my service advisor. She called him names and began to throw insults at him that I do not want to repeat. My advisor said nothing; he stood there and took it. We also had other people in the office at the time.

 

I called the women and told her that I would have given her the tires at any cost, but after hearing what she had done and said, I told her that some things cross the line. She responded by saying, “aren’t you guys regulated? Isn’t’ the customer ALWAYS right? And don’t you have to honor the price?” I said, “First we are not regulated, what ever that means, this is America the last time I looked, and we are talking about a mistake here. Plus, the way you acted, I really don’t think we want you as a customer.”

 

By the way, she freely admitted to me that she was “fresh mouthed”, her words, not mine.

 

IS THE CUSTOMER ALWAYS RIGHT? Not really, agree or not?

ofcourse not, hardly ever are they right. I would of done the exsact same thing. I don't want customers like that because you can never please them... ever

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It is time we END "the customer is always right" mantra. We need to try to satisfy them to stay in business. They are "frequently" wrong! Our advisors have "daily" experience in the matters we all deal with. Customers do not. They often lie, play games, hide information, play dumb, etc. Yes, you are better off without that lady. Maya Angelou said "when someone shows you who they are, believe them".

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  • Have you checked out Joe's Latest Blog?

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      It always amazes me when I hear about a technician who quits one repair shop to go work at another shop for less money. I know you have heard of this too, and you’ve probably asked yourself, “Can this be true? And Why?” The answer rests within the culture of the company. More specifically, the boss, manager, or a toxic work environment literally pushed the technician out the door.
      While money and benefits tend to attract people to a company, it won’t keep them there. When a technician begins to look over the fence for greener grass, that is usually a sign that something is wrong within the workplace. It also means that his or her heart is probably already gone. If the issue is not resolved, no amount of money will keep that technician for the long term. The heart is always the first to leave. The last thing that leaves is the technician’s toolbox.
      Shop owners: Focus more on employee retention than acquisition. This is not to say that you should not be constantly recruiting. You should. What it does means is that once you hire someone, your job isn’t over, that’s when it begins. Get to know your technicians. Build strong relationships. Have frequent one-on-ones. Engage in meaningful conversation. Find what truly motivates your technicians. You may be surprised that while money is a motivator, it’s usually not the prime motivator.
      One last thing; the cost of technician turnover can be financially devastating. It also affects shop morale. Do all you can to create a workplace where technicians feel they are respected, recognized, and know that their work contributes to the overall success of the company. This will lead to improved morale and team spirit. Remember, when you see a technician’s toolbox rolling out of the bay on its way to another shop, the heart was most likely gone long before that.
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