Since Murphy's lightning is striking twice today, here is another great one!

[mspecperformance]

Got a call, customer asked for a quote (2007 335i). I think I even exhaled when I heard that but I went through the my general run down. Here is how the convo went,

 

 

Me: Sir what kind of problems are you experiencing with your vehicle?

 

Customer: I need some quotes on some work for my car.

 

Me: Did you have the problems diagnosed somewhere?

 

Customer: No but I know what I need.

 

Me: Ok what do you need to have serviced?

 

Customer: I THINK I need my valve cover gasket changed, I THINK I need my oil filter housing gasket changed, I THINK I need a belt and belt tensioner and I have the parts, I THINK I need a mechatronics sleeve and thrust arms. How much?

 

Me: Well sir if I can make a recommendation... since you did not get your vehicle diagnosed by a professional I would like to invite you to bring the vehicle to us and we can perform a visual inspection for you to determine what you do and don't need. I can then give you a proper estimate.

 

Customer: But my car doesn't start, I can't move it.

 

My brain goes into the UGH mode.

 

Me: Why doesn't the car start?

 

Customer: The belt jumped off.

 

Me: It sounds like you may have experienced a problem with the tensioner bolt bending and/or your tensioner failing. When the belt falls off on this particular engine you can do a lot of damage other than the obvious. belt material can eat into the front crank seal, damage the radiator and affect anything in the front of the car.

 

Customer: Oh really I didn't know.

 

Me: Yes so it would make the most sense for you to bring the car to us so can properly assess what you need.

 

Customer: I would have to tow it to you then and I don't know if I want to do that without getting a price.

 

Me: Well sir I am not charging you to inspect the car as of now.

 

Customer: I would have to pay for a tow then unless you offer a free tow. Do you do that?

 

Me: No sir unfortunately we do not however I am not charging you to inspect your car. For the cost of a tow you can have a professional look at and I can create an accurate estimate for you. If you don't like it you can always go somewhere else.

 

Customer: Well your not going to get my business unless I get a quote. I want to bring it to you because your specialist.

 

 

 

and the convo went on for another few minutes with nothing being resolved.

 

Odd ball people have been calling me all day and its driving me insane.

[bstewart]

Haha, classic example of another CONSUMER on the phone, not any CUSTOMER or CLIENT of yours!

They just CONSUME your time, energy and give you headaches.

 

Another BMW owner who's too cheap to pay for a tow to get their car running. Even if you gave him a price, he would think it's too high anyways, don't worry about it!

Plus he said he wants to bring his own belt and tensioner (probably from the cheapest aftermarket parts store that looked it up wrong anyways).

[mspecperformance]

He was a younger guy it sounded like. Most likely on the forums gaining knowledge from other internet master techs. Very annoying to say the least.

[mmotley]

Would it have not been quicker to just quote him out the service he wanted and let him go?

 

2 possible outcomes. 1.) He never shows up. 2.) He shows up, you inspect the vehicle before you ever get started, and present him with what you find, IF there is anything else it needs. If he gets upset that you tell him he needs more work, tell him fine, you will proceed without replacing the radiator or whatever, take his money for what you quoted him, and you'll see him back in a few days when he pops the motor. Show him pics of it leaking or whatever... Just the way I see it

[mspecperformance]

The idea is you don't want to get into giving estimates over the phone. There will always be someone less expensive than you and if you don't take the time to educate the potential good customers on what sets you apart then you'll most likely not get the sale anyway. Of course my goal is not a quick job but rather the longevity of a customer relationship. I am fairly decent at turning people over because like you read a lot on here many people don't know what questions to ask other than price. Unfortunately I've been bombarded with time wasting bottom feeding consumers. These are the type that treat what we do as a commodity like buying milk at a store. They think any shop can fill their needs.

 

My ratio of people that I give quotes to the amount of times they actually come in is super low.

[mmotley]

Could you not change your script to give out the quote, then follow up with what sets your apart from other shops (ASE's, warranty, rentals/loaners, better parts, fast turn around)? And also follow up with "I think I can get that price even lower when I look at it here in the shop. I've had a lot of cars lately that got quoted a bunch of parts they don't really need".

 

Just seems like instead of arguing with a potential customer, give em what they want, then tell them why your price may be higher than others.

[alfredauto]

I agree that quoting a job like that over the phone is a lose-lose situation. I think you did the right thing, I would have handled it the same. If the customer can't commit to a tow and has his own parts then no way is he going to be happy with the real price to fix it.

[mspecperformance]

Could you not change your script to give out the quote, then follow up with what sets your apart from other shops (ASE's, warranty, rentals/loaners, better parts, fast turn around)? And also follow up with "I think I can get that price even lower when I look at it here in the shop. I've had a lot of cars lately that got quoted a bunch of parts they don't really need".

 

Just seems like instead of arguing with a potential customer, give em what they want, then tell them why your price may be higher than others.

Once you give out a price that is all that's in the mind of the customer.

 

I do not argue with customers, these are consumers that obviously have an agenda.

[Shopcat]

Well done mspecperformance. Hold your ground. What other profession is expected to phone quote anything, site unseen? Giving those phone quotes damages the shop's and the industry's reputation. The only thing Mr. M.T. Pockets will remember is the lowest price he heard.

[hddm3]

Got a call, customer asked for a quote (2007 335i). I think I even exhaled when I heard that but I went through the my general run down. Here is how the convo went,

 

 

Me: Sir what kind of problems are you experiencing with your vehicle?

 

Customer: I need some quotes on some work for my car.

 

Me: Did you have the problems diagnosed somewhere?

 

Customer: No but I know what I need.

 

Me: Ok what do you need to have serviced?

 

Customer: I THINK I need my valve cover gasket changed, I THINK I need my oil filter housing gasket changed, I THINK I need a belt and belt tensioner and I have the parts, I THINK I need a mechatronics sleeve and thrust arms. How much?

 

Me: Well sir if I can make a recommendation... since you did not get your vehicle diagnosed by a professional I would like to invite you to bring the vehicle to us and we can perform a visual inspection for you to determine what you do and don't need. I can then give you a proper estimate.

 

Customer: But my car doesn't start, I can't move it.

 

My brain goes into the UGH mode.

 

Me: Why doesn't the car start?

 

Customer: The belt jumped off.

 

Me: It sounds like you may have experienced a problem with the tensioner bolt bending and/or your tensioner failing. When the belt falls off on this particular engine you can do a lot of damage other than the obvious. belt material can eat into the front crank seal, damage the radiator and affect anything in the front of the car.

 

Customer: Oh really I didn't know.

 

Me: Yes so it would make the most sense for you to bring the car to us so can properly assess what you need.

 

Customer: I would have to tow it to you then and I don't know if I want to do that without getting a price.

 

Me: Well sir I am not charging you to inspect the car as of now.

 

Customer: I would have to pay for a tow then unless you offer a free tow. Do you do that?

 

Me: No sir unfortunately we do not however I am not charging you to inspect your car. For the cost of a tow you can have a professional look at and I can create an accurate estimate for you. If you don't like it you can always go somewhere else.

 

Customer: Well your not going to get my business unless I get a quote. I want to bring it to you because your specialist.

 

 

 

and the convo went on for another few minutes with nothing being resolved.

 

Odd ball people have been calling me all day and its driving me insane.

well get use to it. its the new America. dumb asses everywhere.