Joe Marconi

Joe,

You said you were going to create a new post connected to your recent post re MPI's and safety.

My thoughts:

Re MPI’s and the safety you mentioned. Yes, the smart technician will point out the safety issues because they figure those should be easy for even the busiest advisor to get the approval.  Same with the new advisors.

A high percentage of service customers ask to have us check their brakes. I ask why, in case there is an issue. Most of the time there is no issue, “But, please check them.”

If the advisor can’t sell brakes, they need a new line of work. I imagine the same goes for a swollen coolant hoses, a serpentine belt with deep grooves or tires showing thread.

If the advisors were too busy to build rapport and create a trusting relationship with their customers, they launch into the old-school “benefits, value and safety” approach. Which, to a customer, sounds like you are trying to sell them on the repairs or maintenance versus looking out for their best interest. When they say no (big surprise) the advisor pulls out the “dealing with objections” line. When that doesn’t work, out comes line two of “dealing with objections.” Eventually the (smart) customers figure out the manipulations and search for a shop they can trust.

But that’s ok, because the shop has a $2000 a month marketing budget for acquiring new customers; because they have to. Then when the marketing gets a potential customer to call because they are unhappy where they’re currently taking their car and ask for a quote on a radiator, the advisor has been taught not to give a quote (why?). So the advisor grills them on how it might not be the radiator so bring it in (and we’ll charge you to check it and THEN tell you it’s the radiator). And it will cost this much. But now they’re on the hook because they had to pay for the diagnosis of the problem they pretty much already knew they had. Smart customers hang up when they don’t get a quote and call other shops that will. Out of the three shops that quote a radiator, they pick the shop that’s priced in the middle.