The Success of Your Auto Repair Shop Starts at the Service Counter

 

The Role of the Service Counter in Auto Repair Shop Success

I am old enough to remember when most independent auto repair shops did not employ service advisors or any front-line people. The shop owner wore most, if not all, of the hats, jumping from the technician position, to shop manager, to selling service and repairs. The concept of a service counter or service advisor just wasn’t as important as it is today.  

 

If you are an avid reader of my blogs and other articles, you know that I often say that years back, three things nearly guaranteed our success: General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. Those cars broke down a lot and needed a lot of upkeep. On any given day, there were broken cars lined up in front of your bays. Well, this is not 1985 anymore, and today we need a different mindset. We need to realize what business we are really in.    

 

John Digulius, founder of the highly successful hair salon company, John Robert’s Spa, says this about the success of his organization: “If we only sold haircuts, manicures, facials, and massages, we would have been out of business years ago.” John Digulius states that he is in the customer experience business. What John Robert’s sells is the customer experience. You need to adopt this same approach.   

 

In this article, I will outline the importance of the service counter, with a focus on your front-line people, your service advisors. And how, with a focus on the customer experience, will be your driving force for greater success, growth, and building a legacy company.  

 

Why Customer Experience Matters More Than the Repair

With all due respect to all the amazing technicians and the incredible work they do, it’s not the repair or service that leaves an impression with your customers. Your customer will not remember the oxygen sensor you replaced three months later. What she will remember is how you made her feel. Was the experience positive? Did the experience leave her with such an amazing feeling that she wants to tell the world about you and your repair shop? The experience is really what matters most, and it all starts at the front counter.  

 

Now, with that said, every auto repair shop must have competent technicians who are trained and held to the highest quality standards. However, a business that positions itself by its products and services is doomed for hard times, even if you compete on price. Let’s be honest, are your oil changes and brake jobs really better than your competitors’?  Perhaps they are. But in the eyes of the consumer, they probably don’t have that awareness, and in most cases, they don’t understand what happens in the bays.  

 

Yes, your customers want their car to be fixed right by trained, competent technicians. But that is an assumption made by your customers, and their judgment of their experience is not predicated on that. What consumers focus on is the experience, how they were treated, and communicated with. Consumers also judge you if a problem arises. How your service personnel handle customer complaints can make or break your operation.  

 

The Importance of Hiring and Training Service Advisors

As with all successful business plans, it starts with hiring the right people. But let’s focus today on the service advisor position. As mentioned above, if the customer experience is what truly matters to build a legacy company, then the role of the service advisor is crucial in providing that amazing experience.   

 

Little things like smiling, a friendly greeting, and knowing how to have a meaningful conversation with customers are all skills that your service advisors must be proficient in. This is why it is essential to find and hire people who have basic people skills. Those people who enjoy working and communicating with consumers. However, it’s important to note that, unlike past generations, today we have a shortage of people who have fundamental people skills. This is where training comes in. 

 

Training is a key component in delivering the experience that will set your company apart from your competitors. Every new service advisor must go through an extensive onboarding and training process.  Please resist the temptation to put a newly-hired service advisor on the service counter, day one. Doing so, without the onboarding and training, is setting that person up for failure. The time you take at the beginning will pay big dividends down the road. 

 

Onboarding should include:  

• Learning the company’s history and values 

• A review of all policies and procedures 

• A discussion on the company culture and expectations 

• The importance of customer experience 

 

For your existing service advisors, ongoing training and retraining are equally important. Consistency at the service counter is what builds trust and delivers a predicable, high-quality experience for customers. 

 

Service advisor training must focus on every customer interaction, including: 

• Scheduling appointments 

• Phone etiquette and call handling 

• Customer intake and vehicle walk-arounds 

• Explaining repairs and the sales process 

• Vehicle delivery and customer follow-up communication 

• Handling upset or frustrated customers 

 

Another component of training is role-playing. Each touch point must be practiced over and over. Just as in sports, drills and practice before game day help to ensure success on the field. And in your case, success on the service counter.  

 

Lastly, product and service knowledge matters but communication matters more. While it’s not mandatory that service personnel fully understand the mechanics of what you do, a basic knowledge of the areas of automotive will help them communicate effectively with customers.  

 

Creating an onboarding and training program may sound daunting.  Elite’s Service Advisor Training and Sales Master University help auto repair shops elevate customer experience and front-counter performance.  

 

The Employee Experience Drives the Customer Experience

While we are focusing in this article on the service advisor position, the reality is that everyone in your company is part of delivering an amazing customer experience.  A company is only as strong as the people within the company. To deliver the absolute best customer experience requires the absolute best employee experience. This will take strong leadership from ownership and management. The leaders of a company set the tone. They must do all they can to promote a positive workplace environment.  

 

The culture of your company drives its direction and growth. And it starts at the top; it’s leadership. Shop owners, this means that you must communicate continually and consistently the importance of treating people with respect and having empathy for the needs of others. If it’s important to you, then it will be important to your employees. With this strategy, combined with the right people on the front counter, success will follow.  

 

Final Thoughts: Building a Legacy Auto Repair Shop

If you are an auto shop owner looking for innovative ways to enhance and grow your business, Elite Worldwide can help. At Elite, we have world-class, experienced coaches who understand your business. Our coaches have lived in the trenches and built amazing, successful companies. Elite also has sales, management training, and peer groups that can take you and your business right to the top. No matter where you are in your business career, startup, growth mode, or looking to retire, Elite can guide you and help you achieve your goals and build a more profitable and successful business.