I’m referring to the
hesitancy we have to recommend needed work that we come across that wasn’t on
the original work order or related to the complaint the customer came in with.
For the purpose of this discussion I’ll have to make a couple of exclusions. I’m
going to leave out the “bad attitude” side of the equation. In most cases, those people shouldn’t be
there in the first place. I’m also not going to address the possibility
that you didn’t have the necessary training to recognize the potential problem
when you saw it. There’s a solution for
that and it’s called Training.
What I would like to
talk about is the psychological tendency we have not to want to “impose”
ourselves on others. Don’t believe me? Just follow along here. All of us, and I
do mean all of us have, at one time or another been on the receiving end
of a “high-pressure” sales pitch and we remember how it made us feel.
Unfortunately, that feeling gets deeply imbedded in our minds, because we
experience it all too often. As a matter of fact, unless you live in a total
vacuum, it’s hard to avoid.
There are instances when
the “imposition” is nothing more than a directive from corporate headquarters
or the store management meant to up-sell or suggest a closely related item.
“For another 25 cents you can get the 10 gallon size popcorn.” “Will there be
any donuts with your coffee this morning?” “Those are 3 for a dollar this
week.” Would you like to make a donation to XYZ charity today?” Most of the
time these are innocent enough and could actually be beneficial to you or be
something you would be happy to do.
The problem is, that as
innocent as those examples are, they add to our collection of memories where we
had that feeling of imposition. Without calling out or pointing a finger at any
particular industries, generally speaking, the higher the ticket price of an
item you are buying, the more likely you are going to run into the
high-pressure or deceptive tactics. During those encounters, especially where
you didn’t have the product or technical knowledge to weigh all the facts being
thrown at you, you were at a disadvantage and forced to deal with a stressful
situation. Folks, …. We remember stress! …. We remember the feeling and we
think to ourselves that WE would never put any of our customers in that
position. It’s just an uncomfortable place to be. That’s where your
reluctance and hesitancy comes from. Believe me. It is not a bad thing to
want to be a good person.
So now, how do we get
by this? How do we get to “If you see something, say something”? The first step
is to look at every vehicle that comes into your shop or on your lift as if it
were the vehicle that was going to be driven out of there by the person you
loved the most in this world. Really? …. Yes, really!!! I know you’re working
and time is money and you’re already looking at three more vehicles than you
can probably handle today and how would you possibly have the time to do all
that? The reality is, it won’t take you a minutes’ worth of time to accomplish
all this.
Let me oversimplify it.
A customer comes in for an oil change. The car gets driven over the pit or onto
the lift. While the car’s going into the air or you’re walking the length of
the pit you surely see obvious problems without even thinking about it. Tires
are unevenly worn or just plain bald. Oil dripping from the pan. Struts
leaking, belts badly worn, boots torn, rot in the exhaust, …. Do I really have
to go on? You’re seeing it anyway!!! There’s nothing that says the “extra” work
has to be scheduled today unless there really is time or you’ve found a
potentially life threatening problem in the brake system. I’m not telling you
to put every car on the dyno or hook up a code reader. I’m just suggesting that
in the time it takes to blink your eye you can spot a half dozen problems worth
calling out, and, here comes the revelation, ….. SAY SOMETHING!
The unseen force that
is at work here is one of trust. Remember, your customer, just like you has
been subjected to the same “impositions” and pressure sales tactics by the very
same people you have. They, like you, are going to be warry of anything that goes
beyond the bounds of what they came into your shop for. Remember, they really
didn’t want to be in your shop today in the first place (unless maybe it’s just
for a routine oil change). The only thing that will make their acceptance of
what you are suggesting is their level of trust in you and your shop. And the
only way you’re going to gain that is by having an honest relationship with
them.
Trust comes when you
take the time to show them what you see as a problem and give your honest
opinion as to how to correct it and how long they may have before they need to
take action. When you say something like “Your tires are getting a little worn.
You should be OK until your next oil change.”, your customer will become
appreciative of your advice and thankful for your diligence. The fact is, that
every time you offer your honest professional opinion about your customer’s
car, you are building your relationship, trust and rapport.
The bottom line is you
are really doing them a favor by calling their attention to a potential
problem. At the very least you are making it easier for yourself and preparing
them in advance for the “expected” repair on their next visit. You could even
be saving their lives. If you lived across the country from that loved one we
talked about earlier and they brought their car into a local shop for routine
maintenance, I’ll bet you’d want that tech to alert them to a potential safety
issue. So, from now on, have a little faith
and If You See Something, Say Something!
© Bill Rosenberg
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