Fixed Operations
Knowing What Your Customers Want From Your Bodyshop
By Dave Dunn
Purchasing bodyshop services in many ways is just like other buying decisions. Customers are attracted to and turned off by many of the same things. Is your bodyshop a place you would readily choose as a buyer? If not, maybe we can explore a few reasons why people do or do not buy at your bodyshop.
Curb Appeal: When people drive up to your bodyshop, what do they see? Do they see a clean, professional and inviting storefront? Or do they see the typical dealer shop with a gravel parking lot, poor signage, small office and a bunch of wrecked cars sitting around? I am amazed when I visit dealer shops and notice the disparity between the sales and service departments and the bodyshop. Generally the sales and service departments look professional. The customer drive-up area is neat, with good signage. The waiting area is professional. The staff who greet the customers are concise, well dressed and professional. I find it interesting that we go to all this trouble to take care of our routine service customer who may spend $30 to $200 with us and ignore our bodyshop customer who spends an average of $1,700. In short, appearance is vital. Take a look through the eyes of your customer.
Salesmanship: Do your estimators see themselves as sales professionals? Most bodyshop estimators see themselves as technicians and order takers. I recommend sales training for all bodyshop office workers. Can they ask for the sale? Customers want you to want their business. Generally the estimator writes an estimate, hands it to the customer and says, "Give me a call if we can do anything for you." How about learning a sales close or two? "Mr. Prospect, can I go ahead and get your parts ordered for you?" "Mr. Prospect, can I arrange for a rental car or would a ride home be sufficient?" Bodyshop estimators do not have to be Zig Ziglar.
But they must learn how to ask for the sale. Usually we treat our bodyshop customers with some indifference.
Let's learn to treat them like the valuable customers they are.
Organization: Customers believe that bodyshops lie to their customers. When a customer asks when his or her car will be ready, they deserve to be told the truth. The No. 1 complaint bodyshop customers have is that the car was not ready when promised. The bodyshop manager does not lie on purpose. Generally the manager is disorganized. Typically he/she has had no formal training. It is common practice to hire a former technician as an estimator or manager.
When the customer asks how long the repairs will take, the estimator speaks in generalities. The customer often hears in specifics. More than 90% of car owners say that their car was not ready when promised. The bodyshop manager must learn to deliver reasonable expectations to the consumer and then back up the expectations with action.
Organizational skills must be learned on every aspect of management. The estimate must be detailed and accurate as if it was a blueprint for the repair. The parts ordering and receiving process must be well defined and well executed. The scheduling of cars and technicians must be carefully orchestrated. The custom development of systems and procedures are essential. The repair of the car is a technical process. Let's show the customer a little precision when it comes to our organizational abilities.
A Great Experience: Our customer is going to have an experience. It could be a "great," "indifferent" or "bad" experience. Bodyshop managers often treat the repair of the car as a "routine" experience. While it may be "routine" to us, it is anything but "routine" to the car owner. We must put ourselves in the shoes of the customer and realize the monumental nature of the experience they are having. By appreciating what the customer is going through, we will behave in a way that shows how important the customer is to us. The experience that we deliver to our customer will definitely have an impact on the relationship we have with our customers dealership-wide.
After you read this article, get in your car and drive up to your bodyshop. Evaluate for yourself your curb appeal, salesmanship, organization and the experience you think you would have at your own bodyshop. All the customer wants is to be treated like a customer. They deserve it!
Dave Dunn is the one of the most respected consultants in the field of collision repair management. Dave owns and operates Masters School of Autobody Management in Santa Barbara, Calif. He also owns Dave's Auto Body in Galesburg, Ill. ddunn@dealeronline.com
