4 Tips for Creating a Better Customer Experience at Your Repair Shop
Customer experience is extremely important no matter what type of business you run. An unfavorable customer experience can lead not only to the loss of that customer but also to bad online reviews. It is imperative that from the moment the customer steps inside the repair shop up until the moment they leave that they receive a great customer experience. Enhancing customer experience is also the most cost-effective way to increase sales because return customers become reoccurring revenue streams. Here are 4 tips for creating a great customer experience at your auto repair shop.
1. Schedule customer follow-ups and reminders
Scheduling the next touchpoint with the customer is a critical component for increasing retention, building your relationship, and improving the service experience. Let your customer know ahead of time how and when you plan to communicate with them so you can set their expectations.
In-house marketing has proven to provide the highest retention of customers. Making personal phone calls, sending personalized text messages, emails, and letters are all effective methods for customer communication. Common touchpoints include:
- Send an appointment reminder the day before
- Thank you message post service
- Regular service reminders
2. Do your homework before the vehicle arrives
Your customer’s time matters. Before they arrive review the details of their appointment and be prepared with a list of recommended services based on their previous work order history. This will lead to a better customer experience. Service Connect, a software feature found in R.O. Writer and provided by our partner Auto Apps, allows you to look up and print out the previous work order history and recommended services in seconds. The vehicle history and recommendations can be reviewed with your customer on-screen or printed out.
3. Gain your customer’s trust
Help educate the customer about the work that has been done on their vehicle. This will help answer any questions they may have down the road. Don’t assume they understand the details of the repair. DVI or digital vehicle inspection is another useful tool for educating your customers. With DVI you can send pictures to your customer of the repair work that is needed. This allows your customer to participate in the repair process. Taking the time to explain what work will be done on the vehicle will gain the customer’s trust and improve the chances of them returning to your shop.
4. Ensure service advisors review closed repair orders
At the end of the service, ensure service advisors update the repair order to include new or missing follow-up details. Service advisors should be updating the next oil service due date, adding recommended services to that date, and updating vehicle and customer notes so anyone can do the follow-up. This regular review process should take less than 10 minutes a day and will ensure a smooth customer follow-up. In Service Connect, a feature offered by Auto Apps for R.O. Writer, the service advisor can review and update their closed repair orders for accurate and missing follow-up details right within the R.O. Writer shop management system.
