GeorgeSanJose: Yes! Accurate estimates. Most first time customers expect to be cheated. My trusted shop seems to have a solution. They always present a bill that is at least a few dollars less than the estimate. Years ago they told me their secret. Padding the estimate would be counterproductive if dealing with someone shopping around for the lowest price. They simply “eat” the small amount of money realizing the word of mouth advertising and customer satisfaction is far more valuable than the small reduction in profit.
How about inexpensive oil changes? And/or discounted maintenance & repairs for new customers? That type of thing gets people in your door and you can then give them a list of your other services without pressuring them.
Nobody wants to be sold something like a transmission flush when they come in for another service. You can become well known for being a good and an honest mechanic if you act like one and work like one.
It doesn’t hurt sometimes to lose some labor time if that’s what it takes to verify a problem and one doesn’t want to clean the customer’s bank account out right off the bat.
There’s nothing worse than a quick and incorrect (your car is overheating; must be the head gasket…) diagnosis which is for the most part a wild and barely educated guess.
Previous post by the OP;
My ford car in not running properly. I have fix my broken cylinder from the car wholesale repair and dealer, but it is now completely broken down. Suggest me what to do next
A car up a pole sounds like a fantastic idea.
A Mothers Day special to check that child seats are properly installed.
Have the spouse or kid setup a FaceBook page for the biz.
idiot666: “A Mothers Day special to check that child seats are properly installed.” An excellent idea. Many Fire/Rescue stations offer this service. Seat belt automatic inertia locks only function reliably on an occupant weighing at least 60lbs and must be manually locked by pulling the belt all the way out and letting it ratchet back until snug on the less than 60lb occupant. Last year I was travelling with a 5 year old 40lb boy and his Mother. She was buckling him into his booster seat and I did not hear the belt ratchet. I asked her if the belt was locked? She said “sure it clicked fine” while tugging on the buckle! I showed her how to manually lock his belt and explained why. She explained she did that with his infant and child seat but assumed since he was now actually wearing the belt in a booster seat it would work the same as it would with an adult. It is addressed in the vehicle owner’s manual, the state driver’s manual, and the booster seat owner’s manual. As we have discovered on this forum. Many people don’t read manuals!
Treat women with respect by not talking to them in a patronizing tone. Explain things well. Consider hiring a woman as service writer at the front desk.Try to avoid surprises in the final bill. Make sure the restrooms are clean, especially the women’s. Same for the waiting room. Flowers or plants in the waiting room. Free WiFi.
Women are generally scared to walk into a service shop because they think they will be taken advantage of. We see postings here ALL the time. They ask US because of their fears. If you work to change make the female customers comfortable, the word of mouth will be huge. Women talk, a lot. Men will hear this too and those “less than car savvy” men will line up as well.
"Consider hiring a woman as service writer at the front desk"
I think that is an excellent suggestion!
"Consider hiring a woman as service writer at the front desk"I think that is an excellent suggestion!
I knew a husband and wife team that did this. It worked out great for 30+ years. Wife passed away…and he closed the shop and retired. She was very personable…and he was an excellent mechanic.
I knew a husband and wife team that did this
A local machine shop in my old state did this, too. To great effect.
The daughter of the founder (who could be a real curmudgeon - but a great machinist/engine builder) took the counter and her husband (the son-in-law) worked the shop with dad-in-law. Improved their business because you no longer had to tolerate the curmudgeon plus the daughter was VERY knowledgeable, and personable.
Mustangman: Last August I discovered the local Kia dealer had hired a 20 something female service writer in training. She was more skilled with my M/T than I am. When I complimented her she explained that she grew up on a farm where the only A/T she had driven prior to getting her driver license was her Mom’s car. “You go girl”!
“Word of mouth is better than any advertisement that you can buy.”
I agree except for one thing. You can’t control it.
The suggestions are good. Think too about what you do best, or what it is you want to promote, and for a limited period of time, offer a discount on that feature. “Save 35 percent on…good until March… when you mention you saw/heard this message.” Whom do you want to reach? Men ages 35 to 55 primarily, or women from 18 to 24? What income bracket are you hoping to target? Those issues may factor into your choices for the advertising medium you will use.
Stick with an advertising program. Often, it takes time to yield results. Consider what you want to achieve through your ads. Instant responses? Name recognition? Community support? Keep your name in front of the public.
How about, put your business card / flyer on a kitchen magnet. People will throw away a card or flyer, but everyone loves a free magnet. Then your name & phone number is right there on their refrigerator when their car starts making noises.
Now that I think of it, how about the name & number of the business on an air freshener they can hang from the rear view mirror? I’ve never seen anyone do that before.
OK, here’s my 2 cents. In my younger years it was possible to get tires repaired or other work done at night or even on weekends. Now you can’t get anything done after 5:30 or noon on Saturday. I don’t care much anymore but having the lights on at 7:00 at night for quick oil changes or other minor issues to me would be something to try that would differentiate a little from all except Walmart. The other thing is, having a local newspaper article on the business or anything unusual about it can’t hurt. I remember reading an article about a new kid opening his shop and talking about how eager he was at diagnosis, etc. When I finally fired my long time shop, that’s where I went years later.
I’m not going to condemn all women regarding the suggestion about women as service writers BUT, I have worked for a couple of dealers that did this.They created a lot of problems due to lack of mechanical knowledge and trust me on this; you stick a decent looking female in that position and there WILL be problems.
We had one smoking hot redhead service writer who was kind of taken with me and spent a fair amount of time hitting on me instead of at the counter. Guess she liked the thug look…
I can’t repeat what she’s said and done; just consider it bottom of the barrel crude and highly disruptive in the work place. As for my end of it; the answer is NO in case you’re wonderin’. My wife is a redhead and meaner than me… 
We had a similar problem several times at another dealer where I worked and I’m not getting killed over some service writer…
I worked for a Subaru dealer with a woman service manager and Hxxx on Earth is the best way to describe it. Totally clueless and crooked as a worm trail in mud. She is the one who started having us save OEM Subaru parts boxes out in the shop. We thought weird inventory or…
Nope. She was packing the OEM Subaru boxes with inferior, white box Chinese parts and passing them off on over the counter sales as OEM Subaru parts.
This was done with filters, plug wires, brake pads, etc and caused the profit margin to increase from about 35% to about 500% with customers thinking they were buying factory parts.
She didn’t care. She was always on an even keel thanks to generous helpings of Valium during the day washed down now and then with a coke diluted with a little Crown Royal.
Another local dealer has a woman service manager. To quote the owner,“She doesn’t know anything about cars but she knows how to work people”.
Translation: Muddy the waters with BS.
I’m not saying a female in a position like that is unworkable. It’s just that I’ve been around it 4 or 5 times and it’s been very, very problematic.
As everyone said…Word of Mouth is KING. But how do you start that flowing? @VDCdriver makes an excellent suggestion…and these sorts of things should occur naturally as business progresses over time… Time is important…people are Wary and all the adverts in the world wont help you if the environment doesnt make customers feel not so much catered to…but informed. I personally speak to every person who owns the “job” I am doing. I discuss things with them that perhaps I shouldn’t but it is always in a professional manner and I have found…more times than not…that if people just understood what they are there for, why the car needs XYZ, What the service you are providing will do…etc…they know you are being forthwith and feel much more “relieved”
Granted…some dont care nor want to be bothered. But my peeps tell me that they actually enjoy bringing me their cars because they KNOW I care and they feel the attention I place on them…and know Im not just telling them they need “Muffler Bearings” or a “Flux Capacitor”…I explain what is happening…what the part does for the engine…how or why they fail…why you want to replace it…etc.
Word of mouth flows from these principles. As for gimmicks just to get traffic? State Inspection is a HUGE one…if you dont do inspections…Get Certified and DO THEM…tons o work from that. As for Adverts…Craigslist is FREE…and it works… Theres all sorts of ways. But none of these things will help if you alienate people…not a one. My customers are fiercely loyal and would never leave their vehicles to anyone else. Hell they even bring food and baked goods over to me because they care and want me to eat. But I’m a personable guy…I like people and I love machines. Did you catch the sarcasm in that last one?
People even go so far as to say that I went to get my car repaired and made a wonderful new friend…I get that A LOT. Its nice to hear that and I feel the same way. My clients ARE friends or become friends. Once that happens…all sorts of good things happen. Dont charge people for silly little things…Almost everyone is pleasantly surprised to hear there is no charge…or you didnt need any new parts it was just dirty batt terminals. I cant imagine how much money I have “Lost” in this…but I never see or feel it as a “Loss” it should come natural…it is a GAIN no doubt about it.
** Providing a “Loaner” vehicle goes an enormous way toward more business…many people arent able to sacrifice an entire day or several hours sitting around waiting…with a loaner…they dont have to. I have enormously great feedback from this simple thing… Buy the cars broken for near nothing…repair…and loan. Simple
All I have listed above is a reflection of who I am however… You cant force this stuff nor teach it very well either. Maybe you can gain some insight from it…or just let me ramble as everyone here knows I am wont to do…and do so often. I’m surprised the guys here dont tell me to shut up sometimes…lol
Blackbird
I'm not going to condemn all women regarding the suggestion about women as service writers BUT, I have worked for a couple of dealers that did this.They created a lot of problems due to lack of mechanical knowledge and trust me on this; you stick a decent looking female in that position and there WILL be problems.
The service writers of the dealers I’ve dealt with in the past years…have all been male…and they have ZERO mechanical knowledge also. One local dealership was even advertising for writers…“New business graduates. Car knowledge not important.”
@MikeInNH makes an excellent point here. Nothing will do more damage than an “Out of Phase” Service writer and a customer or mechanic. Like I rambled on about before…people like to be informed dare I say it the NEED to be informed. I cant tell you how far that goes…but its a long long way. There should be zero disconnect between the customer and what service they are getting and WHY… I cant say this enough.
Blackbird
@MikeinNH, I’m in full agreement with you that being male does not mean the service advisor is competent. I’ve stated many times on this forum that about 90% of them should be in another line of work.
That ad you mention sounds just like the one run by several dealers here who were looking for service writers and in one case a warranty clerk. “Computer experience required. No automotive knowledge necessary”.
That leads to the obvious point of the customer at the service counter knowing more about a car than the “expert” they’re talking to.
Same with the warranty clerk who may get countless claims rejected because they have no clue about automotive repairs, will list the repair wrong, and do not have the ability to clarify it on an appeal or during a pre-approval.
I just mention the women angle to this as I feel that it brings another potential headache to the service department for obvious reasons.
At one dealer where I worked a female service writer ended up in an affair with the service manager. Every mechanic there hated the guy and someone tipped the SM’s wife off. Next thing you know the wife paid a little extra to have the OK County sheriff serve divorce papers to him during the business day at the counter. That looked pretty bad in front of customers and got the SM canned along with the writer. That in turn led to all of us techs high fiving and cheering…
In another incident a female writer kept inviting me over after work for wine and classical music. Five months of balking and one day she walks out in the shop and hands me a gift wrapped package and card. I asked what this was for and she said it was my birthday; which I had forgotten all about. She had pulled my file and gotten the date and had asked several techs in the shop what kind of liquor I preferred. So I ended up with a bottle of tequila with the worm in it and a beautiful and dare I say, heartfelt card.
Needless to say, my better half also had plenty of questions about that gift box and card when I got home that evening.
A year later this writer became the one in question in the paragraph above.
Three of the five dealers where I worked should have had episodes of soap operas taped there.
It’s not important for a service writer to be as mechanically knowledgeable as a technician, he/she just needs a basic understanding of mechanical maintenance. Often the skills that make a good writer and a good tech are mutually exclusive. It’s far more important that the writer is a good people person, professional in appearance and attitude, and has administrative capabilities. I would estimate the fully half of what a service writer does has nothing at all to do with cars. True, some of the customers a shop has may be more car savvy than the person at the counter, but more often than not the customers are clueless and simply want to be treated fairly and directly. And the person at the counter doesn’t need to know what a good fuel pump waveform looks like or be able to explain the relationship between carbon buildup and NOx emissions to do that.
I’ve been living apart from my wife for 6 months. She has been successful in her career, at the director level at a local university, and last summer she got a job offer in another state that was a great career opportunity and effectively doubled her already comfortable salary. The offer was too good to pass up. She was able to give 3 weeks notice and leave her job, but I can’t just up and leave. I have obligations and 3 people depending on this business for their livelihood. But with the necessary arrangements now in place yesterday was my last day at the shop, next week I’ll be packing and moving my stuff and will soon be punching a time clock again. I’m going to work at a decent sized independent shop as a lead technician and backing up the service writer at the front counter when she gets busy.
Yes, she. I’ve always thought my shop would do well with a woman service writer. Now I’ll get the chance to see how it works first hand. I’ll keep you all posted.