“That’s outrageous! It’s just too much!” Said “Gary,” the owner of a 2007 Toyota Camry in need of a power steering pump and fluid exchange. I overheard this conversation as I was listening to the recording of “John,” a service writer from Maryland, present the technician’s findings. It was painfully obvious that this call was not going…
I’m losing business because of the pricing matrix!” This statement was made by a shop owner named Rich, during our weekly coaching call. Both his car count and average repair order (ARO) were down from the previous year. He had two service writers named Steve and Chris. Even though they had the same invoice count, Steve held a…
Several weeks ago I took my car to a local tire retailer to resolve a slow leak. As soon as I arrived at the service counter, it became obvious that “Jeff,” the service writer, didn’t want my business. He didn’t smile, didn’t greet me, but he did say the following: “Sir, I need you to step…
He got out of a Ford Crown Victoria with no hubcaps. He had a full shaggy beard, a white t-shirt, jeans with holes in them, and flip flops. It appeared that it had been a while since he last combed his hair! This is how Dave Ramsey describes his sales prospect, “Chris” in his book EntreLeadership,…
Imagine that “Cliff,” your customer, has dropped off a brown 2007 Toyota Scion with over 115,000 miles. The paint is peeling, the front bumper is missing, and the rear windshield is cracking. If you typed the word “beater” into “Google,” an image of this car would appear! After conducting a complete courtesy check, you find that it…
Have you ever attended a training class looking for “the silver bullet?” I thought about this as I recently watched a documentary on legendary football coach Vince Lombardi. Lombardi is considered to be the greatest coach of his era. He would conduct clinics for assistant coaches around the league who were seeking the secret to his success. During the documentary,…
The San Antonio Spurs are one of the most successful franchises in professional basketball. They’ve won five NBA Championships and have the highest regular season winning percentage in league history. With all their success, the Spurs still have the same big problem as you. Their Coach, Greg Poppovich, has instilled a culture and a mindset with the players that inspires…
What’s possible if you become a master of persuasion? As I ponder this question, I’m reminded of something that happened back when I was a shop manager in need of a new car. The shop was 45 minutes away from home, so I was looking for a reliable and dependable vehicle. The plan was to get…
Are you frustrated by the decrease in car count that came with your increase in Google AdWords? Does it feel like you’re flushing money down the drain with each marketing campaign? In his book titled, Sticky Church, Larry Osborne communicates a similar frustration. Osborne is a church pastor who struggled to grow his membership. Back in 1980,…
“This tire is defective! I want to talk to the manager!” This is what I overheard at the service counter while conducting a shop visit back when I was a district manager for a national automotive chain. I won’t tell you the name of the organization, but I will say that the employees had a lot…