What is the Difference

By George Witt. It gets plenty cold in Nebraska and we have a saying that “the only thing between us and the North Pole is a barbed-wire fence”. The wind blows constantly on the Prairie.  I’m in need of a new Winter coat and this is not a place to cut corners on price. 

I had an Eddie Bauer coat and a North Face coat in the past and been very happy with both. So, I decided to do some online shopping and just buy an Eddie Bauer. I found one that looked like it would work, priced just under $300 and checked to find the store in my town. Called them to verify they were open and headed out on a quick errand to get my coat.

I arrived at the store and saw a sales person straightening up stock. I approached and stood nearby. No response from the person, who then moved away from me to another shelf to straighten a few more things. OK, didn’t see me, so I walked casually over to the area and again stood waiting for any sign of recognition. It seemed now this person was flat avoiding me, so I scanned the store and saw the rack with my coat on it.

As I approached that rack, I was greeted by a sales person who offered to help. I told her I was looking for the warmest coat they had in the store. I showed interest in my coat and she gave me the sales pitch. “This one has an 850 down rating”, she proclaimed. When asked what that meant, she had no idea and after further questioning from me, she became a little frustrated and told me that the coat “wasn’t rated” for the cold. After further questioning, I found out that only meant it hadn’t been formally tested, while other coats in the store had.

I tried one of them on and it was so long and my arms so short, I had to pull the zipper up to get it started and this wrinkled the zipper enough that I couldn’t get it started easily. I took the coat off and said I couldn’t wear one with that difficult of a zipper. She hung up the coat, straightened it out and effortlessly put the zipper together and zipped it out, then turned and look at me. She was showing me what an idiot I was.

After trying to convince me that other coats were better, I still liked the first one best and finally left the store in frustration. I told myself I wasn’t going to pay sticker when I knew they have things on sale all the time. I had gone from a “customer who recognized value and was more than willing to pay for it” to a “bottom-feeding price shopper”.

I went to a large sporting goods store and was cheerfully greeted by 2 men in front of the men’s coat department. I told them I wanted the warmest coat in the store and they took me back and introduced me to Melissa. Melissa was as bubbly and cheerful as you can get and was clearly delighted to see me. After a few questions, she asked me what I wore next to my skin when I put on a coat. When I told her a cotton tee shirt, she said that was part of the problem. I needed a super duper shirt that would wick away the moisture. She said I needed that, a fleece intermediate liner and an outer coat. She finally pulled out a red (my favorite color) North Face coat that looked fabulous. It was $20 less than the red Eddie Bauer coat I’d been looking at.

She continued to bombard me with in-depth product knowledge on everything from coats to gloves to hats and on and on. She was very personable and enthusiastic and it was just fun to be around her. When I remarked about her knowledge, she said she’d been sent to a “cold weather” school for special training and was now a cold-weather expert. She really was. When she got done with me, she’d sold me the long-johns, liner, coat, special gloves and a really cool hat, to the tune of nearly double what I’d have spent on the first coat (and not one single thing was on sale or marked down—she got full sticker out of me!).

I had the pleasure of dealing with a well-trained, highly knowledgeable sales person who cared about her customers. Not only did she get full price out of me, she made me feel great about it and, believe me, the next time I need anything in her area of expertise, I’ll gladly search her out. She made me feel great about giving her all the money in my wallet (grin).

What’s the difference? Both stores had premium merchandise, the best there is and not a single piece of cheap stuff. Both stores had ample inventory, both had attractive displays and easy to navigate layouts. Both stores had nice signage and great “curb appeal”. Both stores had great reputations for being a quality place to shop.

The difference was, one store hired low-paid, low-trained clerks and was clearly saving money on payroll. The other had well-paid, highly qualified people that had been to great training, both for sales and for product knowledge.

So, what’s this got to do with an auto service business? Just about everything. You put the people from the first store on your front counter and all the people in your town will become “bottom-feeding price shoppers” who just don’t appreciate quality work. It happened to me and it was purely a reaction to the way I was treated. It was clear to them that I was a pain in the rear and they let me know it. In the future, they might allow me to come in and quietly select what I need or take what they give me, but if I want any more than that, I should stay home.

Now, put Melissa on your front counter and watch all the customers come around in attitude and open up their wallets. Sales will soar, problems will evaporate and order will be restored.

If you’re the shop owner and you tend to see the customer as an adversary or dread when certain people come in, perhaps you should consider finding, hiring and training a Melissa. You either love working with people or you don’t and you can’t fake it.

If you think you’re in the car business, you just don’t understand retail. You’re not a shop owner, you’re a business owner. The business must cater to those who have needs and the means to pay to solve those needs. In order to get the money, we must first please the customer.

Here are some important tips:

1. When the phone is answered, it must be done in a way that brightens people’s day. Make them feel better just because you answered. Just like dogs can “smell fear”, people can smell a fake a mile away.
2. When the door opens, somebody has to be delighted that people are here. They’re bringing your grocery money and you need to act like it. Whoever feeds the dog earns the dog’s trust and the dog goes nuts when you come home because they’re so glad to see you. Why can’t you be smarter than your dog?
3. You need to furnish your customers with great information on how to take care of their cars and avoid car trouble. In addition, when the car’s broke, you need to provide them with simple, short explanations of what it needs and how bad it needs it. Does it have to be fixed today, or can the expense be deferred a while?
4. Show a little humor and enjoy the company of your customers. They’re your friends and if you treat them with the respect that comes with friendship, they’ll treat you the same way.
5. If you want real referrals, customer loyalty and less price-shoppers, this is how it gets that way.

Check out George’s training programs click here.

George Witt is the owner of George Witt Service, a Honda and Acura repair shop. He is an ASE certified Master Technician and service advisor, an AMI Accredited Manager, and an AMI Approved Instructor. He has presented management training classes to thousands of shop owners from coast to coast.