In deciding where to spend your management energy, you must recognize the cascading effect on CSI, customer perception, and customer retention. In the example cited below, you will see opportunities to earn equity with these customers and how the choices made directly affected each customer's impression of the visit.

Taken from a real message from a service shop:

"On 3 separate occasions, we had 3 cars, under 50K miles, come in with recalls. None of the customers had ever done business with us. All 3 came in with minor additional issues like rattles in doors, a fit/finish issue, and a brake squeal. Since all were close to 50K and not regular (good) customers, we told them they were past warranty and could offer no warranty assistance. In all 3 cases we completed the work on time and the car was washed. All three customers received a CSI questionnaire, and all 3 rated us only "satisfied" because we did not resolve all of their concerns.

Facts:
• Three customers who had not been to this store before were described as “not good customers.”
• Assumptions were made, that because they had not been good customers, no assistance for recall work was explored as an option.
• Pre-judgment seems to have existed based on lack of history, as to the customer’s worthiness for “out of the normal” thinking.

"Change your thoughts, and you change your world"
– Norman Vincent Peale

When you are faced with customers who had not previously been regular visitors to your facility, before labeling them as “not good customers”, you must build the value of servicing the car with you.

How to build Value:

"Mr. Customer, I notice that your vehicle hasn’t been here for regularly scheduled visits. I’d like to take a moment to explain the benefits of maintaining your car with us. Among other things, we have factory trained technicians, and use only factory replacement parts. The benefit to you is that people specifically trained in servicing your car will be responsible for your vehicle repairs. This eliminates the guesswork that you may run into with people unfamiliar with your brand/model. We’ve been here servicing this brand for XX years, and will continue to be here for you in the future."

In today’s competitive market, you must build the value in order to win the customer, not write off those who haven’t fallen into your lap. For more value building ideas, enroll as a student today!