Auto Repair Nightmare: Upset Customer Says You Missed Something
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- Опубліковано 1 гру 2024
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In this video, David and Lucas explore a common problem that many auto repair shops face: customers who feel like the shop missed something on your inspection.
They talk about how they handle these situations professionally while hoping to keep their customers happy and satisfied.
I’m a plumber, not a mechanic, and I love this show. Lessons to take away regardless of your field. New favorite podcast 🎉
I always try to compare our industry to medical field. Now hear me out. We both perform test to verify the complain and try our best to resolve the issue. But when you brought up the wheel bearing issue, where the discussion was brought up if we have to eat the cost. Do doctors eat the cost when it comes down to stuff that was missed or came up weeks later ? No. They evaluate and fix the problem.
VERY valid point.
But have we taught consumers that's what to expect...or worse yet...demand?
I’ve experienced this situation multiple times. It’s gong to happen. I agree with you Lucas there’s no cookie cutter answer. I’ve handled this case by case. There’s times I feel we stand our ground and explain We didn’t Buy It, Build It, Break It. Other circumstances I’ve fixed it no questions asked. For me it depends on my relationship with customer. Is the best way for me to answer that. Not that I’m perfect, I’m naturally talented at reading people. I used use that talent to handle this situations. Yes we strive to minimize them and there going to happen
That's why you always recommend calipers...
Don't encourage him....😐
Lol exactly. Corrosion on the caliper reduces its ability to dissipate heat and leads to overheating of the brake fluid, compromised vehicle dynamics and premature brake failure.
CPR life baby
Great podcast ! I’m the one to get the egg on my face.
The truth is the best thing, be honest from the start of inspection / diag. I try to educate customers, and involve them when it comes to noises, and quirks of their vehicles, I inform them that “they know how their car rides better than I do” because they spent more time and miles driving that vehicle, and I a real big advocate for a road test with customer for noises. But when there is a miss diag. truth is the best way to confirm what went wrong.
Thanks for watching! You're exactly right, the truth is always your best choice!
My first reaction was to get the car back in ASAP no matter the inconvenience to me or the shop- they paid already, they are #1 priority period.
From there, it’s not a blame game, it’s a fact finding mission to find out where it went wrong, what got missed, whatever.
Once the customer is taken care of, and all the ducks are in a row, then it becomes a calm discussion with whomever.
As the shop owner, sometimes that Miss was my fault for a lack of having the proper process in place. Sometimes it’s the tech, sometimes it’s the writer. No matter what, it’s a team effort from beginning to end and I don’t feel singling anyone out (maybe in a select few cases) does any good.
The focus is to find out what went wrong and create a plan to prevent it in the future.
💯
Many pre existing problems can develop quickly or prior intermittent or subtle symptoms not be disclosed.
Offer free diag at the very most and make an estimate for repair as necessary. Feel good knowing they got the knowledge, care or free diag they wanted. The situation If handled professionally can be an opportunity to build trust. It definitely helps to work in an area and for customers who can afford the cars they drive. The time and experience spent getting to the problem accurately has great value as they and we well know.
The age old question of how to handle the " ever since". Your right. The only way is to inspect, scan and test drive every car with every service. Each issue likely requiring additional diag or repairs be approved. Try to note every issue before they come back with the complaint of having it is the reality. The only way that's feasible is if the customer base has the desire and means to keep up with the repairs they need. Fortunately ours do.
Even with completely going over the vehicle the "ever since" will always be a part of our industry unfortunately. Its how we handle it that counts.
And absolutely stand behind any prior repairs performed.
GREAT SUBJECT! SO ON BOARD WITH YOU GUYS!
Wehad this happen 2 days ago. We did a window motor in car, well the regulator ate itself 6 months later. We recommended the regulator, the Service Writer gave into the Customer's "i want it cheap". (And they are no longer here) I protested to the boss, I concurred with the Tech I assigned it to, but we did the job, just motor.
Last week it comes back, bum regulator, and the other side is very slow. The boss and I agreed to just cover the side we touched, 100%. I stayed late to finish the job after the part came in late morning. I lubricated the other window (that we never touched), got a 4 second down, 5 second up out of the untoched window and a 3 second down, 4 second up out of the fixed window.
Yesterday, customer comes in. Not happy with the opposite side because it is not in sync with the other window, and wants it done that day a reduced cost. This ensued a 15 minute of "the other side is worse, you broke it worse, you are frauds" and a very even attitude from me. Currently waiting for the negative review so I can give a rebuttal.
Some people just aren't reasonable. I used to try and make those people happy too, over the years, I've learned not everyone is going to be happy.
It's like our friends at Active Self Protection say, the bad guy gets a vote too...
Just because they are the client doesn't mean they are right.
Excellent subject guys. You gotta own everything and reflect on problems when they occur.
💯 sir! Thank you watching and sharing 😀
As a technician I don't like rechecks, but is inevitable. Don't mind to look over at whatever the issue is ,I prefer to take a look than run from the problem even if is not my fault where communication was not there from the beginning.
At the end of the day, we're all here to serve the client. Like you said it's of little consequence of who's fault it is, still gotta be fixed one way or another.
QUICK-WITTED Changing the industry Podcast
👍
From Nick Ayivor from London England UK 🇬🇧 ⏰️ 11:29am
I don’t think it’s fair for shops to just give people money back or do a job for free unless it is truly their fault. We work hard to make money, there are enough times when we have to eat costs of stuff.
Agreed, I think we've taught consumers to expect it.
Had one that scared me last week that was a huge headache job and I was afraid... They wanted to let me know how happy they were that the car had never driven better and even though there were some surprises and difficulties in getting it turned around they understood and knew after taking it to 2 other shops that we went the extra mile. Felt great to be able to share that with the Tech that did the work too!
Did your heart stop when you saw it in caller ID? I heard a car pull out at 2am the other night, it was a problem vehicle that had tons of issues previously (before us), I tossed and turned all night 🤣
@@ChangingTheIndustry Thats awful. I live close to the shop but luckily not THAT close! And yes, saw the caller ID and my stomach immediately tied up in a knot. After hearing the good news it was such a change of pace I think I got high on endorphins 😆
my issue if sometimes you can't take a car on a test drive to find preexisting problems. Two rules for me is if a car comes in for brake check and the brakes are obviously metal to metal grinding I won't drive it out of the parking lot. I don't know how bad the brake are so I'm not taking a risk of getting into a wreck just to take a test drive. Two if some one comes in wanting an alignment after they just put new parts on I absolutely will not take that car out on the road. I personally have nearly get into a wreck or worse due to people working on their car and not doing it properly. On one jeep the turn buckle connecting the two ends of the drag link barely had two treads threaded into the turn buckle and that clamp wasn't even tight. So some times you can take a car on a test drive to CYA(because in this industry that is the name of the cover your a$$)
Very similar policy here! But we note that the repair is a starting place and the complete evaluation is not yet complete.
Totally agree, and we do the same thing, so many circumstances, communication, and documentation. We run into this all the time, and have to make sure my advisors are on it from the start on the work order.
On a serious note...... This is where process and experience comes into play. Vehicle should have been driven before and after whatever service was performed. It's very likely it had a noisy bearing and could have possibly been missed from somebody assuming that it was just a noisy tire now a lot of technicians a lot of experience can pick out the difference between a noisy bearing and a noisy as much as a novice technician will say they sound the same if the customer calls and says the bearing is noisy the next day after service it most likely left the service center noisy and was missed by staff and process. And for anybody wandering yes we literally test drive vehicles after oil changes.
What about those of us who aren't wandering but are planted?
Only time I eat rosemary is on steak, on the other hand cilantro is one food I find repulsive. It tastes like soap.
It does!!!!
I spin the wheels on every car I have on the lift.
Ranch is spicy?!? I’m not sure I can believe anything you say anymore lol
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
He would hate coming to my shop, our fridge is 90% full of hot sauces!
On our job cards we can have 2 lines carry out factory recal number §§§§§ for 0.3 hrs and carry out visual safety inspection 0.01 . Six seconds in the day from the diary . Makes me want out.
That's NUTS!
At my shop we have a process I place is very simple but for the life of me it’s like I have to keep reminding my techs of it.
I’ve never understood why a tech will not own up to their negligence. I have a guy that works there and no matter what kind of problems he encounters it’s always never his fault. I have always been the first to own up to any fukup that I’ve done. Hell I’ve ever went and gotten people to come and look and laugh at me for messing up. Last week he pressed a wheel bearing in a civic and when he went on the test drive he came back in a few minutes later and said the abs light was on. He asked for my scanner. I told him you don’t need a scanner you need to flip the bearing over. He asked “why”. I said you’ve installed it in backwards. He said there’s only one way to install it. I said you are right. Then like a deer in the headlights he said what do you mean. I said there is only one way to install it. Correctly. After I explained the problem to him he replied to me “I checked it and both sides were magnetic “. After he got it out and I showed him how he was wrong he said well both of them were magnetic when I checked them. I just walked away. It’s like he would rather climb a tree to deflect than stand on the ground and man up.
Dude...I get it! It's a real thing!
Pride? Ego? Fear? I'm not sure what it is, and I guess it's different for everyone.
The reality is, it's more than likely the culture.
Comping a meal
It takes 50 cents to keep a customer it takes $500 to buy a new one
That being said if I made the mistake I will eat that part and the labor or will deduct that from the cost of the repair to make the customer whole
Good point!
Bro. My shop has so many stories like that. Where everything was ok on the day it was in shop and the next day something the hear or feel different happens. I sometimes think it's the universe making me more money but at the same time I feel like I'm the only shop going through this ...at least it's a frequent coincidence
It's funny you say "I feel like I'm the only shop going through this"....
I remember in the not so distant past, I genuinely felt like any comeback was a major ordeal, and that everyone in the profession was looking at me like a dummy.
And while there were certainly times I was a dummy for sure, over the past few years, I've seen that everyone faces these challenges.
Everyone has comebacks.
Everyone makes mistakes.
Everyone drops the ball sometimes.
No repair is perfect, no car is perfect and at the end of the day? No human is perfect either.
I'm slowly getting better at accepting I'm doing my best, and I gotta be okay with that 😀
The google reviews are such garbage, every time a customer does not get their way, all hell breaks loose, the relationship you’ve spent months getting to know goes out the window and your immediately a scammer and let the fake reviews begin.
Especially when they never even use our shop , that’s the worst ones
How about when a customer calls you after business hours with an issue they experienced after you performed service? Do you ignore the call/text and make them wait until business hours? Or do you allow the anxiety of that phone call to dwell with you all weekend? 🤔
Ooooooooofffffffffff......
Why did you have to invoke that terrible nightmarish feeling!?!?!?!
Two schools of thought...
1: Let it go until Monday and try to pretend like it's not happening (oh man am I terrible at the pretending part).
2: Call them and make any effort you can to help - go get a loaner or let them know to get a rental and you'll cover it.
School 1 is problematic because they have all weekend to stew in their frustration, and often are raging by Monday.
School 2 is likely to show you truly care, but means you're at work....always.
Folks like Mike Allen, have multiple stores and likely doesn't even know it's a thing...
And to have multiple large stores....it would seem this is going to be the price of having that type of operation.
They'll have to stew in it, and you just lose a client, and replace them.
Us, smaller operations, feel attatched to each client.
But I will say this - I'm not sure how healthy it is to be engaged to that level. The fact you can't ever step away from the business can quickly consume the time you're supposed to have for your family.
So maybe not answering is the right solution?
Maybe having management in place that isn't so deeply invested that they wake up at 3am with chest pain from stress because of that call isn't such a bad thing?
@@ChangingTheIndustry You make a great point. As a family man myself, how many times, I ask myself has the phone rang at a family dinner, outing or just at home relaxing on the day off. The look on my wifes face! ( You better not answer that phone... by the way, I let it go to voice mail now and I will handle it during business hours lol)
The mental fatigue of the business will consume you if you allow it. Just as God said your proud waves stop here( to the ocean), so does answering phone calls outside of business hours. We will definitely make it right for them on Monday and move mountains for them, but if they want to come at your sideways and unholy like, I have no problem losing a client.
You can handle these situations any way you want as an owner. Have it towed in if it is serious enough to the vehicle owner, but explain it won't be looked into or corrected until the next business day. BUT, if it's found to be unrelated issue you will need to charge for the diagnosis AND repair. It definitely sucks but at least offer them to let you get it towed in and then go spend time with your family until you get back to work.
Although this has only happened to me a few times, I always minimally respond to an after hours issue. I simply inform them we will be happy to reevaluate on the next business day. Between my cell and social media I'm always available to chat with my customers.
@@ZoomAutoDiag I agree. A simple acknowledgement goes a long way in setting up the communication with the client. Failing to communicate results in unnecessary chaos
Road test that car before any repairs !!!!! Listen to the car then while doing the service whatever service note conditions of tires note any noises and leaks Note anything you see !!!!!! Take pictures publish it on the RO the simple reason we went with Shop-Ware email and text the customer the findings.
Never had a wheel bearing just start making noise the next day trust me it was making noise before.
Tire rotation is the worst if the tires are cupped we won’t rotate and we note it.
Spend a few minutes to cover your ass !!!
This is a reason I put a hand on every car that comes through the shop I don’t care what tech is assigned to the vehicle I’m a second set of eyes and ears.
This is a reason you can’t take time off while your gone something gets missed and you have to deal with it when you return.
You're exactly right. Gotta document!
It can't be the reason you don't take time off though, you'll eventually burn out and become bitter.
Systems, processes, policies and procedures.
Once you've got them and a good team, for the most part the business does what it does if you're there or not.
@@ChangingTheIndustry
Our customers do not like change they have been dealing with us that’s what built the business of 50 years. We have tried bringing in new front counter help didn’t work out as they don’t know the customers. We have no been able to bring in team members worth a crap to run the business the way it runs.
I know I sound like a broken record but help is getting hard to find. Good quality help that is and trust me we pay for good help. Our area is dead with new techs good service writers etc.
Where do we go from here that’s what we ask ourselves these days.
i wonder if any of their employees make over a hundred thousand a year
How is a random wage relevant 😅
@@ChangingTheIndustry is just a question
I gotcha.
It's hard to say for sure without knowing 😉
Why are you highlighted in red?
This title reads like click bait.
David YOU are clickbait 🤠
@@JesseSammons1992 the whole video is click bait.
Booooooooooooo
@@DavidRomanKC Lucas thinks ranch is spicy thats the biggest BOOOOO here. Also you are not Dingus, my dog is dingus.
Woohoo first comment!!!
Thanks for being here 😀
King These people lay way on American and Foreign Trucks and cars. Im American Asian Church and i can't get nobody to work on my Church truck. Dodge Durango. King can you please help me. I have my own funds. Can you give advice. Im stuck in Burns Oregon no one will allow the elders to work on my Dodge
Please email. I paid for Inn stay and these old people have many personal problems
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brinelling
You can induce bearing failure.
In installation, sure. But what if you never touched it?
@@ChangingTheIndustry banging on the wheels to get them off, banging on the rotors to get them off etc.
@@kustomizingkidif they have to be "banged off" because the customer hasn't been rotating the tires often enough or the vehicle is operated in an extreme scenario or conditions that's on them. The money they saved not rotating tires can now be used to finance this wheel bearing. Same with neglected brakes that have seized on over heated rotors.
@@jeffcompton6937 I absolutely agree, just be aware that you can induce bearing failure and its a way to explain and educate the customer.