I bought a 12 year old pickup for my boys.  Another 12 years later, it’s still in the family.  A 24 year old truck driven by teenage boys always has something going wrong with it.  I took it to a national franchise service center for an oil change a while ago.  When it was time to ring it up, the Service Advisor said that the technician found something wrong and that he would like to ask him to share it with me.  I said OK and he went into the shop to get the tech.  Now the Service Advisor was allowing me to peek behind the curtain – and this is what I saw: The tech was completely filthy – not “I have a dirty job” filthy, but I haven’t washed my uniform in two weeks filthy.  His shoulder length hair looked like his uniform had been washed more recently.  His ball cap covered his eyes as he stared at my shoes and mumbled something about a transfer case leak.  He made no attempt to explain what would be involved in setting it right or the benefits I would get from taking care of the repair.

So I figure the owner or the service manger had been to a seminar where they touted bringing out the tech to deliver a service recommendation.  I’m sure that’s a valid technique, but it was poorly executed.  The tech was clearly uncomfortable, and I was sympathetic, but the encounter undermined my confidence in the shop.  I tried the service center because we do business with its affiliated service brand.  It was my first visit there – and my last.  Judgmental?  Yeah, well there are plenty of places to get an oil change and I’ll go where I’m more comfortable.

How different would my experience have been if the tech had been better trained?  His appearance would have been less of a factor if he looked me in the eye and confidently made his recommendation – one that he had seen modeled and had roll-played.  Training in customer interaction and presentation skills enables every member of the team to help build customer trust in the operation.  Just a little training and practice would have made all the difference.

In contrast to this experience, we produced a series of training videos for a national quick lube chain.  With this training tool, their techs learn how their tiered program works, how to use the point-of-sale materials and how to present options to the customer.  They saw the right way to do it and can model their own customer interaction after the training.  How different is the customer experience with a marketing-trained tech than the one I had?  How much better would I have responded to a tech that demonstrated knowledge of his product, reinforced his message with POS material and showed confidence in his recommendation? 

Although I have preferences for the brands of oil I use, all things being equal, I really don’t have a preference for who installs it.  Therein lies the problem and the opportunity: all things are never equal and the factors that make a difference are within your control.

Is trust an elusive commodity?  Not really.  People want to trust you.  It’s up to you to remove obstacles to trust and help customers have as many trust building experiences as possible.  Once you have that trust, take care of it because you may not get the chance to win it back.

Lance Boldt is V.P. and Co-Founder of AutoNetTV Media, Inc., creators of point-of-sale video tools that educate and motivate people to take better care of their vehicles. AutoNetTV

Part 1

Now it’s time for the Wizard – service advisor – to approach me with recommendations.  We appreciate knowledge and confidence in a service advisor.  This is not an excuse for arrogance, condescension or dismissiveness. 

When I was young with a very tight budget, the front left brake on the minivan was grinding.  I took it in for brake pads.  I waited for a brake inspection.  When the inspection was completed, I was told that the rotor was cracked and needed to be replaced.  I really didn’t have the money for that so I told the service advisor to just put on new pads and I would wait on the repair.  He said he couldn’t do that because he didn’t want the pads coming back on warranty.  I said then just put it back together and I’d wait until I could afford it.  He said there were two ways to get the van out – let them replace the rotor and pads or to have it towed – my choice.

Knowing what I know now, the service advisor could not ethically do what I asked under MAP standards.  Knowing what I did then, I reluctantly had the repair done, was pissed about it and probably told 20 people about how I got ripped off and to never go to that place.  Was I to blame for being an ignorant consumer or was the service advisor to blame for not caring to take three minutes to help me understand the issue and feel good about what needed to be done?  From a bottom-line standpoint, I’m gonna say it was him.  His shop never got another dime of business from me. 

This service advisor missed a tremendous trust building opportunity.  He could have helped me understand that I actually had a dangerous situation that, for the safety of my family, needed to be properly repaired.  He could have expressed sympathy for the financial aspect while he helped me prioritize the transaction in my mind.  He could have become a Trusted Advisor.

Instead, I felt hijacked, belittled and disrespected.  I honestly thought that he had taken my car apart and was holding it hostage so that I would do what was best for HIM.  So if you’re going to do the right thing, do it the right way.  Bad news handled properly engenders trust.  And trust built under adversity is strong and will stand the test of time.

We coach our AutoNetTV customers on how to use their Lobby TV and/or Web Tools products at point of sale to build trust in their recommendations.  When you can pull up a segment on the TV or computer for the customer to watch, it deescalates the tension, reinforces the recommendation with third-party information and empowers the customer’s decision.  They may not be tickled pink at spending the money, but they are grateful that you are helping them take better care of their vehicle. 

Is trust an elusive commodity?  Not really.  Like I said in Part 1, people want to trust you.  It’s up to you to remove obstacles to trust and help customers have as many trust building experiences as possible, first as you market to them, and then as you serve them.  Once you have that trust, take care of it because you may not get the chance to win it back.

 Lance Boldt is V.P. and Co-Founder of AutoNetTV Media, Inc., creators of Lobby and point-of-sale video tools that educate and motivate people to take better care of their vehicles.    www.AutoNetTV.com

Part 2