It might be time to get rid of your nastiest customers.

We try and cover all the bases when it comes to explaining repairs to a client. However, the repair shop is not the one to blame when the cost of a repair is more than what the customer expected or budgeted for. Let me explain.

We had a nurse in this week. She was a first-time customer, and she was in the process of selling her car.

When we informed her about the cost of making things right, she started to raise her voice.

She implied we were to blame for the cost of bringing her unsafe car up to Transport Ministry standards. (I should comment that the Ministry standards are not that high.)

Somehow it was the tech’s fault that the car required work after years of neglect and abuse.

The blame game

Excuse me, but that makes no sense. the guy behind the counter didn’t buy the car, didn’t use it, didn’t abuse it, and didn’t drive it into the ground.

The owner did all that. Arguing with the folks that are trying to help you, simply because you’re having personal issues, will just get you fired as a customer.

Never heard of “firing a customer” before? Well, it’s easy. Time is money.

Why waste time and resources on customers who can’t afford—and more importantly—don’t appreciate your service? Go somewhere else and make someone else “happy!”

COVID-19 reality

COVID-19 has changed the way we live our lives and has forced people back into their cars. Working from home has led to a change in the use of the family “truckster.”

Add in the fact that most of us are wary of riding the bus or subway, and the car has suddenly become even more important in our lives. In addition, I have never met anyone who has actually budgeted for car repairs. So when you add it all up, you have the perfect recipe for frustration.

Today’s cars are “low maintenance,” not “no maintenance.” That’s a distinction your customers need to wrap their heads around. Low maintenance means that a vehicle requires a minimum amount of servicing to keep it running well.

No maintenance, on the other hand, is what we see sometimes in our bays when customers neglect their vehicles and expect us to fix the problems they created with little or no cost to them. And that’s just not realistic.

Don’t avoid reality

In these tough economic times, vehicle owners shouldn’t make the mistake of avoiding reality and ignoring these facts. Servicing on any vehicle is vital, especially as use is becoming so sporadic.

Just because it feels good doesn’t mean it’s right. Wear on a vehicle is progressive. Every day it gets just a little more worn, even though to the driver it feels “ok.”

Take a page out of the “Facts of Life” manual…Car no run? You run!