Setting expectations at the start is the key to building successful relationships.

How often have we seen situations where customers either get frustrated with us or simply don’t return for repeat business? Often, it comes to down to our ability to show the value in the services we provide.

A good example is diagnostic services. Ours is a business where for the most part, people are making grudge purchases. Their vehicle develops a problem or needs repairs and servicing, and they entrust us to solve the issue. How we go about it can make or break our relationship with the customer. 

 Creating value

One way we can show the value is by creating a standard and asking the right qualifying questions when they contact us about their vehicle. What kind of noise is it making, does it veer to the left or right under braking? Does the squealing happen when you start it up in the morning? Does it only happen when you’re driving the vehicle? Does it run rough when cold or warm or both? Does it have sluggish acceleration at highway speeds or around town? Is the A/C not working or not blowing cold? Etc.

How you ask qualifying questions will often determine not only how long it takes to solve the problem, but also the strength of the relationship you establish with that customer. 

You will also need to ensure that you essentially create stress and then take it away. In other words, provide the customer with an upfront cost to diagnose the repairs and if, you’re able to source the problem in less time, provide a bill that’s less than the agreed amount. 

Specific labour rate

A good example is having a specific labour rate for diagnostic services. In order for the shop to generate a profit, this needs to be higher than your standard door rate, otherwise you end up a situation where you’re just losing money, since with diagnostics, you’re not selling any parts, as you would be doing with a brake service at the same labour rate.

So, let’s say your diagnostic door rate is $140. You can say to the customer that in order to diagnose the vehicle it will initially cost $140 before any work begins. 

And right off the bat, you need to say to them that once that money is spent, you need to be able to reach them so they can authorize any additional work as required. And if they don’t authorize any more funds at that point, you can then offer them a chance to have the work done at a later date or give them the choice to take the vehicle somewhere else. The important thing is that at all times, you need to make sure the customer is in control of their money.

Willing to spend

If you do this, oftentimes, you will find the customer is willing to spend more initially, such as $280 because you’ve established expectations at the very beginning.

If that happens and it takes just $140 to diagnose the problem as opposed to $280, then you have just shown them the value. On the other hand, if you say it will just cost $140 to diagnose and then you have to call them back and ask for money, they are far less likely to trust you and chances are, even if they spend more and authorize for further diagnostic work, they probably won’t return for repeat business or recommend you once the job is done.