When it comes to building your fixed ops business there is little doubt that increasing your percentage of customers retained is the number one area to review and improve to determine your long-term success. Notice I used the phrase “long-term” because we all know that we can increase sales or pricing and see an immediate increase, we can sell more widgets or we can implement a production spiff and these techniques will boost the bottom line. In addition, every vendor has a tool that has been designed to “increase retention” and they typically help but I warn you, even the best tool will fail if your staff does not treat the customer with exceptional customer service. 

RELATED: Interview with Jim Roche: The Biggest Mistake Dealers Make When It Comes to Customer Retention

The number one factor that drives a customer back to your service department is a positive past experience.  Your employees drive this and its time to refocus your training efforts back to some basic steps or techniques in how to take care of customers properly.

Show genuine interest

Customers like to have their concern acknowledged and want someone to have an active interest in fixing their concern.  Some easy ways to accomplish this would be acting with urgency or maybe anticipating their needs. A front line staffer that does not take interest in my needs will genuinely miss me on my next service.

Make it personnel

Offer a personalized greeting or use their name regularly.  This is a simple and common skill that has a huge pay off. Make a comment about the sticker on the back of the car, talk about the upcoming trip they are planning on taking or simply make sure they know you are there to take care of all of their needs.

Never quote policy

When a customer is upset the last thing they want to hear is page 5 section 4 sub section 1-2 of your policy manual because quite frankly I’m sure your policy is what created this upset customer. Try telling them what you can do for them and figure a way you can help with the situation. Become a problem solver and determine how you can help the current situation.

Make a commitment and keep it

This is really important in a couple of areas. Follow up communication – If you tell someone you will call him or her with an update, you better call him or her ten minutes before that time. Appointment reservation – if a customer is taking the time to set an appointment you better do everything possible to follow through. For a good laugh look up Seinfeld episode rental car reservation.

Invite the customer back

Just like it says in the classic customer service training video, “The Guest.” Invite your customer back just as if your best friend was leaving your house and you wanted to watch next weeks football game with them as well. In this case your really setting the expectation to the customer that you “want” to help them next time them come in for service.

In your next training do a little role-play in these areas and watch your team become comfortable with these skills. When everyone in your organization is on the same page, you win. Customer retention will soar and customers will become loyal.