For as long as I remember, I’ve been attracted to a good deal. How can you pass up something you’ve wanted or needed when it’s gone on sale? I’m a constant browser on Craigslist and other local online classified sites, and I know a good deal when I see one. And what do I do when I find a deal I like? I ask for a deeper discount yet. It’s this haggling, the thrill of winning, that I love more than anything about shopping.

In the service department, the atmosphere has to be completely different than it is on Craigslist. The price is the price – there’s no negotiation. At least, there shouldn’t be. When you have a price listed for a service or repair, it actually hurts you to discount it. The customer equates the repair’s value at the discounted rate, not the full price you originally quoted.

It’s even more egregious when discounts are given when they aren’t asked for. I know the WHY behind discounting – it’s to make the customer feel special, or that they’re getting an exclusive service. But service managers HATE when money has been given away on an RO needlessly.

Here’s what I mean, from personal experience today:

My routine maintenance was due. I changed over my seasonal tires, and also needed a TPMS relearn. Easy enough, right? It should’ve been. But what happened is that the service advisor, instead of putting the TPMS relearn on the RO, told me he’d include it with the routine maintenance pricing. Good deal for me, right?

The service continued and, once it was finished, I cashed out with the service advisor. As he printed the invoice, he informed me that he only charged me $59.95 instead of $79.95. Bonus! I pay, then just double check on my way out: “The TPMS sensors were relearned too, right?”

The deer-in-the-headlights look told the story. He scrambled to bring it back to a technician, saying it will be done in just a moment, and that he’s sorry, he forgot about it. Another good reason NOT to offer freebies, I might add.

But here’s where the deeper problem lies. I didn’t ask for a discount. I was happy to pay the full price for the oil change, and I expected to pay for the TPMS sensor relearn. Had I been charged for both, left with both items completed, I would’ve been happy, happy, happy. Instead, I left somewhat frustrated, even though I paid less than I should’ve.

What Are the Takeaways?

• EVERY concern should be written on the RO, whether it’s being charged to the customer or not. Like my situation, you’ll tick someone off needlessly by ‘doing it on the side’.

• ALL work should be charged, unless it’s a complimentary service every other day too. There isn’t a service manager out there that wouldn’t have happily collected my $30 for a TPMS relearn if I was willing to pay for it.

• ALL discounts should be done by management. I didn’t ask for the $20 off my oil change, and I’m sure the manager wasn’t aware the service advisor did it. But I’m confident that same manager will be scratching their head at month end, wondering where all their gross profit has gone.

I’ve said it before, but it bears mentioning again. If you need to discount, offer it on a subsequent service visit if you can. Or, add a loyalty discount on the whole work order instead of lowering the cost on a single RO line. Once they’ve paid a discounted price for something, a customer establishes that number as the product or service’s true value. You want to build UP the value, not lower it.