Customer service is a priority at Shutes Alignment & Frey Tire in ...

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Since 1936 Your Full-Service Castrol Partner From Bulk To Drums To Cases Discover the Difference Hartog Oil has partnered with customers for over 75 years providing more than product and profit. We offer customer retention programs and advertising reimbursement second to none in the industry. . . . One-to-One assistance & programs to improve your premium product sales opportunities. For more information contact: Dave Hartog dhartog@hartogoil.com (314) 522-1616 (800) 535-3835 Ask about our computerized “keep fill” programs to maximize inventory turns. 888-771-1130 314-549-8017 888-680-6025 Jasper remanufacturing facility earns VPP Star Safety Certification The Safety Committee Associates from Jasper display their VPP Star Certification. Jasper, Ind.—The Indiana Department of Labor announced the Star Certification of Jasper Engines and Transmissions’ remanufacturing facility in Indiana’s Voluntary Protection Program (VPP). An April 12 ceremony at the Jasper facility provided an opportunity for associates, staff, and management to showcase their exemplary safety status to state elected and labor officials. Jasper Safety Director Jason Pieper told associates that VPP is all about management commitment and associate involvement. “Thank you for the safety practices you have put into Jasper Engines and Transmissions. You were able to reduce injuries 50 percent in 2011 along with maintaining production and quality goals.” VPP was established to recognize and promote safety and health management programs throughout the state. All companies, regardless of size or business, can participate in VPP, where management and employees work together to create and maintain a healthy working environment. “I just wanted to congratulate each and every one of you on becoming a Star Knowing customer base, competition helps shops advertise effectively Continued from page 23 weaknesses of its competition, it should use advertising to convey its advantages over the growing prominence of quick lube shops, auto parts stores, and dealerships, he said. “Talk about what you do better than the competition and set about 3 to 6 percent of your annual gross sales to be spent on advertising — but make sure you spend it wisely.” Gilley listed a number of advertising devices that can be budgeted, including onhold messaging; direct mailers such as coupons, thank-you letters, and service reminders; lifetime oil change programs; license plate frames; and newspaper ads promoting a Car Care event. “A flat-screen TV behind a service desk with a menu Participant in our Voluntary Protection Program,” said Lori Torres, commissioner of labor for the Indiana Department of Labor. “What we have clearly seen with our VPP program is it’s the associates believing that the program is for their benefit and their contributions to workplace safety.” “Though we should be very proud of our accomplishment, we should not rest on our laurels,” Jasper Chairman and CEO Doug Bawel said. “Safety is everyone’s responsibility.” “We had more overtime hours last year than anytime I can remember,” Bawel said. “Look what we did ... a 50 percent reduction in injuries. But it takes focus, and it’s up to everyone to believe in the importance of operating in a safe environment.” The Jasper remanufacturing facility earned its initial Merit Certification in 2008. Jasper’s second remanufacturing facility in Crawford County, achieved VPP Merit Certification in September 2010. There are only 58 Indiana companies to achieve VPP certification at either level. n board also attracts attention,” he said. Gilley suggested shop owners print an extra 50 to 100 copies of mailers with coupons so they can store them under their counters to be used as “closers.” Tracking and evaluating advertising responses and other marketing efforts is important, and he said shop owners should establish reference codes. “If you can’t measure the success of a particular advertising, then don’t use it.” Gilley said major shifts in the global economy have given consumers the power to demand exactly “what they want, the way they want it, when they want it, and at a price that will be determined by value.” “You have a choice,” he said, “either provide it or fail.” n Page 24 May 2012 Parts & People www.partsandpeople.com
Cooper’s Keys to Auto Repair Profits The right way to measure customer satisfaction in your auto repair shop Far too many auto repair shop owners don’t measure customer satisfaction. It’s not that they’re not interested in the results, but rather that they’re not exactly sure how to do it. Unfortunately, the price they pay for not measuring their customer satisfaction is often staggering. To make matters worse, the Gallup Association has released a report Bob Cooper concluding that most of the ways used to measure customer satisfaction are beyond bad; they’re actually worthless. As a business owner, I am sure you will agree that your Customer Satisfaction Index Goal (CSI) needs to be 100 percent. You also need to establish a minimum level of acceptable performance with your team that is set no lower than 95 percent (with the understanding that your employees can begin to earn CSI rewards on an incremental scale once they pass the threshold of 97 percent). Now here’s where most shop owners get into trouble: they’re not sure what counts as a point against the CSI score. I realize that there are many different ways to measure customer satisfaction, and many of our clients have some relatively well-designed systems in place. But if you’re just looking for a simple, easy-touse method, here it is. At Elite, we recommend that you classify any comeback or customer complaint as a “failure,” and you should count that failure against the car counts for the measured period. For example, if you process 100 vehicles, you should not incur more than five complaints, including any comebacks due to mechanical problems that were not solved during the initial visit, were misdiagnosed, or were simply overlooked. If the vehicle was repaired six months ago, and it fails today, it still needs to be considered as a failure for the current period, even though your existing employees may not have had any control at the time the service was originally provided. The rationale is twofold. One, the failure will be offset by any poor work done today that may not fail for months to come. The second reason it should be considered a failure for the current period is that your income statement is blind to what, where and when. All that we do know is that the comeback is a failure today. Part failures also need to be counted against the CSI score. Not only is your financial statement blind to part failures, but your overall CSI score should take a reasonable percentage of part failures into consideration. So warranty claims, mechanical failures that include part failures, customer neglect (i.e., we failed to educate them on their responsibility) and so on are easy to classify as failures with this type of CSI scoring. Things become more subjective when you are placing customer follow-up calls. I would highly recommend that you ask every customer, “How did we do?” If the response is positive, and they have nothing critical to say, it’s reasonably safe to conclude that the customer is a happy customer. Otherwise, it’s a failure. So what we need to strive for are fewer comebacks, zero complaints (customer returns with dirty carpet, upset the vehicle wasn’t done on time, felt your prices were too high, etc.) and follow-up calls that end with your customers saying they were pleased. Although you may have to massage the percentages and the criteria a bit, this method is a great starting point for you and your company, and is fair to both you and your employees. You should also ensure that all of your employees know that if there are any comebacks, or complaints that are knowingly not reported, there will be a substantial penalty toward any reward they may be entitled to. If an employee is guilty of not reporting a complaint or comeback a second time, they go on report. A third failure to report should be considered grounds for immediate dismissal. You need to make sure all your people understand that openness and honesty in reporting are critical to improvement. Also let them know that their income, along with the success of your company, will always be predicated on continual improvement. Lastly, I would like to leave you with a couple of thoughts. Far too many companies complicate their methods of monitoring and measuring customer satisfaction. They typically follow up with their customers, and they ask a series of predetermined questions. Rather than asking customers questions that are based on our interests, we should let the customers share their thoughts in any way Genuine Parts they would like, and they should be able to address any part of their customer experience. Many shops and dealerships feel that anything less than 100 percent is completely unacceptable, and I have to politely disagree. Here’s why. First of all, the system I just outlined allows for a 4percent failure rate that takes part failures into consideration. Until we have perfect parts and perfect people, we will always see at least some failures. In addition, we know that no matter how hard we try, there will always be some customers whom we just can’t satisfy. No one put it better than Bob Lutz, the past vice president of GM’s European Division and the past co-chairman of Chrysler, who once said, “It is our goal to satisfy 100 percent of the satisfiable customers.” Please note that he said “satisfiable.” As your next step, take this plan, put it into place, and you will be on the road to building a more profitable, successful business, while generating happier customers at the same time. On that, you have my promise. . . . . . . . . . . . For the last 20 years, Bob Cooper has been the president of Elite Worldwide Inc., an ethics-based company that offers shop owners sales, marketing, and management solutions in the form of downloadable audio training courses, seminars, and webinars, coaching services, and service advisor training. You can contact Cooper at contact@eliteworldwidestore.com, or at 800-204-3548. n Call any of these dealerships for genuine Subaru parts. Parts & People May 2012 Page 25
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