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The buisness...

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LocGaw

I had to push a customers truck out of the shop to work on another customer's truck. I don't think this sat well with the GM. Here is the problem, the customer that I pushed out only comes in for state inspections. We are required to have them and they are a money loser. They don't buy fuel, parts or service(unless the vehicle is disabled and then they buy the minimum).

 

Meanwhile, the customer we put in ahead of the guy that owned the truck we pushed out; buys and rents equipment, fuel, tires, service & maintenance and they PAY WEEKLY. They have us service around 100 units. The only thing we don't handle regularly is the OEM warranty repairs.

Here is the deal, this kind of customer counts on us. They are not locked into a contract and they are free to call whomever they want. They call us, even though we may cost more, because we WILL take care of them. This customer can go anywhere, but he is an IMPORTANT person here. I can't stress this enough... The level of customer service we provided him gives him peace of mind. He can tell his customer's that I will be there, on time and with quality equipment to take care of your needs everytime. He can tell his boss that he has people and those people can deliver, anywheres and anytime of day.

 

You see in the recent news all kinds of companies that simply can't provide this type of service. Then again, maybe they just don't give a damn about the consumer. I think to EA and their recent Consumerist award. They don't give a damn because they know you ARE going to buy their games... That is a blog for another day.

 

The discussion, almost an arguement, was that the guy that got pushed out had an appointment and the appointment needs to be honnered first. My take is the regular customer spends tens of thousands anually vs 100 dollars anually. I am not going to tell him that I can't look at his truck, that is down, that must roll or get a rental for because we have to do an inspection. The GM did not press it further but dirty looks were exchanged.

From a consumers point of view, he may have been right. The view from the companies profit margin though favors my position.

The last time we put an inspection in front of a regular customer it burned the regular customer. The regular guy was spending 7-10 thousand a year and he never came back. The inspection customer spent $75 one time and they never came back...

Do you think I was right?

Comments (3)

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phnxpete·
You bring up some interesting points. My state has the state inspections usually there is a separate bay for inspections. the cost of equipment is incredible (MA) and the fee is about $30+ at the moment. Some Places do not do it because the cost and payback do not make sense or they do not want to deal with it. Where I get my service dome does not do inspections, but they refer to a friend with a smaller shop who does a lot of inspections and less service. The issue is more of if your going to do inspections it should be separated out from the service side IMO. It's not fun on the customer side waiting for an inspection you can schedule it with work . Having it scheduled changes it around though If it is promised and not honored you have a problem accepting the inspection and making the appointment makes that person important as a customer. Sounds like there must be a better way of combining the two services not so either party should suffer. Whether it is the company or the individual(sticker) they are expecting you to deliver. They both want peace of mind.
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LocGaw·
I should have noted, the customer expecting the inspection dropped it off and was comming back to pick it up at the end of buisness the following day. Also the unit needed 6 hours of bull work repairs to pass.
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Nochnoi-Dozor·
You're absolutely correct, usually if you go out of your way to help a customer like that, they'll usually continue to use your services at a higher cost because they know you'll look after them. I used to work for a Kenworth dealership and I've seen mistakes made that cost us some good customers. I got to a point were I had about six customers requesting my services because I took a few extra minutes here and there to help them out. Now I maintain a private fleet and have to put up with truckers that think they're the only ones in the whole fleet that matter.