If your customer’s car comes wallowing into your shop like a cork on the ocean, don’t be surprised if the driver thinks it still rides like a finely tuned race car.
The fact is, 86 percent of the cars that have been retired to the salvage yard still have their original shocks and struts underneath, so imagine how many of your customers are still riding around on their vehicles’ original suspension.
In most cases, customers just haven’t noticed that the ride of their vehicle has degraded so much because it has happened slowly, almost imperceptibly, over several years and thousands of miles. Of course, this isn’t only a comfort issue – the vehicle may actually be dangerous to themselves, their passengers, other drivers and pedestrians.
Suspension components, experts say, are products that need to be actively sold by your team. Don’t expect your customers to come to you requesting new shocks or struts. You’ll probably need to point out the need to replace them.
But as important as the components are, it can be difficult to actually make the sale. Your service writer or technician might not mention the condition of the shocks and strut because it might scare the customer away from a required repair.
In some cases, recommendations are casually mentioned or listed on an estimate as something the customer might want to consider but an explanation of why is never given.
In the most damaging cases, a service writer or technician simply stops mentioning or inspecting ride control component out of a fear of being told no.
Breaking the cycle of not recommending or selling ride control is difficult. The first thing to remember is that no customer wants to drive an unsafe vehicle. When you recommend ride control you are not selling comfort – you’re selling better handling and shorter stopping distance. You are not selling comfort.
The first step in selling ride control is the inspection process. A visual inspection of the shocks and struts can tell you a lot about the state of the ride control units. If possible, visual inspections should be performed before the test drive. This is a chance to make sure the vehicle is road worthy before you put your own life at risk.
A complete inspection lays the groundwork for excellent customer communication and increases the possibility of a sale.
By sharing the information gained in the test drive, your team will clarify the value of new ride control components to the customer. Furthermore, this information helps explain why the service should be performed.
For more information, visit FCSAutoparts.com.
This video is presented by The Group Training Academy.
