By Joe
Marconi of Elite
This past
winter will no doubt go in the history books as one of the toughest on
record. Many shops, mine included, lost six or more days of work in
February alone. I don’t want to think about the loss of revenue; I’d
rather put it behind me and move on. There are some things that we cannot
control, Mother Nature being one of them.
However, as
with all adversity, it’s not about getting knocked down that counts, it’s what
you do when you get back on your feet. All indicators are pointing to a
very busy spring. Will you be ready and cash in?
Speak to all
customers starting now about the safety of their cars after a tough winter. Put
together a promotion to inspect cars for winter related vehicle damage. Here
are a few tips I put together to think about:
• Every
car that hit a pothole should have at least a safety check and alignment
check. Check shocks, struts, springs and other undercarriage components.
• Carefully inspect tires and wheels, too.
• Think about selling alignments, wheel balance, etc.
• Every
car that drove in snow and ice storms need to have a safety check and the
transmission fluid inspected. I saw with my own eyes countless cars with
the drive wheels spinning out of control. This overheats transmission
fluid and may damage transmissions and clutches.
• Salt
and other chemicals used on the roads will takes its toll on many cars.
• Neglected maintenance, such as overdue oil changes, will become an issue
– educate customers.
• Wiper blades took a beating – should I say more on this subject?
I am sure
you can think of more things, too. The point is you need to inform customers
and take care of their cars.
Take a
proactive approach, rather than a reactive approach. In other words, don’t wait
for the customer to come to you with a problem; inform and inspect.
A doctor
once told me that the time to start thinking about taking care of your body is
not on the way to the hospital in an ambulance.
This article was
contributed by Joe Marconi. Joe is one of the 1-on-1 business coaches who helps
shop owners through the Elite Coaching
Program, and is the co-founder of autoshopowner.com.
