AutoFix AdvisorCast

Michael Doherty [00:00:00]:
This is the autofix Advisor Cast, powered by worldpac. Hey, service Advisor nation. Welcome to another episode of the autofix Advisor Cast. Hope everyone is doing well and is healthy as well. Today I wanted to talk about two primary things. One was estimates for new customers calling your shop for an estimate. And a lot of shops, I believe, are not providing estimates these days over the phone to people that want to get the vehicle in first. And I'm conflicted about that because I feel that's a great way to lose a new customer, but it's also manageable.

Michael Doherty [00:00:52]:
And reason I say that is, you know, I think knowing what service they're looking for is going to dictate if you can give them an estimate over the phone or not, or email them an estimate. But again, you know, I mean, when somebody's calling in, you know, the answer is yes, we want to capture their business, we want to help them out. And I know that everyone is not your customer and we can talk about how to identify that. But again, you know, I think just for some shops that are just saying no, we won't give you an estimate over the phone, we have to have the vehicle here. Again, I think it's really situational on what you can and cannot provide an estimate for over the phone for somebody. So, case in point, I used to get phone calls pretty early in the morning on a Monday morning, or we'd have voicemails from over the weekend, emails from over the weekend, walk into the shop Monday morning pretty early before we get set up and ready for the day. But you know, case in point, you know, hey, I have a XYZ and I just need, you know, I'm looking for a price on a brake fluid service or brake fluid flush. So normally that's a can job, can job for most shops, but also it depends on.

Michael Doherty [00:02:02]:
So, you know, if someone's asking me for, hey, I just, you know, I'm new to the area, I've got XYZ and I just want to get a quote on brake fluid service or brake fluid flush. So my first question to that person is going to be, is that something that you're looking to do as just a standard service maintenance, it's due as it's due every two years or is there a issue with the vehicle that you feel that that is going to take care of? And again, it's qualifying questions. Early in my career, I think I got burned a little bit by not asking those and, you know, someone would come in for, you know, a brake fluid flush technician would get the car back there, start working on it, and then say, hey, you know, the pedals kind of sinking to the floor. You know, call the client up and say, hey, we're in the process of doing your brake fluid flush and the pedal is kind of sinking to the floor. Is that something you're already aware of? Well, yeah, that's why I brought it in. That's why I wanted a brake fluid flush. And it's like, oh, crap, you know, no, that's not going to fix that. So again, you get in the mind frame after a while of asking qualifying questions.

Michael Doherty [00:03:03]:
You know, another one, if somebody calls up and says, I've got an XYZ vehicle and, and I've got it over at hopeless Coach Jones Automotive down the street and they're telling me that I just needed to have their spark plugs replaced. I just need a quote on spark plugs replacement. Again, you need to ask qualifying question. Are you looking to have those done just service maintenance, or is there an issue with the vehicle that you believe replacing those spark plugs is going to fix? And when they answer you, it's going to be service or maintenance, or they're going to say, well, no, my check engine light's on and the cars are running rough and they told me I need spark plugs. Okay, well that is not something that you're going to be able to quote over the phone. That is something that you're going to need to use, you know, your knowledge base on and explain to them that it may be the spark plugs, it may not be the spark plugs. But again, you know, in the effort of helping the client or, you know, trying to get the client, new client in the door, you could give them a range of what they're looking for, provided they give you the year, make, model, correctly, the VIN number. I've often found times when people call for an estimate, they're not prepared, they don't have the VIN number, and you have to explain to them that, I mean, that's the vehicle's DNA, right? I mean, we need that to be able to break down what's going on.

Michael Doherty [00:04:25]:
And sometimes it's a little bit of a battle. I don't understand. I called this other shop and they were just able to give me a quote. Okay, well, that's not how we do it here. And here's why we don't do it like that. There's too many variables, right? We need to know the engine code, we need to know exactly what, you know, trim, model, et cetera. I Mean, there's so many variables that go into doing an estimate correctly. But, you know, again, asking qualifying questions, I've had people in the past call up and hey, I've got a Toyota fj.

Michael Doherty [00:04:50]:
I just wanted to quote on doing a front differential service, you know, and again, you know, my question to that individual is, you know, are you looking to do that as just a preventative maintenance or is there an issue going on with the vehicle that you feel that's going to fix? And to the best of my recollection, that individual said, okay, well, yeah, it's making a noise, it's making a growling noise in the differential area. And I just want to get a fluid service done. And you know, that conversation turns into, you know, we're not going to just do a fluid service. You know, we need to drain the fluid, we need to inspect it, we need to identify what's causing the issue. And you, Mr. Customer or Mrs. Customer, will likely be prepared for paying for a diagnostic. You know, it's going to go a little bit further than that.

Michael Doherty [00:05:31]:
I've gotten the call of, hey, I've got a 2018 BMW X5 35i, their dreaded B58 motor engine. And you know, hey, I got it again at Hobus Coach Jones Automotive and they're telling me that the radiator is leaking. So I just need to get a quote on replacing the radiator. You know, mind blown, you know, and you let them know that there's actually six radiators for that vehicle's engine. And which one in particular are we talking about, Mr. Customer? You know, I, I don't know. They just told me the radiator is looking. Okay, well, was this something that was discovered on you getting an oil service? Did the vehicle overheat? Oh, yeah, the car overheated.

Michael Doherty [00:06:07]:
Okay, well, here's, Let me explain why we need to get the vehicle to the shop and check it out and also, you know, prepare that person, especially with a coolant issue, that until you can identify and fix what's leaking first, there's no way to pressure test the rest of the system and that it is very possible that you are going to have another coolant leak. And you know, be prepared for that. You know, it's, it's never a one and done on these BMWs, unfortunately, with the not so great cooling systems. But again, you know, it's. I think it's, I'm not going to say rude, but not helpful. Right. If you're that shop that is, you know, or that service advisor that is saying, you know, I can't give you a quote over the phone, you know, and that really just locks out that phone call, that opportunity for that new client, you know, looking to use your shop to feel you out. And it just, they're not going to call you back after that because you didn't help them.

Michael Doherty [00:07:00]:
And helping them doesn't have to be giving them an estimate, but it could be again, asking qualifying questions and getting to the root of what is going on. And if it really is just, you know, service or maintenance, quote it to them. You know, I mean there's nothing wrong with that. A lot of the Asian vehicles, they don't have as many brake package options as the BMWs and the Audis do. The Mercedes do, you know, slotted, is it vented, different millimeter sizes, caliper sizes, etc. You know, AMG, non AMG. I mean really with a, you know, Lexus product, you know, is it an F sport, etc. But you know, if you can give them a roundabout and you know, at least get them an estimate so that they can come to your shop and experience how you do customer service.

Michael Doherty [00:07:46]:
And again, that's really what it is. When they're calling you for an estimate and their car hasn't been there before, it's customer service. It's not saying no, we, you know, we don't do estimates over the phone. You know, that's going to lose you a new customer every time. You know, be more open minded and again, ask qualifying questions. And if you're not able to give them an estimate or call them back with an estimate or text them an estimate or email them an estimate, let them know why, you know, not just no, we don't do that. I mean it doesn't sound customer friendly. The second part of it, which I think is really important is and I don't think a lot of places are using it or doing it.

Michael Doherty [00:08:25]:
It's actually a really great tool. It's called Loom Loom Video, just L o o m dot com. This is a screen recording that you can make and I think it's drastically going to cut down your time of re engaging with the client. And reason I say that is, you know, my mindset was, you know, hey, I would prepare an estimate, I would email it to the client and say in the email, hey, you know, Mr. And Mrs. Jones, you know, please review this, call me back with any questions. Right? You know, text to them, same thing, you know, hey, please review this estimate. Let me know if you have any Questions or call them.

Michael Doherty [00:09:03]:
And if you get the voicemail, right, leave them a voicemail that typically can be one to two minutes. And then as soon as you hang up that phone, what happens? Murphy's law. They call you right back, hey, I'm just calling you back. Great. Did you hear from my voicemail? No, I never listened to it. And you gotta go over it again and over it again. So Loom video. What, what that's going to do for you for service advisors out there is it's going to allow you to.

Michael Doherty [00:09:28]:
When you're doing the estimate for the client, right. I think it's. It's threefold. It's gotta be customized. And what I mean by that is this. Use Loom video and we'll talk about it here. So again, it's gotta be customized. It's gotta be purposeful.

Michael Doherty [00:09:43]:
And as far as purposeful goes, we're talking about full of meaning. Okay. And it's gotta be engaging. It's got to be likable, right? That estimate. And how do we do that? How do we accomplish that for clients that we're sending estimates to, whether they're new clients or new new clients or existing clients. So again, you know, from an estimate standpoint, mindset. Mindset, shift. Not going to say that three times fast.

Michael Doherty [00:10:06]:
Again, customized, purposeful and engaging. So how do we do that? Right. So when we're done with the estimate, we go to loom.com, we shoot a quick little video and we explain in that video about their estimate. Hey, Mr. And Mrs. Jones. You know, I just want to say thank you again for bringing in your Mercedes today. We had John in the back, check it out.

Michael Doherty [00:10:27]:
And yes, I do understand that, you know, some shops are having the technicians do videos of what's going on with the vehicle. But I will be honest with you, that's not who's really interfacing with the client. You know, the customer service rep, the service advisor. I feel that's who should be doing the videos. Right. If the technician wants to do a video and we want to share that on there as well, then that's great. But again, the customer is engaging with you, the service advisor. They want to hear what you have to say about it.

Michael Doherty [00:10:56]:
Right. Again, you're the face of the business. You're in customer service. You're. You're dealing with them. So again, hey, do that loom video. Mr. And Mrs.

Michael Doherty [00:11:04]:
Jones, thank you again for dropping off your Mercedes today. We had John in the back, check it out. And here are some things, areas of concern, right? And Go over the estimate right in that loom video. So again, the customized part, do the loom video, the purposeful part, you know, build full of meaning, right? So when you're leaving somebody a voicemail, when you're texting, when you're emailing them, there's really no connection there. I mean, it's, it's, it's just, it's information, which is great, you're transferring information, but it's just that there's nothing else behind it. And what I mean by the full of meaning is, you know, they're getting, you're getting your, your emotion about it, right? And we have to be emotional about some of these cars because it's important that they understand how important it is. Fix some of these things that they may not know about. And when you're talking about that and you're passionate about it and you know, some people use their hands when they're talk.

Michael Doherty [00:11:54]:
I do that sometimes, some people don't. But again, you know, be, be creative, be custom, be personalized, right? When you're doing that video, you know, I'm so glad that you brought that car in today. You know, we checked out your brakes and you know, before you go on this trip, I really would recommend that you get those brakes replaced. Right now you're at 2 millimeters of life left. And here's what that means. And break it down for them, right? And they're hearing you, right? They're hearing your concern, they're hearing your tonality. And you know, when they see that video, it's going to be different for them because they're used to not seeing that. They're used to not hearing that, right? And you know, again, the engagement part of it, you know, it's likable.

Michael Doherty [00:12:34]:
It's. They're seeing you, they're hearing you. And I think that's really going to work out well for you is doing a loom video and sending the link to that loom with your estimate. So again, I, you know, I implore you to check it out. So it's just loom L O m dot com. It's an easy setup and you know, just shoot a couple, you know, get used to it, whatever. But it's pretty user friendly. And again, you know, for every video that you shoot, you can do a little link and just copy that link, put it in with their estimate, you know that you're going to text them, that you're going to email them and when that video pops up and they're able to play that video of you talking about their estimate.

Michael Doherty [00:13:11]:
And of course, you know, let them know, you know, hey, if you have any further questions, call me back. But again, just that, that raw video of you talking about their vehicle, you know, the customized part of that. Right. The, the connection, the feel, the, the care. Right. I mean, it goes, it's got to go deeper than just them getting their car fixed. And when they feel that personalization, that connection, that is what keeps them coming back. Right.

Michael Doherty [00:13:36]:
And I guarantee that they have not had somebody send them a loom video. Well, I can't guarantee that, but probably not. So I think again, that would be a really useful tool for a service advisor. And when you're shooting these videos, you know, don't do it up front where there's a lot of people coming in and out, phones ringing, stuff like that, interruptions. If you've got an office you can do it in. It doesn't have to be super lengthy, but again, just really encapsulating what's going on with the vehicle, what you really feel super important that they do. Here's the reason why. But you know, hey, Mr.

Michael Doherty [00:14:06]:
And Mrs. Jones again, you know, check out this video, look at the estimate. Let me. If you have any questions, but you know, if you don't, if you'd like to proceed, you know, please authorize jobs X, Y and Z and you know, I'll keep you updated. So, you know, again, just really just personal connection there. So I think it's super important to build that relationship. And that's another great relationship building tool. I mean, it saves you time.

Michael Doherty [00:14:27]:
That was the other part of it. It saves you so much time because you're not having to wait for them to call you back or they call you back and they didn't hear your voice, they didn't listen to your voicemail, things of that nature. So it's a time saver as well. And that is something that I need to get better at using, but I've become more comfortable with it. It's kind of weird, right? You shoot this video and you play it back, it's just you. But again, you know, it's, it's, it's for your clients and I think it'll go a long way. Please try it out. I promise you it'll be a good step in not only capturing more business, but again, building that relationship with your client.

Michael Doherty [00:15:04]:
And they're going to love it. So give it a shot. But again, estimates situational. Again, you know, not everybody's your client. You know, if they've called 16 different shops and they're just, you know, just give me a price, just give me a number. You know, you can kind of feel it out, right, if it's going to be a good fit or not. But again, always try and help the person that's asking for an estimate. Don't just shut them down.

Michael Doherty [00:15:23]:
We don't do estimates over the phone. We need to get your car in the shop first. Depends on what it is. But again, qualifying questions ask more than just what they're asking you for. You know, what's the reason? Is it a service maintenance? Just looking to get it done as a service maintenance, as a K service, as you know, preventative maintenance. Your condition based service indicator says this is due or is there an issue with the car that you feel this is going to fix? And that's when they start opening up, right? And then more dialogue comes in and you can kind of take it from there. But again, if it's just easier, easy peasy, service maintenance stuff, give them a quote, why not? And again, shoot that loom video. Send that out with a link, get their information and let them know, you know, again, you need the VIN number.

Michael Doherty [00:16:03]:
It's kind of dead in the water unless you know the VIN number. So loom videos along with your estimates, keep kicking butt. Keep building customer relationships and service Advisor nation. Appreciate you and thank you for tuning in to another episode of the autofix Advisor Cast. All right, take it easy. Hey, thanks for listening to the autofix Advisor cast. If you're ready to take your shop to the next level, check out our sponsor, WorldPAC and the WorldPAC Training Institute. WTI.

Michael Doherty [00:16:35]:
Big thanks to them for their sponsorship. Follow the podcast on social media for more insights and subscribe so you never miss an episode. Oh, and tell your friends we want to help the industry grow and help advisors love their jobs again. See you on the next autofix Advisor Cast.