It seems like the only time you hear from your customers is when they’re unhappy. Auto glass businesses are unique because customers who need your service are inconvenienced, upset, and in a hurry. After having been the victim of a car accident or weather damage, it’s hard to make a good impression about your interaction.
There are only certain satisfaction issues you can address. Almost every customer is going to wish that your service cost less or was completed faster. Measure the outcomes that you can control and limit the customer’s pain points. You can’t take away the reason that your customer is calling you, but you can make it like it never happened.
Improve the customer service you offer as an Auto Glass Professional with three easy steps.
Create a thorough checklist to lower the number of quality issues
Although it may seem like it’s too expensive to train employees for every possible issue, investing in training up front will save you money in the long run. Document the cost of having to fix a poor installation, including opportunity costs from unhappy customers. Unhappy customers share much more broadly and loudly than satisfied ones, and bad reviews can have a huge effect on your bottom line.
Train your employees thoroughly on the benefits of your service. Explain how your company’s choice of glass, adhesive, or special tools affects the quality of your installation. Create a thorough checklist with each step of installing or repairing a windshield, and have employees check it off as they’re completed.
Get customer feedback directly
Take a close look at what complaints you receive from customers — unhappy customers can tell you what to fix in your business. The key is to get the customers to tell you instead of blasting your reputation online.
Design a specific survey to gather feedback at critical moments, like after an unsuccessful installation. Once you receive written results, follow up on less-than-successful interactions with a phone call. Human contact is the simplest way to avoid bad publicity. Customers are more likely to compromise and understand when speaking with a valued employee like the manager or owner rather than an outside survey company.
Train your reps to deal with unhappy customers
Prepare your team to handle difficult service situations with confidence and sympathy. Encourage them to rephrase disagreements and avoid adversarial conversations. It’s about seven times more expensive to find a new customer than it is to keep an existing one. Teach your customer-facing representatives to communicate effectively and be allies instead of enemies.
Service representatives should view themselves on the same team as the customer and be eager to please them. Give them some leeway to make adjustments and make the customer satisfied. If a customer experiences a leak or loose molding, each one of your service technicians should be able to explain why that is an unusual outcome with your products, tools, and method.
Invest in customer service
The auto glass industry is at a disadvantage from the start. The customers who seek out our services have already experienced an unpleasant situation. Implement customer service training, use a thorough checklist, and gather customer feedback directly to get high customer service marks.