Following its successful Golden Garages campaign that saw
9,000 members of the public voting for thousands of garages across the
country, Motor Codes has compiled a selection of top tips for being the
best.
“Standing out from the crowd by surprising and delighting
customers is a
great business tool and a key part of improving the industry’s
reputation,” said Chris Mason, Motor Codes director.
“The Golden Garages
campaign did a brilliant job of demonstrating that nationwide there are
so many outstanding businesses that deliver top class customer care.
Having sifted through thousands of customer comments and analysed how
our UK Top Ten garages go about their daily work, we’re now able to
share some of the best ideas.”
The Motor Industry Code of Practice for Service and
Repair has already had an impact on the number of complaints levelled at
the industry, halting the rise in motorist issues as reported by
Consumer Direct.
The Code’s Consumer Advice Team has already helped over
2,500 motorists this year, from answering simple questions to providing
conciliation and arbitration services where necessary.
“Focusing the direction and actions of any service and repair business
on enhancing the customer experience is a sure fire way to success,”
explains Keith Kingham, winner of Golden Garages.
“Building trust and
goodwill with a customer is a long-term process but the investment of
time and money will pay off as customers return again and again.” | | Motor Codes top tips for customer care:
* Agree work required with the customer and check before starting
additional jobs.
* Set a price and payment method, don’t change these without
customer authorisation.
* Encourage technicians to talk to customers to build personal
relationships.
* Don’t charge for small/easy jobs to generate goodwill and trust.
* Contact every customer after a few days to ensure maximum
satisfaction.
* Monitor customer feedback and act on it to make improvements.
* Offer a loyalty bonus to encourage repeat business and develop
relationships.
* Continually improve your business by discussing operational issues
with staff and customers.
* Turn any complaint into a positive result to retain customers. |
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