The auto service store repaired the tire for 30 yuan, the customer scolded the black store and called the police, and the aftermarket can't avoid this kind of bad thing?

Author | Hao Bin

Source | Auto Service World (ID: asworld168)

preface

The automotive aftermarket has entered the era of "professional dividend" from the era of "opportunity dividend". The ability of service professionalism, management professionalism, marketing professionalism, process professionalism to help stores demonstrate technical strength and achieve high-quality development has been paid more and more attention.

Focusing on the current needs of aftermarket stores, Hao Bin, a columnist for Auto Service World, will explain the survival guide of auto service stores in the era of professional dividends at one time through a column, and help enterprises to set up professional stores in 2024 and regain their vitality.

This article is the fourth article in the series of "Service Professional", and the core topic is to cultivate "professional employees/teams" to avoid operational problems and improve store output value.

Recently, I saw that the car service world posted a short video of the owner of the Hangzhou auto service store: 30 yuan to repair a tire, and he was scolded by the customer for the black store and called the police.

When I saw this, my first reaction was that it was outrageous. But then I thought about it a layer down, why would I be scolded for 30 yuan to make up a tire? What the hell is going on here?

Later, I read a detail in the report: the customer did not make up the price with the boss before the price, the price was 30 yuan, the customer agreed to drive the car, and then in the process of repairing the tire, the tire repair master said by the way: There is also a way to repair the tire with mushroom nails, and the fee is 60 yuan. And then there's the results we see.

In addition to expressing indignation and sharing their similar experiences, I also saw some peers expressing some views on the "service process" and "master behavior" of this matter.

My personal opinion is that there is a way to avoid this kind of thing completely.

One

What is certain is that the reason why this matter is so highly discussed is not only that it is indeed a bit strange, but also related to the current situation of the industry.

The automotive aftermarket in 2024 is extremely tragic, and many people will say that in recent years, life has become more and more difficult. But as the old saying goes, a few are happy and a few are sad, no matter how bad the market is, there will always be a store in Changhong all the way.

In such a situation, there must be a type of stores that are still thriving and all the way to Changhong: they work hard earlier than most people in management and operation.

Around each boss, there must be some peers, when most people are still immersed in the traditional mode of operation, they already have their own system, which is reflected in personnel management, training, marketing, process, service and other links, and even create a professional team, and this is the confidence that they can still talk and laugh in the context of such fierce competition and such a worrying environment.

We have known for a long time that the quality of service in the after-sales service industry is uneven, there is a shortage of professionals, and standards vary greatly. It's just that most people have too much inertia and don't work related aspects.

How big of a difference can there be between working hard and not putting in effort?

To give an example that everyone feels about it, it is the matter of "short video".

The scale of the automotive aftermarket is indeed not small, but with the rapid development of the automotive industry, more and more enterprises and capital have entered this field, resulting in fierce competition. Traditional 4S shops, repair shops, beauty stores, chain brands, mom-and-pop shops... Everyone is already playing hot, and the rise of the short video era in recent years has subverted the previous competition model of the industry, making it difficult for many bosses.

When the industry really began to rise short videos, it was when the epidemic first appeared, who would have thought that it would be in this situation today: there are many stores that have been reborn because of short videos, and it is not uncommon for cases of tigers to add wings, but most of them are stores that have not caught this bus until now.

Why didn't most of the stores catch the bus in time? In the final analysis, it is determined by the particularity of the after-sales service industry practitioners, most of the bosses are not very highly educated, many of them are from repair, and the grasp of some opportunities will be worse.

If the store can have a professional operation management personnel or even a team, it should not be so late-sighted.

Looking at the encounter of the Hangzhou auto service store at the beginning, if the employee's expression or handling method is more professional, this kind of dispute can be avoided.

In addition to their own talent in personal IP creation, there is actually another category, that is, in his team, there is an operation management employee, this person may be a store manager, or an ordinary employee, before the new media, these employees may have been reused, or they may have been ordinary, but in the new media era, the existence of such employees clearly makes up for the boss's lack of grasp of the trend.

Two

In fact, in today's industry, a professional employee or even a team, in addition to being able to make up for the shortcomings in trend grasp and service, also has a more important role, that is, it can increase the output value of the store with half the effort.

As we all know, automotive technology is constantly upgrading, and the professional skills of repair, maintenance and other technical personnel are becoming higher and higher, and at the same time, consumers' requirements for "satisfaction" have become the standard configuration of stores, and how to make customers get "unexpected surprises" has also become a new level.

In this case, if the store has a professional team, it can actually be sold without sales.

I remember when I was working in a chain store, I met a maintenance technician and the customer to communicate with the customer to convert the brake fluid, I was really anxious to communicate with the customer in person, why? Because we haven't talked too much about the conversion of brake fluid with the employees before.

At that time, when I was communicating with this car owner, there were other car owners waiting for repairs, and I also came over to listen. The final result was that the customer I converted not only replaced the brake fluid, but even the customer who was listening next to him asked to check the brake fluid for him to see if it needed to be replaced, but when he knew that his car would be scrapped after driving for half a year at most, I suggested that he should not change it, and there are not many opportunities to use the car in ordinary times.

In the process, I did the following:

· Explain the working principle and replacement standard of brake fluid;

· Truthfully explain the problems that may arise if not replaced for a long time;

· Clearly inform the customer that the probability of accidents is extremely low because the brake fluid is not changed for a long time, and fully give the customer the right to choose.

In the end, the customer still chose to replace, so I recommended the cheapest brake fluid in the store, after all, I don't plan to drive it for long, I can save a little, and I also told the customer that the new car equipment store can also be done, and gave the customer a voucher, which also paved the way for the future business.

In fact, this is also a major embodiment of professional service: the customer was originally changing tires, but because he learned about brake fluid, he also accidentally obtained a voucher for equipment, which completely exceeded his initial expectations.

Three

Let's talk about the benefits of a professional team.

The benefits of building a team of professionals are clear.

Why? It is mainly reflected in the following aspects:

1. Increase customer loyalty

The professional team can use other services to provide customers with more efficient and accurate services, and improve the customer's experience value in the service process, and can also better solve customer problems and follow-up services. Let the store have a leap forward in both technology and service, so as to enhance customer loyalty to the store.

2. Establish the store's brand

No matter in which industry, the brand is crucial, it plays an irreplaceable role in the process of where customers choose to consume, and it is also particularly important in independent after-sales, after all, the condition of the car is closely related to its own safety.

The value of the brand can be exerted depends largely on the service level of the store staff, which is a fact that cannot be changed even if the franchise chain is added.

It is also a national chain brand store, but many customers just go to the fixed one, and the other one does not go, even if it is a few kilometers more, in addition to getting used to it, it is more because the service of this store satisfies him, and it also reflects that even if it is the same chain, the level of different stores is still uneven.

3. Differentiated customer experience

Now the information transparency has been outrageously high, but also accelerated the industry to a homogeneous competition state, in addition to the price war, there is indeed not much better way, so now the market from top to bottom are advocating differentiated competition.

This logic is actually correct. For example, special maintenance, better service quality, excellent maintenance technology, more intimate customer care, more effective operation methods, more humanized management methods, more distinctive store styles, etc., can allow us to make our own characteristics and obtain a good living space.

4. Enhance the competitiveness of stores

In fact, this point is slightly duplicated with the above, but whose team is more professional can achieve no one else, and I have the best, and will have stronger competitiveness.

Four

Finally, let's talk about how to build a professional team.

It can be built through the following aspects, which involve the appointment, training, practice and exercise, and performance appraisal of personnel.

1. Personnel appointments

The selection of employees is particularly important, and we must not be hungry when selecting people.

We should formulate clear recruitment standards according to the development plan and job requirements of the store, and combine the current situation of the store, and recruit personnel with relevant professional knowledge and skills, some work experience, and good communication skills and service awareness.

It's not that newcomers can't use it, but the risk will be great, and the store must have a good training mechanism, or it is recommended to pay more costs and recruit employees who can get started immediately, after all, we are not running a school, nor is it a place that specializes in providing internships, so I really can't afford it.

For example, when we recruit maintenance technicians, the recruiter needs to have an academic background or practical work experience in auto repair related majors. Possess relevant professional qualifications. For managerial talents, relevant work experience is required, and strong communication, management, training, and marketing skills are required.

2. Training

New employees need to undergo induction training, focusing on the culture of the store, so that new employees can quickly know the development history of the store, the business philosophy of the store, the team style, the basic rules and regulations, etc.

At the same time, arrange personnel to teach, mainly to adapt to the new working environment, service standards, and processes, so that new employees can integrate into the team faster and improve the overall combat effectiveness.

Job skills also need to be trained regularly.

Stores should arrange corresponding training content for employees in different positions, and change the content and methods according to personal characteristics.

For example, if there are three maintenance technicians in the store, one senior engineer and two middle workers, then their training needs to be separated in terms of professional technology, but there is no need to distinguish in terms of general content such as service process and transformation ability.

Comprehensive literacy training is also indispensable.

In today's market, the cost of solving service accidents may be very high, so we must not ignore the comprehensive quality while improving the job skills of employees.

If you deviate from the department, the headache must be the boss, and often wiping the ass for employees will torture yourself crazy.

At the same time, when the comprehensive literacy is high, the team's collaboration ability will also be improved, and there will be a 1+1>2 situation, and such a team is what we need.

3. Practice and exercise

When we empower employees, it is inevitable to test the results, and practice and exercise become a good touchstone.

Set up a mechanism for the old to bring the new, so that the strong ability of the employees with the weaker ability of the practice, on the one hand, can cultivate the ability of the strong ability of the staff to teach, on the other hand, so that the employees also have the opportunity to practice, so that in the future competition can have a stronger ability to survive.

4. Performance appraisal

Establish a performance appraisal system to objectively and fairly evaluate the daily work and results of store employees.

The assessment content can include: attendance, work status, work ability, teamwork, performance, maintenance quality, satisfaction and other items, and the assessment results should be linked to employee salary and development.

Establish an incentive mechanism to promote the positive working state of employees and make suggestions for store management, with the goal of achieving a state where everyone is collecting firewood and the flame is high.

Rewards can be embodied in cash, in kind, spiritually, etc., and the reward methods should be diversified to adapt to the post-90s and post-00s employees.

In the future, whether a more professional team can be created will be the key to the survival, competition and sustainable development of the store. At the same time, the store should also combine the needs of customers and the changes in the development of the industry, and constantly optimize the staff of the store, only in this way can we be invincible in the torrent of not advancing or retreating.