Aftermarket mythbusting

Myth #1: They took advantage of me because I’m a woman. Arguably, this is the most common complaint directed squarely at our industry. It is unjustly and unfairly sexist, but also really predictable because the automotive industry is male dominated. It's so common, that an obviously recognizable percentage of my clientele looking for a part or needing a service on their car are very quick to point out their female gender during the sales process. My wife, who has worked in this industry as long as I have, pointed out that there is more to this declaration of femininity than just stating the obvious. First of all, women are very savvy shoppers who will use every angle to get a better deal. Since all of us in the automotive industry are perceived as macho guys who may take pity on the damsel in distress, it may work to a woman’s advantage to point out her gender — leading us to go above and beyond the norm in service and pricing to satisfy the beguiled lady.

There is also the issue of plausible deniability that somehow is a by-product of gals pointing out the obvious. If whatever they buy or the service they pay for does not resolve the issue, well, it wasn't her idea. So, you'll have to fix it for free or provide the part at a greatly reduced price.

However, the root of this entire gender misconception is often not the women, but the men in their lives. It seems if your sister, wife, mother, etc. complains about the cost of a part or repair, every man in her life will come out of the woodwork to further feed her displeasure by performing their own assessment — whether accurate or not (often not) — on what the vehicle did and did not need. This assessment will, not doubt about it, vastly differ from whatever you sold or did for her. It's never going to change — it is genetic profiling and both sides are guilty.

Myth #2: If you break down while traveling, prepare to get overcharged.
Dateline, 60 Minutes, MSNBC and others have been relentless in their belief that finding unscrupulous service providers and exposing them makes for provocative entertainment. So much so that an inherent fear exists among the motoring public to trust no one that they have not established an intimate relationship with in regard to servicing their vehicle. We operate a service facility and have an excellent reputation, but someone that has broken down tends to walk in with fangs bared, talons extended and with two or three people covering the rear. We see this unfortunate occurrence as an opportunity to shine, and we liken ourselves as state, local and city ambassadors representing our community — let alone our business. Fear can make people wacky, and this fear can cause local service facilities to react in an equally obnoxious manner that is the opposite of fear — ignorance. Some service centers are ignorant to what this type of customer really wants — their immediate needs may have nothing to do with repairing their vehicle. It might be that they need a rental car, a hotel room, food or some other intangible that will help soften the whole situation. In order to meet the expectations of a wayward traveller, your customer service skills may be tested, or you might be a little more inconvenienced than normal business often dictates. If you can rise to the occasion, we can eradicate this stereotype.

If you are like me, 85 percent of the follow-up thank you notes I get come from displaced travellers expecting the worst, only to find that they were treated exceptionally well, regardless of their accent.

Myth #3: My employees are the reason we are so successful.
To an extent, the above statement is true, but it's still the owner’s store or shop. After all, you hired the employees, didn't you? I have seen a lot of independent parts store and service center owners that have brilliant folks who work for them. I've also seen a lot of these places allow the employees to essentially usurp the control and the direction the business takes because of their ability. If you allow your employees to take on more responsibility because they can handle it, you must still maintain a level of influence in their normal daily routine. If you don’t, you could lose your ability to manage not just the employees, but the persona you originally projected your business to have.

I just went through a scenario in which I had an employee who ramped up at a 90-degree angle on the responsibility chart. He was a central part of my business’s daily routine and was generally believed to do a decent job. The only problem is that he had more responsibility than real ability, and as a result, began to change the character of my business to reflect his own shortcomings. Being an avid user of social media, I began to notice a change in his online posts and blogs. He actually began posting that he hated his job, hated his co-workers and generally hated people. Three strikes and you are out. As much as you want your employees to reflect the company image and agenda in all things, it simply does not work that way, as they are people first and foremost. To my surprise, it took social media to expose what I had suspected for quite some time.

As the summer season winds down, I thought I'd share these little misconception gems with everyone. The fact that our summer season has not been what we expected and that these little issues would have remained hidden during a higher volume season, I am reminded of what a huge irritation they are and how they tend to taint an industry I'm so proud to be involved with. Good luck and good selling.