Let's put the shoe on the other foot, so to speak, for a minute. Your wife (daughter, girlfriend, significant other) takes the car in for service, and when it's returned the steering wheel has greasy paw marks on it, the radio presets are gone and the seat is so far back she can't reach the pedals. Even if the repair was done perfectly, doesn't this also speak volumes about the quality of the service given?
"Customer service is the No. 1 focus in our shop. Fender covers, floor mats, seat covers and steering wheel covers are always used. To add one more thing we could do for our customers, I thought of a simple idea. When I move a customer's seat back, I count in seconds to myself — one-one thousand, two-one thousand, etc. until the seat is back far enough for me to sit down. Then I write this number on the back of the repair order like this: seat-4. When I park the vehicle, I move the seat back by counting to myself in the same way.
For manual seats, I carry a quarter in my pocket that I put on the car floor directly below the leading edge of the seat. Then I simply move the seat back to the spot where the quarter is. To some, this may seem to be overdoing it, but to us, our customers' comfort and convenience comes first."
It is, indeed, the little things that make all the difference. Your customer won't see the care you put into the repair, but they will see the care you give their car. Score a few points and add Jeff's tip to your routine.
Jeff Willman Jeff hails from Sheboygan, Wis., and has been turning wrenches for 25 years. He is an ASE CMAT with L1, and is the lead tech for the local Firestone Complete Auto Care store there.
For his winning tip, Jeff receives a fender cover from Mitchell 1, along with a hand-crank emergency flashlight. Enter your tips at
