How’s Your Service?
by Patricia Smiley
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, roughly 20-24% of new businesses fail within their first year, with about 50% failing within five years and approximately 65% within 10 years. This means that, from the beginning, small auto glass shops need to keep cash flow rolling. They need to create solid brand awareness with the average consumer and keep those customers for life.
Providing excellent service is one of the best ways to promote your company. Our industry mindset should be that we don’t just want customers’ business once; we want them and their loved ones to choose us without a second thought if they ever need a repair or replacement in the future. If you want your customers to leave positive reviews and recommend your shop to their loved ones, your service has to be memorable.
So, how do shop owners know if they are providing good service? It starts with taking a long look in the mirror.
How often do you test the quality of your own service? If the answer is “never” or “rarely,” today is a good day to begin. You can start by searching your shop name or keywords on Google or social media to see what others say about your business. You may need to make changes if you don’t like what you see.
Hiring a secret shopper can be another great way to pinpoint customer service issues and highlight your shop’s strengths.
With recent insurance and third-party administrator changes, offering memorable customer service is more important than ever for small, local shops. Small auto glass companies in America have to be ready to do the little things well and consistently.
Here Are Some Tips to Help Shop Owners Evaluate Their Business:
- How do your customer service representatives sound on the phone?
- Can you identify what makes your business different from your competitors?
- Do you respond to reviews, good and bad? Following up on a bad review and fixing the problem goes a long way toward earning customer respect.
- Do you have an online quoting tool? If so, does the quote itself look visually appealing, or does it look intimidating?
Patricia Smiley is the president of Quackt Glass in Columbia, South Carolina. Connect with her on LinkedIn.
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