Let's pretend you are the mechanic at someone's small engine repair shop. You might think that the way you relate to customers is moot. You're just the mechanic, right? Things go wrong, you rap your knuckles, or a customer seems to be perhaps a little too condescending or whatever, and you feel entitled to “vent”. Well guess again. Mechanics have a reputation just like anyone else, and it has to be nurtured and protected. Customers have to be treated with kid gloves so that they will say good things about you. You can't go around treating 'em badly, thinking that it's not your job to be nice. Furthermore, the shop owner's reputation is also at stake. You don't want to pull your boss down with you, do you? If the shop gets a bad rep and goes out of business, you lose your income.
Word of mouth, (a.k.a. the best (or worst) advertising you can get), stems from customer relationships and is directly related to reputation.
I recently read a “review/complaint” from a woman who had small engine repairs done. Here's her story, into which I have added numeric notes where I want to point out something:
“Took my zero turn Ferris to this place for regular maintenance and new blades. The machine is 10 years old with less than 400 hours on it (1) and this was the second set of blades that have been on the mower. $200 later, drove the machine back home on a borrowed trailer. A day later, I started mowing my lawn. I got the front mowed and was working on the back when I noticed a blade in the grass. It was from my mower, the bolt had snapped and the blade came off with half the bolt still in the deck. I called [small engine repair shop] and spoke to a woman who put the mechanic on the phone. I told him what happened and asked that they come get it and repair it, as this was at least partially their fault, partially the fault of the bolt. He said he would order the bolt and hung up. A few hours later I called to ask what was going on with the mower. I was not rude at all, just wanted to get the thing fixed. The woman who answered the phone put the phone down within the sound of her voice and started to berate me for thinking that "they would drop everything and come pick up my lawn mower, who did I think I was". I was pretty mad when the mechanic again picked up the phone and I told him about what she had said. He was noncommittal about it and asked when I could bring the mower back there (it's 45 miles at least from my house down to there). I told him I could not, I had returned the trailer I had borrowed and they would have to pick it up. He said the bolt to the deck would have to be ordered and it would be here monday or tuesday (this was a Friday). He said he tell the owner what happened. So, it's Tuesday and I waited until afternoon to call about repairing the lawn mower. The short version is they said they would not pick it up and repair it without me paying them.(2) That it was due to old age even though the bolt should not have broke apart like it did. And that was it, so I'm wondering now if this was done on purpose to get more money out of me(3) or if their customer service is just that bad. Yes, the machine is 10 year old. But the bolt had never been off the machine before and right after they put the blade on, the bolt snaps off!! I don't mind accepting some responsibility, really, I don't due to the age of the mower even though it's been stored inside and has very low hours. But I do mind when I'm told they are covered up, they can't come up here, they can't pick it up and I need to get someone in my area to fix it because the bolt that they had tightened (the mechanic's exact words were "I really cranked it on hard")broke apart with half of it still in the machine!! The most he would do for me would be to mail the bolt to me. Unbelievable. They had no problem cashing my check when I paid them directly after they had serviced it. You can rest assured, I will never buy anything from [this small engine repair shop] nor will I every get anything I own serviced there. I have never, ever been treated that rudely in my life, and to completely deny any responsibility they had in this is beyond belief. Again, I understand the bolt could have been fatigued (I would have been willing to pay something but certainly not picking up the machine, fixing it and paying to bring it back) but he even said he's never heard of a bolt snapping like that. But here I am, a broken bolt, no way to put the blade on because there is still part of the bolt in the deck, and they are zero help. They never even took partial responsibility for it. Oh, yes, I also told the owner about how I was treated by the woman who answered the phone and his answer was that it was mistaken identity, she had thought I was someone else. That's suppose to be a good reason to say what she did?(4) Seriously? I'm sorry to have to post a negative review, it's the first one I ever posted, but I don't see any excuse for how I was treated and the almost complete lack of help they were with the exception of mailing me the stinking bolt. And yes, I'm pretty steamed as I write this.”
The immediate response from the small engine repair shop owner...
“I find it highly disappointing to have to respond to the very first negative review I have received in 4 years of business but I found it necessary to do so to defend the good reputation I worked so hard to build. As the saying goes there are always two sides to every story. As anyone who has ever had their lawn equipment maintenanced, serviced, or repaired locally probably knows it takes on average a 4- 6 week wait to get anything done by any shop in town due to high volume. We at [small engine repair shop] pride ourselves in providing a prompt turn around on work we provide and in this particular case we dropped everything we were working on to provide immediate service to the customer so she would not have to make the long trip back from Jamestown(45 miles one way) a second time to retrieve her machine upon completion. While the customer waited in the lobby we provided a full service on the mower including replacing the blades and the machine was ready to go in less than 2 hours. The customer was very pleased at that time and was even more elated that we had taken the time to pressure wash the machine top to bottom, a courtesy we provide to all customers, at no additional charge.(5) She was also pleased with the price. Now on to the incident in question. A bolt broke that holds a blade on after mowing half the yard and that becomes the fault of the guy who installed the blades. I could understand it if it was under tightened and it came out but it broke not while being installed but after having been used to mow half the yard. I fully trust my mechanic and his 25 years of experience and firmly stand behind his work. If he broke it it would have fallen out immediately and we would have repaired it at no charge. Even without being at fault we would have replaced the bolt and washer at no charge if the customer brought it to us. We just simply were not going to go pick it up and take if back without covering transportation expenses. It isn't our fault that you do or do not have transportation for your equipment. We offer such services but we do not perform them free of charge.(6) No one in the service industry does that regardless of whose at fault. You cant expect anyone to drive 45 miles one way to pick a machine up then return it at no charge. We did not sell the customer this mower. Its 10 years old. Things break. We provided a fast, friendly, and professional service and test drove the machine upon completion and when the customer left she was pleased. Transaction concluded.(7) Servicing a piece of equipment does not include a lifetime commitment to repair anything new that goes wrong moving forward. We changed the oil and installed new blades. We use a battery powered impact and torque all blades to spec.(8) The bolt broke after usage. It was weak and brittle. Contact the manufacturer...we didn't make the bolt. I was very cordial with the customer and was only suggesting using a repair shop closer to her home to save her some $. I do however find it extremely distasteful that you would suggest that we were attempting to "make more money" off of you especially after I suggested you use a local shop to save you the expense of pick-up and delivery. I even said I would send the bolt and washer at no charge. As the owner of the business I remained professional throughout the process. I am proud of my business and the employees that work for me and I make no excuses for their conduct. Its to bad a business cant give a customer a review to serve as a warning to other businesses so they may avoid such unpleasant transactions as this.”
We as readers have no way of knowing how it all really went down. We can only take the two stories at face value.
I am not taking sides. I must say that it seems all parties could have handled their interaction differently. Here's what I think about the points I denoted numerically above:
1- “The machine is 10 years old with less than 400 hours on it,” and 400 hours is significant on moving parts or those under stress. Even if not under stress, 10 years can do a lot to a piece of metal.
2- “...they would not pick it up and repair it without me paying them.” Okay, well, a customer's distance is not the responsibility of the small engine repair shop. Fixing stuff is their business. Pick up and delivery would be a different service. Usually, customers are responsible for this.
3- “... done on purpose to get more money out of me,” WHAT? I don't know what to say about this paranoid kind of thinking. Does this woman think everyone is out to get her?
4- “...she had thought I was someone else. That's suppose to be a good reason to say what she did?” A resounding NO! Regardless of who the customer is, it is never a profitable idea to talk behind their back about them, especially when you know they can hear you. A representative of a business saying stuff about a customer, knowing the customer can hear, is cowardly and unacceptable business practice. First of all, if you have something to say about someone at least have the balls (ovaries) to say it to their face. If you represent a business, you simply should not under any circumstances be saying anything bad about any customers, whether you deem it warranted or not. That's all there is to it.
5- “... we had taken the time to pressure wash the machine top to bottom, a courtesy we provide to all customers, at no additional charge.” Nice! The shop goes an extra mile when customers come in for small engine repairs. Over delivering is good marketing.
6- “It isn't our fault that you do or do not have transportation for your equipment. We offer such services but we do not perform them free of charge.” True, but sometimes you have to eat it. Look at such losses as advertising. You cannot buy an ad in any media for whatever the cost would have been for two hours labor plus gas and wear on the delivery vehicle. Sometimes it's best to suck it up.
7- “Transaction concluded.” Wrong. That is never the end of a transaction in business. This is short sighted. It's the end of a stage of the transaction, but there should be more, such as follow up selling. Unfortunately you can't call or email a disgruntled customer with an up sell or cross sell.
8- “We use a battery powered impact and torque all blades to spec.” I hope that was translated to the customer. It solves the question about over tightening that I had in my mind, and she had in hers. However, in the customer's words, the mechanic told her that he really cranked it on there hard. That doesn't sound like a torque wrench was used. Somebody's truth ain't the whole truth in this story.
Small Engine Repairs Gone Bad
So you see how things escalate from good to bad to worse. This is not a new scenario. It happens in all businesses at some time. Something starts out well, and ends badly. In this way, business can be a lot like marriages. It is all about communication.Let me repeat this. It's all about communication. If a relationship matters to you, you sometimes have to bite the bullet. Take the higher road and suck it up. Consider the advertising value of bending over and taking it in the _________. Well you get it I'm sure.
For customers, there is no up side to exaggerating in your mind what a vendor's responsibility should be just because something went wrong for you. If you want good treatment, you can't come out of the gate like an ass hat. If you want to get your way, you have to treat the product or service providers well too. Similarly for product or service providers, there's no good to come out of talking badly to a customer. If a customer is worth keeping, and the exponential increase in business from treating them well is enticing to you, then don't blow it. If the customer is not one you want, resolve the issue first and then relay that message professionally so that they may not (they still might) go bad mouth you around town.
When this happens to you, and it will, I recommend that before you react, you instantly evaluate the loss you'd sustain by appeasing the customer. If it would be a large loss, and it really is not your fault or responsibility in any way to give the customer what they want, then you should probably tactfully and professionally send them on their way. At each stage of this story, the small engine repair shop employees and owner should have thought, “I can lose this customer and several others by handling this with my anger, damaging my reputation in the process; or I can take the $60 loss and surprise them with happiness and leave it at that.”
If this customer ever comes back to the shop and you do not want their money, you can say you're not taking any more work in at this time, and refer them to someone else. Avoid an altercation at that future stage too.
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