Tire Dealer Survival Guide
HOW TO HANDLE CUSTOMER OBJECTIONS GETTING TO THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM TAKES PERSISTENCE, DISCIPLINE By Dennis McCarron
“W
hat’s your problem?” Such a loaded question, isn’t it? It is impossible to convey the meaning in the message of that question without context or tone of voice. Some may initially feel a tone of anger or frustration applied to it, which makes it aggressive and condescending — even accusatory. To others, it may come with an inquisitive connotation — a tone that conveys concern and invites the other person to open up and tell a story. Additional words of encouragement would inform the listener that the question was intended to help, not condemn. But the phrase alone, posed by itself, relays a directness that judgment has occurred and the listener needs to explain their way out of a hole. In the tire industry, we deal with a minimum of two questions for each interaction with our customers, usually “What is the problem with the vehicle today?” and “What problem has this caused you today?” To deal only with the problem of the vehicle — be it an oil change, a tire rotation or bald tires — is to only get half an answer. That leaves half of the problem to rise to the surface later, either during the repair or after. Sometimes the customer’s problem is larger than the vehicle’s problem, which leads to hesitation. This hesitation by the customer has another name: objection. During a repair, it’s a massive inconvenience to “resell” a job or stop and return the vehicle. A complaint after the sale is named buyer’s remorse — the customer’s lingering questions about the work, after the work has been completed. It could be rooted in
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a lack of trust. It could be rooted in finances or rooted in deception. The part of the equation in preventing buyer’s remorse is something we control is upfront, at the beginning. Remember, customer motivation in resolving a vehicle issue is always inclusive of the problem it is causing the customer. The more organized a customer is, the less of an issue maintenance or an unexpected flat tire will be for their personal problems. This usually coincides with their ability to pay for such services without disrupting their time or money. (Yes, people pay for vehicle repairs with their time, too.) Having to resell a job is an enormous inconvenience for both parties — you and your customer. When this happens, very likely, trust has been eroded to a point where it isn’t likely to mend itself. Throw in a discount and you have only proven that the original price you quoted wasn’t the actual price. Standing your ground puts you at odds with whatever the customer has as evidence of why the work should stop. Thankfully, this doesn’t happen often. But buyer’s remorse is real. An objection early in the process is an invitation, not a stop order. Much of the education in the industry teaches salespeople to solve the objection and provide options to the customer. Money objection? Offer credit. Time objection? Provide some form of transportation. Objections are not one-dimensional. They’re also not always real. Sometimes an objection is a smoke screen for a deeper, different objection that exists that the customer isn’t comfortable talking about yet. Before we get to reasons for objections, we have to
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4/28/26 11:18 AM