COVER STORY
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That is, both collectively and down the road. The shop makes individually, quite a shortfall. But a point of pointing out service. (I there’s more than money at stake. know this to be so, because they are “The ultimate goal of this report also my service provider.) is to bring to the forefront the “What’s the point of taking your concept that there exists significant car in for an oil change if they don’t additional opportunity each time look at anything else?” a customer brings in his vehicle That’s why every car that rolls for servicing, and if attained, the into the bay gets a 30-point inspecbenefits would reverberate through tion: light check, fluids, wipers, etc. each layer of the automotive afterAnd every car that goes up on the market supply chain. For the driving hoist, whether for a brake job, oil public the result is safer, more change, or an exhaust replacement, environmentally friendly, reliable gets a good once-over. vehicles operating on Canadian “What you’re trying to do is roads.” two things,” says Perusits. “One, For the past year, the go-to you’re trying to find work. And two, guy for the Demand Study has you’re trying not to create a situabeen John Watt, past chair of tion where there is a failure when the AIA, and director, Certigard they leave.” and Automotive, Petro-Canada, a He knows full well that there Suncor Energy Company. is no 100% solution to the breakSteve Perusits, co-owner of Wally Clayson’s Master He has toured and presented down that follows the visit, but a Mechanic in mid-town Toronto, says a good inspection, the study’s findings in Canada and and communicating what you find, keeps customers loyal, proper inspection at every visit can and helps him sleep at night. the U.S. since its release. It has minimize the possibility. been an eye-opening experience. “A caliper can seize at any time, “It’s been an eye-opening experience for me, and it has especially in winter driving conditions,” he says. Even small been an eye-opening experience for the people I talked to. I things, like ensuring that the windshield washer level is up, can tell by the faces in the audience. I can see it in their eyes. help build customer confidence in the shop. “It makes you There is nobody in the audience saying this is BS.” money, and it gives the customer peace of mind.” And, because the information is expressed in terms of There are limits of course, and communicating findings hours per transaction—2.75 hours is the benchmark—it keeps requires a gentle, professional approach. pace with inflation and isn’t tied to a certain door rate, so Perusits relates one customer experience where the shops can calculate their own situation today, tomorrow, and customer accused the shop of creating a failure: ever since next year, too. they changed over the winter tires, the air conditioning And that’s exactly what has formed the cornerstone of the had stopped working. He relates that story with a tone of way the information has been received. exasperation. “A lot of that great preparation in the study has really served “But if I see a crack in a belt, I can let you know it’s there. a purpose, because nobody is sitting there saying that it doesn’t I can’t tell you if it will last a month or a year; it’s up to you apply to them.” whether you want me to replace it.” Driving the point home has been the shop calculator in the Danny Cawley is the service advisor at Wally Clayson’s. study. Using the actual transaction count as an example from “Over time, it essentially defines the relationship with the each audience, shops hear the gap in business between what customer,” he says of the practice. shops are doing and what they could be generating laid bare. The habit of conducting inspections at every visit can also “Let’s say the number is $950,000. And if [a shop owner] soften the blow when the news gets as bad as it gets. says his sales are $700,000, we have just found $250,000 of the The day I visited was one of those days. missing $10 billion. “We have a customer, a lady with a disability, with a Mercury “The eyes are glued on me like you would not believe.” Sable. It came in for an oil change, but the frame is so rusted Of course, shops that have attended are invited to take that out that the engine has dropped down on one side. I had to shop calculator home with them. It’s a simple tool, requiring call her and tell her that we couldn’t do the oil change, the car only a few calculations. The harder part is looking in the mirwas no longer road-worthy, and she had to look for a new car. ror and deciding what to do about it. She was not happy, but we’ve been talking to her about the “Why would an ASP leave that much money on the table? car’s days being numbered for a while. So when I had to give It can’t be deliberate, right? I get that through their head. It’s her the bad news, it wasn’t a total surprise.” not a question of blame, but they do need to be told that this Sometimes that is the best you can hope for, but with the is how much they are leaving on the table and how to solve it.” offer made to help the customer find a car if needed, it at least Of course, some might dismiss such studies as theoretical. gives you the opportunity to retain the relationship. At street level, the manifold benefits of the routine inspection Perusits says he knows that some businesses have a clientele are anything but. who only want the service they came in for and will object to “This has been the practice here for six years now,” says suggestions that their car needs other work, but for his Steve Perusits, co-owner of Wally Clayson’s Master Mechanic business, customers appreciate the attention to detail. in mid-town Toronto. In a habit instilled by Clayson, the longserving team of technicians at the shop focuses on being Continued on page 28 honest with customers about what their car needs now and 26
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