The Appointment

So to recap, the first few things that we have talked about are how important it is to find a reputable repair facility and how to start the process of finding that repair shop. This time we are going to come in contact with one or more of the shops that you have chosen. This is the stage that I call “The Appointment.” This one is a very important step into finding a reputable repair facility. You would want to start looking for a repair shop before there is a major problem with your vehicle. There would be nothing that would hinder your hunt for an honest mechanic more than being ripped off at a time when you are very stressed out. So, start the look for a good technician before you have a major problem. Start with calling one of the repair facilities that you have found on the internet. Make an appointment to get your oil changed or a tire rotation. And yes make an appointment. It is very difficult for a good repair shop to take walk in oil changes. Chances are they are booked a couple of days in advance. If the repair facility is going to charge for a tire rotation, go ahead and pay for it. It will be a minimal charge anyway. Plus a shop that believes their time is worth money, also believes in and will stand behind their work. As you are making the appointment, pay attention to how you are being treated by the person on the other end of the line. Is the person taking the time to find out everything needed for the appointment, or are they in a hurry to get you off the phone? When walking into your appointment go ahead and take a look around. A repair facility that takes the time to keep a clean office and customer waiting area, will also take the time to take proper care of your car. And some of you may wonder what those two things have to do with anything. The shop that is going to have a clean and friendly waiting environment knows that a person's first image of their shop is one of the most important. At the same time they also know that the last image of their shop (was the work done properly and on time, and did the technician leave a mess in the car) is the other most important. Both of those will help you as the customer to decide if you would like to return to that repair facility for future business. As this posting has been a longer one, I'll try to wrap up. However I will be making another posting in just one or two days time. With this one we will cover how you as the customer should be treated, as well as cover what kind of questions that the service writer should be covering with you. As always please leave comments and let me know what you are thinking. Please also share some topic ideas if you have any. That way we can cover some of the topics that you might have questions about.