It was a Friday afternoon and the sun was shining. The radio blasting, I was on my way home from a long day at work. As I merged onto the highway, BOOM. The check engine light came on and I got that sick feeling in my stomach.
My thoughts began to race.
“Are any shops still open at 6pm on a Friday?”
“I hope it isn’t something serious.”
“Should I take it to a Toyota dealership or to a small repair shop?”
I decided to wait until Monday and go directly to a Toyota dealership that was near my office. I chose a dealership because I assumed that they would have the necessary tools and would be the most accurate in diagnosing my problem.
At 7:00am, I dropped off my car and took the dealership’s shuttle to work. The tech told me to expect a call with their full diagnosis and cost estimate by 9:00am. When they finally called at 1:00pm, the service technician informed me that my oxygen sensor and my air/fuel sensor were not functioning properly. Their price quote: $571.00. This is much higher than I had anticipated, so I decide to do a bit of research before giving them the green light to begin working on my car.
Here at ETE Reman, we have one of the best product support teams in the industry. I decided to enlist their help in determining whether the repair quote was fair. I understand that dealerships need to make money, but I just didn’t want to get ripped off.
After all of two minutes of searching nationwide databases for retail parts costs, the conclusion was that this dealership was quoting me 60% higher than retail for these parts, along with almost double the required labor time (according to Mitchell). The head of our product support team responded by laughing and saying, “Wow. They are trying to take you for all you have.” Needless to say, I was feeling pretty frustrated.

Instead of calling the service department and demanding an explanation, I responded to an automated email that I had received from their service advisor. I explained that I worked in the automotive industry and that after doing some research, had found the same parts at a different Toyota dealership for half the price. As icing on the cake, I sent a screen shot of the estimated labor time as displayed in a national database.
My phone rang almost instantly.
The service manager offered his sincerest apology for the “mis-quote” and told me that his technician was new. “Somehow” I was quoted the wrong price on the parts and the labor, but he was willing to re-investigate the issue immediately. As it turns out, my quote was almost exactly $300 higher than it should have been. I thanked him for the call, but told him that I would not be using their service department for any future repairs.
So what happened here? Why did the dealer lose my business and how can you use this experience to keep your customers around? Let’s recap.

1. The only way to gain long-lasting, loyal customers by being genuine. It only takes getting your hand caught in the cookie jar once to scare them away for life.
2. Understand that a customer is worth a lot more to your business than the dollar amount of a single repair job. Their lifetime vehicle maintenance and ability to refer customers is much more valuable.
3.  Quit making excuses. Your customer doesn’t care how new your technician is, nor do they want to hear about your computer problems. Own up to your mistake and offer a solution.

This week, Hopeless Remantic Anthony Stanley shares his recent experience at the dealership…and the customer service lesson to be learned. Did the dealer deserve to lose Anthony’s business? Join the conversation below or email Anthony directly!