Better Shop Management: How to Talk to a Customer

My wife and I were talking at dinner the other evening and I was telling her a story about a shop owner who had a customer in another town out of state with a vehicle that had a driveability problem. She's a lot smarter than I am in most ways but she asked, "What's driveability?" and I explained that it refers to the way the vehicle runs... does it stall, hesitate, surge, die, etc.

Under the topic of good shop management procedures, it got me to thinking about how do we talk with our customers. I heard years ago that the term 'effective communication' meant communicating in a way that others can understand. Have you ever used the term 'driveability' with your customers and just assumed that they knew what you meant? I know that I sure did exactly that in my previous life as a shop owner and I've stood next to and listened to plenty of today's shop owners do the same thing while on the phone or at the counter with a customer.

What other industry specific terms are tossed around casually every day at your shop and the customer just keeps listening intently to what you're saying, nodding their head and hoping you'll say something in good ol' plain English that they can wrap their brain around and glean some idea of what it is you are trying to tell them?

This very situation happened to me recently when I took my Black Lab to the Vet. My impression of him was that he was very knowledgeable as I was nodding my head, really focusing on what he was saying and hoping he'd say something that I could understand. But alas, I had to ask him to explain it a couple of different ways so I could finally grasp just a little of what he was trying to communicate to me about my dogs health.

Most people will not stop you to tell you that they really don't understand what you're saying for fear of looking stupid or feeling uninformed. Doesn't this go to the heart of TRUST, which is what the client/shop relationship is all about? Would I not feel more confident in you and your shop and the recommendations (read: upsells) you are making if I understood you better? Wouldn't I be more likely to give you the benefit of any lingering doubt if you communicated so effectively to me that I felt I could trust you?

So take a hard, thoughtful look at how you and your staff members communicate with your clients. Think about it from the clients perspective, not just your own. Are there terms that are so familiar to you that they just roll off your tongue without a moment's thought to whether or not you are communicating effectively?

Driveability... scanner... stored code... makes perfect sense to you but it may be blah, blah, blah to others. Moreover, could this be one reason why one day out of the blue, you realize that the Wilsons have not brought in either of their vehicles in over a year?

There are many ways to improve customer retention and effective communication is certainly one of them.

Here's the challenge: You and your staff critique each other in how effectively you communicate with customers and by improving that communication, you will likely be increasing customer retention.