How to Schedule More Auto Maintenance Work

Besides oil changes, many people only call their local auto shop when something is broken. Unfortunately, this can lead to expensive repairs that could have been avoided if caught earlier. Your shop should encourage customers to think about their overall vehicle health, which includes proactive maintenance checks.
Here’s a few tips for scheduling more maintenance work.

1. Perform Courtesy Checks
Customers trust an auto shop to keep their vehicles in top-working order. Take a few minutes to visually inspect for abnormalities such as low tire pressure, loose components, fluid leaks, dirty filters, worn out wipers, etc. You can then present this to the customer with recommendations about what to fix now and what can wait until later.

Providing valuable info without being pushy is the key to strong customer relationships. Most people, myself included, would appreciate the ability to make informed decisions about car maintenance and budgeting for the next visit.

2. Talk Up the Benefits

• Longer Lasting Vehicle – A car is like a body; the better you take care of it, the longer it’ll last. It might be helpful to escort a customer into the garage to see maintenance issues firsthand. Trust is built with fully transparent actions.
• Better Gas Mileage – An older engine may need a little more love to stay up to par environmentally. Help your customers understand the correlation between regular tune-ups and fuel efficiency.
• Increase Safety – Cars can malfunction at any time, but a person can reduce the possibility by scheduling consistent checks with expert technicians. Don’t let customers put themselves in danger because they don’t understand the risks.