Thanks to our Partner, NAPA TRACS and AutoFix Auto Shop Coaching

1 in 5 people have some form of dyslexia.

A profound discussion on dyslexia in the automotive industry. Learn the definition of dyslexia, its impact on learning and training, and strategies to support those with dyslexia. The episode emphasizes the value of recognizing the unique strengths and challenges of individuals with dyslexia, offering practical advice for employers, trainers, and individuals to enhance learning and professional development in the automotive industry.

Bill Greeno, Quality Automotive Servicing, Truckee, CA. Bill’s previous episodes HERE

Nicole Ofiesh, PH.D, Dr. Ofiesh is a cognitive behavioral scientist with expertise in dyslexia, learning disorders, ADHD, and autism spectrum disorders.

Thanks to our Partner, NAPA TRACS

NAPA TRACS will move your shop into the SMS fast lane with onsite training and six days a week of support and local representation. Find NAPA TRACS on the Web at http://napatracs.com/

Thanks to our Partner, Auto-Fix Auto Shop Coaching

Proven Auto Shop Coaching with Results. Over 61 Million in ROI with an Average ROI of 9x. Find Coach Chris Cotton at AutoFix Auto Shop Coaching on the Web at https://autoshopcoaching.com/

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Thanks to our Partners Shop-Ware and Delphi Technologies

Shop-Ware: More Time. More Profit. Shop-Ware Shop Management https://getshopware.com/

Delphi Technologies: Keeping current on the latest vehicle systems and how to repair them is a must for today’s technicians. http://DelphiAftermarket.com

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In this episode, we are jumping into the mind of your customer. From their perspective, do they prefer to use the term mechanic or technician? Ask a customer … How much do they think a mechanic/technician earns? What is your customer’s opinion on a service advisor having visible tattoos or smelling like cigarettes? Bob Cooper asked these questions to a panel of consumers at the 2022 Elite Invitational in San Diego, and their answers will certainly surprise you. And more importantly, what should you do in your business having this knowledge?

Bob Cooper, Founder/President Elite Worldwide. Complimentary Elite Customer Care Guide Template HERE. Listen to Bob’s other episodes HERE

Bill Greeno, Quality Automotive Servicing, Truckee, CA. Bill’s previous episodes HERE

Key Talking Points

• The consumer panel- you’re ideal customers, 3 from the dealership, 3 from independent  
• No matter how well your customers love you, they could love you like a rainbow, but there are some things that they will never ever tell you. How do we get inside of their minds and how do we learn? What’s really important to them?
• How much a technician mechanic makes per hour? We need to get the perception and reality that people need to know you can earn a really good income in this industry 
• Be aware that you’re gonna have a lot of customers that come in and may never come back if they smell smoke on your advisor or on any of your people and in their car.
• It’s all marketing- align your image. Use surveys and programs to tell you what is important to customers
• Would you say mechanic, or would you say a technician?  Both of those terms, mechanic and technician, have a role in our industry.  A technician is a person employed to look after technical equipment or do practical work in a laboratory, an expert in a practical application of science or a person skilled in the technique of an art or craft technician. Examples of technicians are theatrical technicians, school, laboratory technicians, engineering technicians, laboratory technicians, electronics technicians, x-ray technicians. Mechanic is defined as an artisan skilled tradesperson who uses tools to build, maintain, or repair machinery
• The more we could bring the, the communication and the understanding between the customers and the technicians and the industry closer together, the more successful we’ll be, and when it comes to SEO, just imagine what’s gonna happen to the shop owners that start embedding mechanic
• What are some of the things that you could do to really. Make that customer go, you know what? I’m in the right place. I’m dealing with the right people
• Complimentary Elite Customer Care Guide Template HERE

Link to actual customer video HERE.

Link to Part 2

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Important Books

Check out today’s partner:

Learn more about NAPA AutoCare and the benefits of being part of the NAPA family by visiting www.NAPAAutoCare.com

Was your mission statement created by yourself, or was it a collaborative effort from your employees? Is it listed on your website homepage? Do your customers know what it is? I’m with Bill Greeno at the 2022 Elite Invitational and he discusses how his team revamped its mission statement into a passion statement. Find out why affirmations were critical in starting the process.

Bill Greeno, Quality Automotive Servicing, Truckee, CA. Bill’s previous episodes HERE

Key Talking Points

• Renamed, rebranded, and changed the mission statement  
• Dropped “Smog” from the name to add “Servicing” as an actionable word. Customers thought it was just a smog shop. 
• “A mission statement doesn’t work if you don’t talk to your people” you need meetings to establish expectations, discuss desires and direction, etc
• Meetings- setting expectations to arrive at a place to write the new mission statement together. Bill brought in another business coach to start. He explained the power of affirmations. The mind doesn’t know the difference between what is and what could be. What do you want to be? Are you affirming what you want to be every day? Every Friday after the meeting, they broke into pairs and wrote affirmation for themselves, and shared it with their partner. Their partner repeated it and wrote it down. Then the team would write words that defined them as a company and on their own, write 6 different mission statements. Collaborated together to create 1 mission statement, which became their ‘passion statement.’   
• “Whatcha know good?” Tell me the good news
• “We go beyond the obvious to educate customers with full disclosure and transparency. So you, the advisor, and the technician can find the best solution to keep your vehicle reliable for years to come.” Listed on the front home page at the top
• “Ideal Team Player” having the same values together 
• Communication coordinator- handwritten thank you cards to every customer, receives public records when someone buys a house in the community and will send out a ‘welcome to town package.’ Handles email appointment requests, answers phone 25% of the time, does radio ads, internal communications, and marketing  
• Advice- build your people

Connect with the Podcast:

Aftermarket Radio Network

Subscribe on YouTube

Visit us on the Web

Follow on Facebook

Become an Insider

Buy me a coffee

Important Books

Check out today’s partner:

Learn more about NAPA AutoCare and the benefits of being part of the NAPA family by visiting www.NAPAAutoCare.com

• Guest Host – Andy Bizub discusses: ‘Team Building’ Build Your Team – Build Your Life
• Virtual Shop Tour with Bill Greeno at Quality Automotive in Truckee, CA
• Trivia: What car was the first to have it’s radio antenna embedded in the windshield?
• Your Fortune



Your Learning Curve Never Sounded So Good

The Panel:

Joe Hanson owns Gordie’s Garage. Joe has attended Management Success, NAPA training, Lawrence Tech University and most recently he is a member of the RLO 20 Group 13. He has earned his ASE C1: Automobile Service Consultant Certification.  Under his father’s leadership, he has seen what it really takes to make a business like this work. Listen to Joe’s Episodes HERE.

Bill Greeno owner of Quality Automotive and Smog in Truckee, CA and is also a business consultant with a focus on leadership and management and is big on communication. He and his team work hard on building strong internal communication, that he says makes a huge difference in his unyielding customer service.

He also believes that having a satisfied staff is pivotal to customer service success. Having a shared vision is at the core of this. Their Vision Statement is “Your Trusted Local Auto Care.” Their service-related conversations revolve around their Vision Statement and it is the launch pad for discussions regarding new ideas and/or changing a policy or procedure.  Bill teaches on building a strong business culture. Listen to Bill’s episodes HERE.

Gary Pontious Jr., AAM, is the Vice President and General Manager of Toledo Auto Care. Gary’s Dad, Gary Sr. bought the business in 1985. The business is Toledo’s oldest independent auto repair shop and is celebrating, in 2017, a special milestone; their 100th anniversary.

Gary started working at Toledo Auto Care in the summer of 1990 as a fuel tank repair/restoration technician and pick-up/delivery driver. As with most family business, Gary worked in many positions within the company and in April 1994 he became a full-time Service Advisor. “Since the beginning,” Gary says, “our business has been focused on building strong customer relationships and providing the highest quality of workmanship on each and every automotive repair.”

Gary is a member of Elite Pro service with Jim Murphy and is also an ASE Blue Seal Shop. Listen to Gary’s episodes HERE.

Key Talking Points:

5 Step Program

1. Two negatives don’t make a positive
   1. Breath and DO NOT respond
   2. Don’t Get mad. Once you hit enter everyone sees it.
   3. Take ownership. Acknowledge the review. Take the higher ground.
   4. Be clear and offer advice on how to continue the relationship
2. Find out what the heck really happened
   1. Learn to be neutral in your thinking.
   2. Rally to troops. Read the negative review together.
   3. You may find that communication is a problem.
3. Take advantage of the learning opportunity
   1. Where did we go wrong and right?
   2. Processes and procedures may have broken.
      1. Be collaborative, with your team, in solving your problems.
   3. Learn and grow from this.
   4. Take ownership of every review.
      1. Book: Extreme Ownership (find on books page HERE)
4. Finalize a resolution, respond and over deliver
   1. The team should have bought into the problem and solution.
   2. Finalize a resolution and response and execute
   3. Start with ‘Thank You’ not I’m Sorry.  (Bill Greeno)
   4. You must respond. A no response can be hurtful when the public is searching your reviews.
   5. A phone call can be a powerful tool.  
   6. In your response consider writing an advertisement on the quality of the business, talk about your core values, not defensive or demeaning.
5. Review with staff and MOVE ON!
   1. Simply praise/forgive and MOVE ON!
   2. Celebrate the WINS. The 5 Star reviews.
      1. Builds confidence and the positivity grows
   3. Empower your people to fix any wrong before they walk out the door knowing you may get a one start review.

• Your first negative review can be devastating.
• Sometimes a negative review can be an advertisement for your shop based on how you handle it.
• You may have to fire a customer when all things fail.
• Print the reviews especially the 5 Stars and post them and discuss them.
• You must solicit reviews from your customers.
  • Use special APPS that can make it very easy for your customer to leave a review.
  • Solicit them quickly.
    • Use a Google Review Card.
    • Send a text within a few hours asking for a review with a link.
• Four types of reviews
  • Anonymous Public
  • Known Public
  • Anonymous Private
  • Known Private
• Some people lie especially anonymous
  • Many exaggerated stores need to be met with what you want to talk about. Don’t tell them that they are wrong. Create a positive story.
• The general public can see a phony one-star review among 50 five star reviews.
  • Yet you must reply to it.
• Brick and motor businesses, small businesses, are reviewed more often than big business.
• Be proactive, with guidelines, to solve a problem that happened before customer leaves.
  • Give a gift that is not automotive related to fix a wrong.
  • Like a Starbucks card or certificate to a restaurant.
• Bill Greeno suggests not apologizing. If you do you are validating the problem.
  • You can add fuel to the fire.
  • We say I’m Sorry right away. We are designed to do that.
  • When we respond to a positive review we say ‘Thank You’.
  • In a negative review start with ‘Thank You’.
  • Saying you are sorry puts you deeper in the mud pit.
• Don’t Take Negative Reviews Personal
  • Don’t dwell on it. Fix it, learn from it and move on.
• 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
  • Respond to positive and negative reviews.
• Timing: Respond right away.

Resources:

• A special thanks to  Joe Hanson, Bill Greeno, and Gary Pontious Jr. for their contribution to the aftermarket.
• Books Page HERE
• Link to a previous episode on Managing a Negative Online Review HERE.
• Leave me an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one of them.

Subscribe to a mobile listening app HERE.

This episode is brought to you by Jasper Engines & Transmissions. When a car’s engine or transmission fails, it’s not the end of the road. A remanufactured drivetrain product from Jasper Engines & Transmissions will give your car a new lease on life. JASPER has over 2000 Associates, three manufacturing facilities, two distribution centers and 45 branch offices across the country. They’re all working to produce, transport and deliver the perfect product. That’s what they do best… keep customers happy. Visit jasperengines.com

Bill Greeno is the owner of Quality Automotive and Smog in Truckee, CA.  Truckee is a small mountain town in Northern California.  His shop services a local clientele, 99% of which are All Wheel or Four Wheel Drive vehicles.  He says most families in his area have a Dad that drives a Chevy Pick-Up, a Mom who drives an Audi, and a kid or two with Subaru’s.  They limit themselves to only working on late model  vehicles 20 years or newer.

What makes his shop special is an unyielding commitment to customer service.  This is facilitated through continuing efforts in communication education.  “Communication is completely un-master able” says Greeno.  “It is elusive and ever changing.”  He enjoys the challenge as does his staff.

He also believes that having a satisfied staff is pivotal to customer service success.  Having a shared vision is at the core of this.  Their Vision Statement is “Your Trusted Local Auto Care.”  Their service related conversations revolve around their Vision Statement and it is the launch pad for discussions regarding new ideas and/or changing a policy or procedure.

When they are off the clock their team enjoys various outing together.  They go whitewater rafting, mountain biking, skiing, cart racing, and an occasional Reno Ace’s baseball game.  They also close one day a year to have a private meeting and class.  This class usually revolves around a book study (often done by “book on tape).

Bill is proud to serve the Truckee/Tahoe Community with a shop that offers the highest level of expertise and integrity at every level of automotive repair and service.

Bill is also an industry business coach and management consultant for the Industry For Automotive Business Excellence. Each year he teaches classes at the WorldPac STX Expo.

Bill and his family spend their spare time skiing, mountain biking and participating in shooting sports. Bill owns a Toyota Tundra, VW Tiguan and GMC Sierra Diesel. His first vehicle was a ’73 Chevy Vega.

Talking Points:

• Bring customers in the fold of your culture.
• He just signed the papers to build a new 6 bay, 5,300 sqft shop. With all the best amenities.
• As a consultant for The Institute for Automotive Business Excellence, Bill works with 14 shops in a twenty-group environment. They meet four times a year.
  • Value of a twenty group is the interaction between members. That is where the magic happens.
  • Customer training and interpersonal communication skills are critical for technicians who’ve become shop owners.
  • He’s passionate to help shop owners excel at leadership and management.
  • Leadership can be a tough transition because owners can’t remove him or herself out of being ‘one of the guys’.
  • ‘Unhappy shop owners’ have been around for a while and can be tough to turn around.
• There are great things happening in our industry right now. Many shop owners know what it takes to succeed.
  • More apprentice programs with young techs.
  • From supply to delivery he sees a lot of upside.
  • Next 10 years look very promising for the service professional.
• He recommends technician and service adviser training at 10 hours per quarter.
  • There is a bonus for his technicians to maintain their minimum 40 hours of training.
• Bill keeps a running list of ASE certifications and the number of hours each tech is getting.
  • He uses his teams ASE certifications in his marketing.
• Processes and systems is pure logic and is the perfect place to start in improving any shop.
• Bill wants to make the transition to DVI and paperless but he continues to look at all options.
• He shares a story of something he tried and did not work.
• Bill shares what he does to monitor deferred work.
• He talks about setting pre-book reminders.
• Learn about his ‘Red Check Club’ as a strong tool for retention (customer loyalty).
• He is recording phone calls from his reported phone numbers.
• Learn his opinion on specialization.
• Bill’s wife, Sheila, is the ideas person and he is the execution person.
• He shares his thoughts on the future of the industry.

Information on Quality Automotive & Smog:

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This episode is brought to you by Federal-Mogul Motorparts and Garage Gurus. With brands like Moog, Felpro, Wagner Brake, Champion, Sealed Power, FP Diesel and more, they’re the parts techs trust.  For serious technical training and support – online, onsite and on-demand – Garage Gurus is everything you need to know. Find out more at fmmotorparts.com  and fmgaragegurus.com