Broski: Building Customer Trust: The Key to Effective Service Advisor Calls

A few years ago, I watched a podcast with a guest auto coach and a new service advisor.

The coach was role-playing the part of new customer calling in with a car problem. If I recall correctly the service advisor was not a previous technician, so he was having trouble answering the customer’s technical questions.  The service advisor suggested making an appointment to find out more about the car. But the customer/coach said no, so the advisor struggled along. After a short while, the young advisor asked about an appointment again. The customer/coach said no a second time. Some more stumbling by the new advisor who eventually asked a third time about making appointment. This time the customer/coach said yes. Then came the analysis by the coach.

The Analysis

The coach liked his persistence in going for the appointment. My analysis was that he asked for the appointment too quickly. He hadn’t built up any rapport yet—he hadn’t earned the right to ask for an appointment. Up to that point, he was just another repair shop trying to get a new customer. That shop was on the border of being a commodity—just another repair shop. I’m sure some customers think we’re all the same: Some a little better than others, some a little more expensive than others.

Plus, he didn’t offer any constructive observations about the issue, nor did he show any empathy. It’s kind of like the old-school belief: don’t quote a price over the phone, just work on making the appointment. I wouldn’t make an appointment with that advisor either. Heck, I wouldn’t make an appointment with that coach.

The coach also liked that he kept the call under 4½ minutes. And my thought was: where did the 4½-minute rule come from? To me the call takes as long as it takes. But then I’ve been an advisor for 20 years and know which way to go with the conversation. And I have a storehouse of stories to connect with the customer.

Rapport Takes Time

Building rapport or trust isn’t a cookie-cutter operation where you just plug in the script and the stories. There are many types of customers: the car guy, the retired guy, the single mom with one or two kids, the attorney—you get the idea. You’re trying to find common ground between you and the potential customer. Once you make that connection, everything becomes easier. Hence, it takes whatever time it takes. Some will take longer than 4½ minutes, some will take less.

Unfortunately, sometimes it feels like the shop is too busy to take the necessary time to make that treasured connection. The advisor may have to create a quote or make a parts order. But then we risk losing that customer, which is tens of thousands of dollars over a lifetime. Not to mention the referrals we would get from that customer and the extra spending on marketing to get a new customer to replace them.

I used to think that technicians thought service advisors just goofed off, gabbing with the customers. But few technicians want to do the job of the service advisor; it’s not in their wheelhouse.

The service advisor’s job is more than just getting the appointment or writing up the work order. There’s the all-important, trust-based call to the customer with the results of the DVI. Remember, nothing happens until the customer says yes. They’re also instrumental in getting great reviews, referrals and creating loyal customers. So, give your advisors the right coaching and let them do their job.