The most expensive item in your shop isn’t a broken engine. It’s a customer who leaves and never returns. Retention beats acquisition every time.
Who’s responsible when a shop loses a customer? The shop owner? The service advisor? A technician? What about the lot boy? The truth is everyone plays a role.

In the book, “Unreasonable Hospitality,” a restaurant owner his staff set out to become the best restaurant in the world—not just the best in their city, state, or even the United States. As you might guess, their reputation wasn’t based solely on the food. It was built on the experience.

It’s been said that we’re in the experience economy. On its own, car repair is not a great experience; in fact, some might say, it’s pretty uneventful for the customer. Even after spending money on their car, many say it runs the same as it did a month ago. So, what are shops doing to improve the experience and increase retention?

As a service advisor, I think I’m a vital part of customer retention. For many customers, I’m the face of the shop, the main contact. I believe I have to perform, along with the technicians, to get good reviews and referrals.

Every Touch Point Matters

In “Unreasonable Hospitality,” the restaurant owner and his team examined every touch point with the customer. The one that stuck with them was paying the bill. Typically, when customers are done with their meal, they just want to leave. But if you give them the check too quickly, they feel rushed.

So the restaurant created one final memorable moment. Just before presenting the bill, the staff placed two glasses on the table, each with a splash of cognac, and left the bottle behind with a simple invitation: "Have another if you'd like."

Later, the restaurant discovered that what many customers remembered most wasn't the meal—it was the unexpected gesture.

So what's the lesson for repair shops? It's not that the gift matters more than the repair. It's that if customers remember only the repair, your shop risks becoming a commodity. And when customers believe any shop can perform the same service, loyalty disappears.

Memorable Beats Memorable Service

Creating memorable moments doesn't have to be expensive. Consider including a small, high-quality gift with the final invoice, such as a custom-branded microfiber cloth, a premium air freshener or a voucher for a free car wash.

I once read about a shop that gave every customer homemade cookies with a handwritten note: "We know car repairs are never fun, so here's a little something to make the drive home better."

What memorable experiences do customers leave with after visiting your shop that set you apart?

Did you make a phone call for them to the tire shop, the stereo store, or the alignment shop?  Did you polish their slightly cloudy headlights for free? Did you recommend a new restaurant, a movie you enjoyed, or a fun park for the grandkids? Did you chat about their kids’ soccer or baseball games? Or where they’re headed to college?

“Unreasonable Hospitality” sees a great guest experience as one where guests feel welcomed and treated with the same warmth, care, and genuine hospitality you would offer to someone you invited into your home. Guests aren’t consumers or transactions. They chose to share a piece of their life within our sanctuary. Maybe that means joking around and making them feel at home and at ease. A simple but demanding idea: authenticity, consistency, and personalization are the tools, but human connection is the actual goal. Miss that, and everything else you’ve built washes away.

Shops should consistently invest in relationships, which can take time. If you’re not paying close attention to every touch point, the customer could just become a person with a car. That's not the kind of experience that earns lifelong loyalty.