How do you convince yourself to go to a mechanic?

[redfury]

Instead of trying to attempt or do a repair yourself. I find myself leery of bringing my vehicles into mechanics for repairs, I’d rather “save myself the money”…

There is a stigma surrounding dealerships and auto mechanics, and I find it hard to take that leap of faith with a mechanic for most repairs.

If you are mechanic, how do you try to break the stigma of “he’s out to get me for everything I’ve got”
If you are the customer, how do you go about finding that “trust” you need to have when handing off something like your ride?

To me, it seems that customer service is going to be the biggest factor in getting new business, secondly, would be the trust issue, which will come with quick succinct repairs at reasonable rates.

Thoughts?

Topic

[richiepearce]

Being in the trade and having a wide customer base. Just being honest with good communication and a friendly manner is the customer facing part of the role.
A lot of our custom is word of mouth this is the reputation side of the role.
We don’t offer “cash” discount, this is part of integrity.
We are not the cheapest, somewhere in the middle, so we do lose some work.
In this industry there are a lot of “mechanics” who will do the jobs for nearly nothing, these types often don’t have insurance, pay tax, have the correct tools or qualifications to work on vehicles.

[redfury]

Oh, I know them. And unfortunately there is a need for them. I guess for me, it’s akin to making an appointment with the doctor. I don’t want to go to the doctor to have them tell me something I already know with a bill attached to it, but there are times when you know that you need to go in and see them.

[Flemming Jacobsen]

Finding a mechanic you trust is key. I don’t have a car at the moment, but when I get one again I will be certain to listen to word of mouth suggestions as to where others are having their cars fixed.

I have a company car and I have learned which car dealers/garages I will not go to, to either get a car or get a car fixed due to shitty or snotty service when I needed to have something done on the company car.

[celticbhoy]

Being honest, open, and friendly, and having the will to show the customer an issue with their car goes a long way, especially when you tell them when a job doesn’t need to be done right away haha.

[redfury]

Yup, as the guy trying to get people to come to his shop, that’s definitely key…what about the guy that’s trying to find a shop though? I’ve always struggled with automotive ads…y’know the kind where they say 10% shop labor, or buy 3 tires, get one free….prices starting at blah blah blah.

I see those ads all the time. How do you draw a skeptic like myself into your shop?

[redfury]

Or more like, how do you draw a home mechanic into your shop? There doesn’t seem to be much appreciation from professional mechanics to the guy that knows how to get most things done, but needs a helping hand from time to time to get the job done. That’s really the gist of my question. It kind of goes along with the whole customer service issue and taking the time to talk to a customer. I don’t want to chat the technicians ear off, but I want them to understand what level I’m coming from. I’m not out to snipe work from the guy, I just want to know that we are both on the same page when it comes to working on the car I rely on every day. When I find a mechanic like that, they’ll get more than just my money.

[Flemming Jacobsen]

I’m by no means a home mechanic but would consider myself more enlightened on the finer details of cars then the common man :P. But I have actually found a few workshops that don’t beat around the bush, or attempts to de-babble the car lingo when they deal with me. Back when I had my old car I actually managed to get some good discount on brand original parts since the parts were just “rusting” on their shelves anyway so rather sell to me at a discount and cut their losses as opposed to throwing it out in the bin. And he plainly told me that, that he would rather try to sell brand “new” original parts in original packing at the same price that I could get reproduction parts for, at least that way we both “won” :P.

Suffice to say I would go back to that garage when/if I get a car again of that make.

[Author]

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