Does Your Service Menu Pass the Mom Test?

How much does your store charge for a 15,000 mile service? Go ahead – go and look. Now that you know, consider the following concepts – most customers drive about 15,000 miles each year. They come into your store for service and when the car is about a year old…you try to and maybe succeed at selling your 15,000 mile service package. Customers think and even say things like – but it’s a new car…isn’t this covered under warranty…why is it so expensive?

Ever wonder if there is a correlation between the fact that customers have owned their car about a year, have a 15,000 mile service pitched or purchased…and the result is that you lose about 50% of your car buyers after that…the first year? I think there is, just seems obvious, don’t you think?

My point is this. You need every customer you can get. Warranty is declining. Maintenance intervals are stretched and service visits are further and further apart. The competition is fierce and customer retention continues to decline. You are in a trick bag – you need to maximize every opportunity and at the same time you need to not take your customers’ heads off or you will end up with even less customer retention. So what do you do?

My solution is simple – make sure your services all pass the mom test. What I mean is if your mom gave you a blank check and asked you to do ‘whatever is needed’ to service her car at, oh let’s say, 15,000 miles – what would you do? Would you sell her the normal menu service you offer all of your customers? Would you trim it down and only do an oil change, tire rotation and maybe an air filter? What would you do? Be careful how you answer – you have to make sure you pass the mom test, meaning every single customer is somebody’s mom or dad.

Here’s the problem. You are stressed and money is tight. Less warranty, less maintenance and less repairs means less income, right? So if you aren’t careful, you will end up overselling to make up the difference…which doesn’t work, in fact it makes it worse…you end up running off more of your valuable, much needed customers. The answer is to increase customer retention to a point that you make up the difference and even surpass your objectives with more customers….the right way. You have to Wow your customers so much that they would never go anywhere else. You have to make your dealership different, and give customers a real reason to never go anywhere else. Do this every day with great – no awesome, or as I like to say ‘Wow-some’ service. Do it by showing customers you care with money saving coupons. Do it with a rewards club. Do it with good phone follow-up to ensure satisfaction and loyalty, and do it with an attitude that shows customers just how much you need them. Bottom line is – you do.