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Shop Talk Her Way is where former shop owner and coach JeanAnn Saint Grace opens up the books on what it really takes to run a profitable, sustainable, and well-balanced auto repair business.
With decades of experience in bookkeeping, operations, and leadership, JeanAnn brings an honest, no-fluff approach to shop management — all from a woman’s perspective. From financial systems and staffing to communication and culture, she shares insights that help shop owners (and especially women in the industry) take control, build better businesses, and enjoy the ride.
Whether you’re turning wrenches, balancing the books, or scaling to your next location, you’ll find encouragement, strategy, and a healthy dose of “you’ve got this” in every episode.
Shop Talk Her Way is an AutoFix Auto Shop Coaching production — helping shops thrive, her way.
Thanks to WorldPac and the WorldPac Training Institute (WTI) for sponsoring Shop Talk Her Way. Visit worldpac.com for the latest in auto parts distribution and wtitraining.com to explore training programs that can take your career to the next level.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:00:00]:
And if you become that shop that they can count on, day in, day out, month after month, year over year, to give them consistent service, to make them feel important, to put them on your VIP list and make sure you always got a spot for them, they're going to respond to that. This is Shop Talk Her Way with Jean Ann St. Grace. Your barber is doing it. Your dentist is doing it. I'd almost bet the shop down the street is doing it. So the 50 million dollar question is, are you doing it? Hi, this is Jean Ann St. Grace and this is the next episode of Shop Talk Her Way with me.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:00:41]:
Jean Ann St Grace, thank you so much for joining me today. The topic for today is exit scheduling and that's what you should be doing. And it's true. Your dentist is doing it, your barber or hairstylist is doing it. Other businesses are doing it as well. And if you're not doing it, then you are missing an opportunity to invite your customers back in to give them an opportunity to know that you want them to return and that you want to be their total car care solution. So what exactly is exit scheduling? It's very simple. We set a next appointment for your customer for specifically for oil changes and it can be for deferred work.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:01:27]:
So we'll kind of break that into. But primarily this is about rescheduling them for their next oil change appointment. And I also want to stop saying oil change and start sailing 5,000 mile service because we need to stop thinking about an oil change as just an oil change. An oil change these days is and should be a 5,000 mile service. We should be changing the engine oil and filter. We should be doing a multi point inspection whether it's on paper or at a dvi. We should also be rotating tires and if you want to as an upsell balancing tires if you have the equipment to do that. So we want to start thinking about our oil changes as a fully fledged 5,000 mile maintenance service that is a total car care event for the customer.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:02:24]:
We want to get away from competing quote unquote. Because I truly don't think there are competition quickly lubes. They are there to serve a purpose when they're spouting a 10 minute oil change where you don't even have to get out of the car. What are they doing for the customer? Almost nothing, except probably trying to sell them an air filter and a cabin air filter. And that's not our job. Right. Our job is not quick sales. What can we pick apart the car at Right now? Our job is to create a car care solution for our customers.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:03:01]:
To be a full service place for them to come. A trusted advisor in all things automotive. And we're not going to do that by doing inexpensive oil changes. Not to criticize, but I'm just going to make a statement. My shop closed in 2015 and at that point we were doing five quartz non synthetic oil changes for around $60. Why are we still doing full synthetic or semi synthetic 5 quart oil changes for $59? This doesn't make any sense, okay? It does not make any sense. It hurts your profit, it hurts your average repair order. It hurts everything and it puts a lot of down pressure on a lot of parts of your shop.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:03:51]:
So bear with me. I'm open to a conversation about this, but please just bear with me as we talk this out. Okay, so we need to start touting a 5,000 mile service. We need to start talking about total car care. We need to stop talking about a free, quote unquote free digital, digital vehicle inspection. We need to start talking about a digital vehicle inspection that's included with all our services. It's a value add. It's not free.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:04:23]:
Our time is not free. We add it in as a service. Okay? So it seems like I'm playing a word game and the truth is we are. But the more we elevate our language to the customer and amongst ourselves, then we elevate our services to ourselves and to our customers. So we want to start shifting our vocabulary around these things to improve the quality of the service and not to be in competition, quote unquote, with the quick lube down the road, we're providing a totally different experience. And just as an example, and I'm not saying this is good, bad or indifferent on this point, I'm the consumer, I'm going to take it. If I were their coach, I'd be like, what are you guys doing? So my previous vehicle was a 2017 GMC 1500 with a 5.3. Right.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:05:17]:
So that's a what, six quart dexos oil change. Right. And so I was going in for an oil change and tire rotation. That was their service. And I was not getting away from the dealer for anything under $150 and with nothing else included. Right. My current vehicle is a 21 Ram 2500 with a Cummings in it and a tire rotation. And a full, what, 10 quart oil change is about $160 with a tire rotation.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:05:50]:
Why are we, why are we in the aftermarket? So afraid to raise our prices closer to that we shouldn't be. We shouldn't be, but we should be educating our customer. Okay, so that's part one and that's kind of a separate conversation, but it plays into the exit scheduling process. So we should be educating our customers. Right? We should be letting them know, hey, we certified trained professional technicians doing your 5,000 mile service. Our service includes changing your engine oil and filter, rotating your tires, doing a multi point vehicle inspection to make sure that your vehicle's in the best health it can possibly be. If we find anything, we're going to let you know that and we'll also provide you with estimates and a list of priorities to let you know how soon and how much those items are going to be. That's your spiel, that's the script.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:06:50]:
There's no hard sale, there's no anything, except we're providing them with an excellent service. Okay. So that's, that's as far as we need to go. If they push back on the multi point inspection, then we need to have a script to overcome that objection, which is something like, oh, well, you know, it is included in the service, it doesn't cost anything additional. And we want to make sure your vehicle's in tip top shape. We want to make sure you don't have any lights out or your brakes are worn or you have a fluid leak. These are the things that we're looking for to make sure that when you go back on the road, you're safe. You're not in any, you know, there's no challenges with the vehicle.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:07:33]:
You're not in any danger of a catastrophic failure. As far as we can tell from this inspection. This is a professional inspection to give you information that you need. We're here to share this information with you. It's just part of the service we provide. Done. Done. The oil change is going to take, Pardon me, the 5,000 mile service is going to take an hour either way.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:07:56]:
So it doesn't, it's not going to get out any faster. We don't do quick oil changes. And that is, that is not what we're here to do. If that's what they want, truly, then maybe this person is not your customer and we need to let them go. Okay? If our customers don't appreciate us for who and what we're bringing to the table, as far as our professionalism, our training, our quality of service, then they're not our customer. And there's a shop somewhere down the road for them to go to that will do what they want, the way they want. It but here at whatever the name of your shop is, we're all about quality, consistency and service. Okay, These are the things we need to start talking about.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:08:47]:
So as we're doing these services for our customers, the next level of service is ensuring that in whatever time frame they drive 5,000 miles, whether it's three months or four months or six months or a year, we have them on our schedule for their next visit. And I'm right now, again, we're just talking about oil change, so or 5,000 mile service. So whatever interval we're recommending and the timeframe that they should drive those miles is when we should be scheduling them for their next Visit for their 5,000 mile service. And we should be putting it on our calendar. We should have a special code for that so that our service advisors can see what's coming up and multiple things happening in the customer retention realm. Assuming that you have a customer retention service, the next service should be flagged and they should be receiving a reminder via email or text, whatever they've chosen. And I would also encourage you to have your advisors or if you have a customer service rep, someone in the shop calling them at the very least and leaving a message saying, hi, Mr. Mrs.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:10:05]:
Customer, it's been about five months since the last time we saw you. We've got you on the schedule for next Tuesday at X o', clock, at 10 o', clock, whatever that might be. And I just wanted to remind you and then also verify that that's still a good time for you. If you would like to confirm, you can either call, email or text me, whatever however you want them to come back and let them know you will also be receiving an email and or a text reminder. We appreciate you. We look forward to seeing you next week. Hope everything is good. See you soon.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:10:37]:
Okay, if we are doing one to two of those services a day, then what that looks like is one to two reminder phone calls per day about a week ahead of that service. And then let your customer retention system pick up the rest as the time and day gets closer. Why do we do this? I'm always big on my whys. And as a leader, as a leader in a modern shop, we have to be big on the whys. We have to have a good reason for us to do this other than because I said so. And when I say I said so, I mean you as the owner, not me as a coach. I said so doesn't cut it anymore. With leadership, we have to give our people the wise.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:11:21]:
And so here's the why on exit scheduling, the why on exit scheduling is we want the customer know that we want them to come back, that they are valuable to us for this very. What's. What's considered like probably the most minor service that we do, but probably one of the most important because as we're doing these 5,000 mile services, as we're getting a look at the brakes, as we're checking fluids, as we're checking lights, we're helping them to manage the maintenance of their vehicle. We're letting them know what we see today, what might be coming up maintenance wise or even repair wise. We might have an oil seep somewhere that isn't truly a leak yet, but we can see there's some fluid dripping somewhere and it's just starting to show up. And we need to monitor that. Maybe it's residual from last time. Maybe they ran through a puddle of mud or puddle of oil or something and it spilled or it's stuck on there, we don't know.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:12:19]:
But it's incumbent upon us to, to look at those things and monitor them as they go, as they come up and as they go along. So what this looks like on the wrap up with the customer is here, Mr. Mrs. Customer, here's the digital vehicle inspection. For our inspection today, we have. These things all look good. We've got a coolant system service coming up here in the next oil change or two. It's due by mileage or, and, or time.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:12:50]:
And so we want to make sure that we get this on the list of things to do and that you can start budgeting for it. Other than that, everything else looks good and you're good to go until the next 5k service. Unless you need something from us and something pops up. In which case, of course, feel free to give us a call and we'll get you in as fast as we can. Very simple. Right? Oh, and by the way, I have saved you an appointment. I know you like Tuesday at 10 o', clock, so I've saved you an appointment on a Tuesday. Here is your appointment reminder card.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:13:23]:
It's got their, you know, their name, the car and the date and time of their next appointment on it. And will they keep it? Chances are they will. You'd be surprised how many times I got in a vehicle and that card's like sitting in their cup holder or it's on their dash or it's somewhere in the vehicle that they've kept as a reminder on top of all the other stuff that we send them, as far as electronic reminders, phone calls, Whatever. Oftentimes they keep those. Okay. And of course we also have our oil change reminder sticker in the window. That's great. But it's not a next appointment.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:14:01]:
So we're layering in the information. We're laying layering in this service mindset that we've got to have to keep our customers coming back and giving them the best service that we can. So now this customer knows that we want them to come back. It's essentially like asking for the next date on the first date. So you know, if, if any of us remember dating, you know, it always felt good if we made arrangements for our next date before the first date was over or before this date was over. So we're, we're encouraging them, we're telling them we care, we're telling we want to, we want to see them again. This is the premise of this whole thing is dating the count of dates, quote unquote. You have to see the customer four times before they really cement into you.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:14:57]:
And that doesn't mean on the fourth or fifth date that we're letting you know, we're letting our plan fall apart. We're continuing to give them this level of service. We're going to date them for the rest of our business relationship together. We want them to know we want them to come back. We want them to know we care about them, their vehicle, their family, their budget. We want them to know all of these things. And we don't have to explicitly say that. It's more in how we deliver.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:15:28]:
Just like I did. You know, we've got this cooling system service coming up. It's going to be in the next six months or so. So you're going to need X amount of dollars to cover that. We can do that at the next oil change or we can push it off a little farther. If your budget requires. When you start talking about their budget, their money, their this, their that, you are becoming their partner in managing this. You' the shop who's just trying to get into their wallet this time for a couple grand and never see them again.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:15:58]:
That is not our marketing plan. Our marketing plan is long time service over long periods of time. At which point they start to tell their friends, their family, their co workers and the pebble that you're dropping in the water of service then starts to ripple out. And next thing you know, oh, Mrs. Jones sent me and here she said you guys give the best service in town. She said you guys would make me an extinct appointment. And I really appreciate that because I have a hectic schedule. These are the conversations that start to happen.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:16:29]:
So this is a long term plan. This is not necessarily a reward today. This is a long term plan and it has to be heartfelt. We need to start in ingraining in all of our team members that we are here to be of service. We are not necessarily here for sales. Do our goals involve dollar income? Yes, they do because that's the only measure that we have. But we also want to look at how many exit schedules did we do? How many DVIs did we do? These are the KPIs of service. So when we think about all of this and where does the scheduling come in, it's going to be the one of the last things your advisor does before they hand over the keys processing payment.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:17:24]:
Oh, by the way, here's your next appointment. We will send you a reminder. We will call and remind you whatever that looks like, give them an expectation and then meet it. Right. We can't do expectations and then not meet what we're telling them we're going to do. So please start to think about this. You can't imagine as a coach how many shops are not doing this and when I bring it up, they push back on it. The customers will never take it.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:17:52]:
It's one more thing for my advisor to do, et cetera, et cetera. Okay, I understand your advisors are busy, I get it. But if they have to make two 5,000 mile reminder calls a day, five minutes maybe for five minutes, can they touch two customers a day to come in in a week? I think you can do that and let your CRM handle the rest of it. There's a tendency, I think, to hide behind the technology that we have today. We can easily send out an email reminder. We can EAS send out a text reminder. We can text or email the dvis. We can send out estimates via text or email.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:18:33]:
We don't want to lose the human touch if we're the one who stands out. Because yes, we did email or text, both DVI and estimates. But we also called to follow up and explain and answer questions. We're not just blindly asking them to spend X amount of dollars. We're serving them. We're helping them to understand. We're educating them about they need a cooling system service or why they need a tune up or why they need brakes. We have to be there to fill in the gaps.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:19:07]:
I don't know about you, but one of the hardest parts of being on the counter was when a new customer would come in and they are immediately on the Defensive because they think any shop is trying to screw them. Pardon my language, but let's be, let's be frank. That's what they think. How are they going to screw me this time? Are they going to do this, are they going to do that, are they going to do this, are they going to do that? And everybody's got a brother, sister, mother, father, somebody who got screwed by insert shop name here. And we're all overcoming those challenges. And why is that? It's because they don't have a solid understanding of how their vehicle works. They're concerned about how much it's going to cost and they are not 100% sure if your shop is 100% trustworthy yet. So this is how we build trust, right? We build trust by doing a DVI and say, hey, everything looks good on your vehicle, but next time you're going to need X, Y or Z, or we say, today you need brakes.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:20:14]:
If you don't get these brakes replaced, the chances of them going metal to metal in the next however many hundred miles is good. And we don't want that to happen. Of course, this is a safety issue and your safety is our utmost concern. So I can do the breaks today or if you need, we can reschedule for tomorrow or the next day, whatever that looks like. But we don't want to be scaring them into anything. And then we can also tell them, oh, by the way, at the next oil change, you're going to need this service, this service, this service. But they're going to be fine until then. Now we're building trust again.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:20:49]:
We're not trying to get a huge ticket today. We're giving them an opportunity. They might want to spend and do all of it today, but if they can't afford all of it, then we're giving them the opportunity to need to do the safety thing, the most important thing first, and then helping them to plan out their budget for the next however many months until the car is in tip top condition again. And I will tell you, there was nothing more uplifting, validating, whatever word you want to use for that. When we took a new customer and over the course of the year did two or three oil changes and got their car down to it, just needed their oil changed and the tires rotated and then I celebrated that with them. And I would say, remember that big list that we had from when we first saw your car? And we've worked through all of that and now for the next 10 or 20,000 miles, all you're going to have to do is change the oil unless something pops up. Isn't that great? That's awesome. Good job on investing in your vehicle.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:21:50]:
Then you have been their partner in their success. And what happened over time as well was that. But those people that we saw when they were broken down, we didn't see breaking down anymore because we were catching things ahead of time and we were being proactive and helping them plan for this. So it wasn't an oh my gosh, I need to spend $500 or $1,000 or whatever it might be and you become their partner in that. And does it take some effort? It does. But anything worth doing takes effort. And if we start to look at a model where we lower our car count and raise our average rep order, then we have time. If you're in a small shop and you go from seeing 10 cars a day to six cars a day, that gives your advisor that much more time to spend with each individual customer or client.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:22:46]:
That's a huge difference. And we can make up for it in the average repair order because our tickets get bigger. Because we're taking time to explain. We're helping them understand. So if there is a big ticket that comes along, we've got a timed do it B, we've got time to work with the customer and explain to them what they need and it's not such a mess. Like for lack of a better term. Right. You know, before, when, when we first started our shop, we were doing 10, 12, 15 cars a day, a lot of them waiters, for oil change services and smog inspections.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:23:27]:
We were in California. It our average repair order sucked and we were run off our feet. So when we shifted that to one or two oil changes a day, one or two smogs, and the rest were general service appointments, things got a lot easier. And I had a lot more time to work with my people, to spend the time with them on the phone, to spend with the time with them on the counter, to build relationship, to build rapport and to build that trust that we're looking for. And we can't do this in an inauthentic way. We have to have people on our counter, in our base that genuinely care about this, that genuinely care about the level of service that we're providing and how that affects our customers. If we don't have that kind of buy in, then they have to have a why that works for them at a very, very, very, very minimum. Money? I don't know.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:24:24]:
Not as many people are motivated by money as they used to be. Most People nowadays are motivated by why do I do my work? And that's what we have to help to elevate them in pillars of our business in core principles, core beliefs. However you want to present that, and we should have those on the wall. One of my clients had big posters made and put them in really nice Lucite frames and so the customers could see them. Integrity, reliability, honesty, whatever your core beliefs are, they should be front and center so that everybody sees them, including the customers. And if one of our team members is not living up to that, then the question is why. And the why then becomes a conversation of how do we help you get back to where we need you to be at this level of service for our customers? So part of this exit scheduling, obviously is a process, but it's also at the heart of why we do what we do. We want our customers to come back.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:25:25]:
We want to be their total car care solution. We want to have a maintenance mindset so that we're looking forward for them and to let them know, hey, these services are due every so often and we're going to help you keep track of when they're due. And we're just going to let you know, you don't have to worry about it, you don't have to think about it. It. Okay, back to the exit scheduling. Why is this so important? Well, look at your dentist, right? Your dentist is telling you they want to see you every six months. Here's your next appointment. It's six months from today.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:25:56]:
Your hairdresser. I mean, ladies, let's talk about this, right? If you don't schedule your hair appointment before you leave, you're not getting one, right? If you have a good stylist that you love. The guy that I had for almost 20 years before I left California, if I didn't schedule, he couldn't get me in. And you know, women, hair, you know, the thing. So this is also taking some weight off of them. They don't have to keep watching their oil change sticker. They don't have to forget three times because they didn't call you during business hours. They can rely on you to call and remind them when this is going to happen, and they can plan around it.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:26:43]:
A lot of our customers these days are women. You know, the mix of men versus women coming in the shop has been trending towards more women than men for a while now. Men will appreciate this, but women will especially appreciate this when you think about what the modern woman, whether she has kids or not, is doing. Being able to plan on Doing their oil change service at a very specific time and date that they can work around over four months in advance. They're going to be super grateful for that because they're too busy to remember they have enough on their plate and you're taking that thing off of their plate and handling it for them. Doing something as simple as giving them a reminder call. This isn't, I don't mean this is not rocket science, right? This is not the hardest thing you've ever done. And today with again, with all the CRM stuff that we have, it's that much easier.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:27:41]:
But the key player in this is your advisor. The key player is the person at the counter right before they give back the customer's keys, handing them that invitation for them to come back in 4, 5 or 6 months for their next 5K service. This is the most important part of it. Those appointments do become scarce if we start to create a model. If you're in a small shop where you're only doing two oil changes a day and they call a week ahead of time and you're booked, is that service? It's not. But it's not our fault that they didn't plan. It's not our fault that they didn't take advantage of the opportunity to, to come in when we had them scheduled. In a way, you're creating scarcity.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:28:30]:
And when people think things are scarce, they're more valuable. So they start to hold on to those moments, those pieces where they've got something planned and an appointment held for them. And I will tell you, you know when, when I was with my hairdresser and if I, I mean, almost nothing would stop me from going to that appointment. Like almost nothing. Because I knew if I had to cancel, the chances of me getting back in were ridiculously low. So you're creating this, this atmosphere of value again. We're adding value by being scarce by giving them an appointment when we've got a limited amount of appointments available. Their vip, they're special, they get to come back and we're inviting them back in.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:29:24]:
So what does this take? We all, well, we all, hopefully we all have a shop management system with a scheduler in it that works. We need double sided cards. One side's got your business name on it, the back has the little appointment reminder portion on it. And we need your advisor to remember to set all this up and hand them the card at the end of the transaction. And it's deceptively easy. It sounds sometimes, or I've had people make it sound like this was some crazy out of the realm situation that they just couldn't possibly do it or they've tried it before and it didn't work. They got pushback from customers, et cetera, et cetera. Well, chances are that means somebody gave up, right? Did we look at our script? Did we look at how we did this? Were we very careful with our customers? I had a customer who was a realtor and every Wednesday she had a meeting and so she liked to drop off her vehicle around 10 o' clock in the morning.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:30:30]:
We would do her oil change and have it done by noon. When she was done with her, her meeting, she would have somebody bring her back, drop her off to pick up her car. She was happy as a clam. We did all of their vehicles every time, no questions asked. I still, you know, 10 years later, her and I still communicate and we're still, we're still friends because of the relationship that we built in that process. She was also my realtor, so it went both ways, but, but there was never any question and she always knew that I knew that's when she needed her appointment. It was very simple. She felt taken care of.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:31:10]:
It was important to her that we did it that way. She wasn't always in town, but we could guarantee we could have that two hour slot every Wednesday if we needed it. It worked out great. So, you know, people love repetitive things. People love things that they can count on and if you become that shop can count on, day in, day out, month after month, year over year, to give them consistent service, to make them feel important, to put them on your VIP list, to make sure you always got a spot for them, they're going to respond to that. And that means when you do need to have them invest additional money in their vehicle, they trust you that it's the thing that they need when they need it. They know that you have thought about their budget it and how and when they could pay for it. They know all these things and it takes all of that distrust off the table and it becomes just this easeful, enjoyable engagement with a customer over a transaction, over an interaction of trying to get them to buy.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:32:17]:
Right then the sales almost become a byproduct of the process that we've put into place. And in a lot of ways I think that's how we need to start thinking about a lot of the things that we do. I'm going to do a whole nother episode on digital vehicle inspections. I can hear the groans already, but these are my two soapboxes, two of My soapboxes that I will stand on exit scheduling helped to save my business. It took the highs and lows out. So even if we're going through a slow period, we know we've at least got those oil changes set up and if they need maintenance or repairs, then we've got the maintenance services and the repairs to do in those slow times. So it takes helps to take the highs and lows out. It also takes out the phone calls of I need an oil change.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:33:10]:
When would you like to do that? I can do it Tuesday or Friday. What time would you like to do that? If we can make one reminder phone call instead of that back and forth of when do you want to do it? Do you want to do this, do you want to do that? That's one less set of decisions your advisor has to make. All they've got to do is pick up the phone, say, hey, Mr. Mrs. Customer, you've got an appointment next week on Tuesday at 10 o'. Clock. We can't wait to see you. If you need anything else, call me back and let me know.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:33:39]:
Otherwise we'll also send you a text reminder right the day before, but we'll see you next Tuesday. It's very simple, it's elegant, it's easy. And the implementation time that it takes will far outweigh the effort that you have to put in in the long term, taking and making those oil change appointments, you might get some pushback. Well, I don't know what I'm going to be doing. Well, then, you know, we'll hold this spot for you and we'll call you a week ahead of time and see where you're at. If this isn't going to work, then we'll do our best to reschedule, schedule it very simple. It's nothing. Nothing in life is written in stone, right? And if we're here to serve our customer and all of a sudden their oil change appointment doesn't work for them, then let's just move it.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:34:26]:
It's not the end of the world. But they're going to get used to it and they're going to show up, right? They might have to on occasion reschedule, but most of your people will get into the rhythm of it and they'll do it when it's required and there won't be any challenges when it's required it. They'll just, you'll even get to the point where if you happen to forget to write up their appointment, they'll be like, oh, when's my next appointment? My bad. Here's your appointment. I'm sorry, I forgot to write it down for you. They will enjoy the repetitiveness. They will enjoy the fact that it's one less decision they have to make. They will enjoy the fact that you're inviting them to come back in.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:35:02]:
It's a win for all parties when you consider it that way. So. So please, please try to implement this. If it doesn't work exactly the way you think it should at first adjust, don't give up. There's infinite ways that we can tweak this process to make it work better if we need to. But chances are it's just going to need a little fine tuning until we get it just right. But please don't give up. This is, like I said, one of the things that took the highs and lows out of our car count out of our business trajectory.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:35:36]:
Okay? Okay. Now the other thing, like I said, is exit scheduling repairs. So if we have deferred or declined repairs due to parts that are unavailable, limit on time for the customer, whatever that might look like, then we want to offer. Now, when would they like to bring it back? How many of us have had the conversation? Well, I'd really like to do that, but I have to wait till my next paycheck. Well, when is your next paycheck? Would you like to schedule it for a couple days after that or the day of or whatever that looks like? Then I can order the part parts. We'll have the parts here. We'll have you on the schedule and we'll just get it in and get it done and that. Then it's done and you don't have to worry about it anymore.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:36:17]:
Very simple, right? Another little appointment card we put in the schedule. We call them week ahead of time. CRM takes over after that, easy peasy, right? It's just this level of service and you're going to stand out over the shop. That's just sending emails, sending text messages, not explaining to the customer, not caring if they come back again again. This is going to elevate your service up and above over what they're getting anywhere else. And it's much better than sending out an oil change reminder postcard that says, hey, we haven't seen you in a while. Is it time for your oil change? Wouldn't you rather be, oh, hi, Mr. Mrs.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:36:58]:
Customer. We're set to see you next week. We can't wait to see you. What's the difference in those two things? Things? It's the difference between a customer and not a customer. So don't be afraid to get your people out there to get them talking to your customers more. That's something that's lacking in this world, right? There are times and places where we just want to walk through the Walmart self check and get the heck out of there. But there's times when you want the white glove service. This is what we're trying to set up.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:37:30]:
We're not Walmart smart. We are Neiman Marcus. If you want to make that. We are Bloomingdale's, whatever that looks like. We are the next level of service. Where might even be the level of service over that. We want to start elevating ourselves and thinking we're not just just anything. We're not just the shop on the corner.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:37:50]:
We're not just the auto repair shop, we're their automotive service. Total car care solution. This is what we do for the them. This is our why. This is our up here why. I'm raising my hands up just in case you can't see me. The highest level of why is up here at the top of our priority list. That's our why.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:38:09]:
The next thing is, is that that level of service will provide the level of sales that we need to continue to be profitable and to continue to have solid car count week in and week out. The next why, if you need it, is the money. But I hope that between the high level of service, the people coming back, that the dollars will take care of themselves and they're almost a byproduct of the service that you're providing. Right? When my hairdresser would say, oh, you know, my supplies are costing a little bit more and I'm raising my price. I didn't care about the $10 or the $20. I didn't care because he was my guy and I knew that when I walked out of his shelter shop, my hair was going to look great, I was going to feel great, I would have enjoyed my visit with him and everything was right with the world. So I was paying for an experience. It's the difference between going to like a Ruth's Chris Steakhouse over McDonald's.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:39:05]:
We go to Ruth's Chris because we're going to get white glove service. The cocktails are awesome, the steaks are amazing and the sizzling plate is great. Right? We want to be offering our clientele filet mignon service over the McDonald's service are getting everywhere else. So whatever metaphor you guys need to raise the level, that's the level I want you to think about. If you're walking into a high end dealer or high end service space, what do you want that to feel like? And that doesn't mean you have to get snobby or over the top or anything like that. It just means you have to be warm and inviting and genuinely care about what's going on with this person and their vehicle. Vehicle, okay. Care more.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:39:48]:
Love them till it's weird and get to know them. Encourage your team to know about these vehicles, right? To know about these people that are bringing them in. Do they have a silly name for their car? What are their kids sports? Do they play? What's their dog's name? What do they do for work? It's so easy to lace in a couple of very personal items and get to know these people. And if you're a person that remember those little details, I guarantee that somewhere in your shop management system there's a place for little notes for you to put in there to remind you of what to ask them next. They went on a trip to Yosemite, they went to Yellowstone, they went to Hawaii, they had their 50th wedding anniversary, whatever that looks like, right? But have a few little nuggets that you can bring up that show them that you care. That show them that even if you did have to write notes to remember it, you took the effort to remember them and to make them feel comfortable and welcome and safe and secure in your space. So I think I beat this one as much as I want to beat it. But please think about this.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:40:58]:
Please put this in. At least try it. It's gonna take six months to a year for you to see this whole cycle move. But it's what our shops need to be doing. This is the level of service we need to be providing. So if you have any questions about this, please don't hesitate to reach out. Out. Put it in the comments.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:41:20]:
I have a process that I can send you. I'm happy to answer any questions. And when we talk about level of service, of course we're going to talk about WorldPAC and WorldPAC Training Institute. They are the very generous sponsors of the podcast and I'm deeply grateful to them that I get to be here with you all week after week because of their generosity in sponsoring the podcast. Worldpac gives us excellent service, us excellent parts. They also have the WorldPAC Training Institute which has all levels of training. If you're not aware, a couple weeks ago I was able to do one of their business lunch classes. There's two options every Wednesday for a free business management class and they have different trainers from all over the industry bringing you different levels of information.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:42:10]:
They also have evening classes, they have weekend classes. Some of they range from, you know, free to fully paid. They have technical classes and they're putting out the effort and the investment into our industry for you guys to be better at what you do. So please, if you haven't checked out WorldPAC or WorldPAC Training Institute, please do that today. So thank you again. I want to let you know that you know as a coach I am here to help help you guys have your shop your way auto fix. The company that I work for, we have openings for clients. If you want to do a strategy call or a discovery call with me or with Chris, my boss, we're here to help you.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:42:59]:
Our, our contact information is in the show notes. So please don't hesitate to reach out. If you're in coaching and you're getting what you need over there but you might need a little bit of help and you need a short term outside coaching for something else. We offer that we're going to have some new products coming out. We've got the new profits on Target which is a four week individual coaching on your personal, not your personal but your shop's finances. How it compares. Your shop management system is integrating with your QuickBooks finding, getting holes in that process, getting your profit and loss set up with a profit model that you can follow just by printing out one report and it's done with your you. I will be there through every four weeks guiding you through every step of the process and the end result should be a profit and loss that gives you a very clear snapshot of where the profitability of your business is today.
JeanAnn SaintGrace [00:43:57]:
So please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. Need some help, we're always here to help you. Thank you so much for being here for shop talk her way and go out there and make your shop your way. Thank you so much.