We’ve all heard of the horror stories from a friend or family member about that one time they paid an absurd amount of money for when repairing their car.It usually starts with them bringing their car in for routine maintenance or to take care of a single issue. The car service center then tells them or gives them a warning about the potential issues that may have come up when they run your car through a service checklist.
Not getting a second opinion on car maintenance
This is usually the first thing you notice about their story. They didn’t even get a second or third opinion on the potential car issue. This may seem like a logical step for some, but there is a large majority of folks who believe what most people tell them. Always get an opinion from someone else, especially on higher cost maintenance and repair services.
Honesty and trust drives long term customers
You may also hear from some about a certain car dealership or service center that they trust. At some point in time they finally came across someone who took care of them, or went above and beyond their normal duties to help them. Once they have proven themselves as trustworthy, a lot of car service customers won’t go looking somewhere else. They’ve found someone, or a team of people that they can trust to take care of their car without having to worry about getting taken advantage of. At the Foreign Affairs European Car Service Center we believe in building the long term relationships, because those are the ones that matter the most.
Dealership honesty drives word of mouth
The same type of customers that cling to honest and trustworthy dealerships and service centers are the ones who tell their friends and family. They want the people they care about to have the same honest and open relationship when getting their car fixed.
How to prove your dealership’s honesty
Proving your dealership’s honesty can be hard, especially when so many people have been burned by other dealerships in the past. If we find someone to be hesitant in the auto repair or maintenance services, we find it helpful to show them the actual problem with the car. This works when they are sticking around for service or are a short drive away and can come look.
There are other small things you can do to increase the trust factor at your service center. Free car rentals (even if they are old) while a car is getting fixed is another way to show you truly care and are looking to create a fruitful relationship.
