A Summer Word to the Wise
We hate it when we’re too busy to accept a service appointment, but it happens. In Summer, our busiest season, it can happen all too often. Our Feature article this month “Planning Ahead Protects You Summer” goes deep on the issue, but we want to raise the flag here again. PLEASE plan ahead for your service! We’re currently scheduling about a week out and we don’t have room to work in last-minute appointments, so if you know your vehicle will need service before a big Summer trip it’s best to book an appointment much earlier than you might think necessary.
Comment of the Month
Two clients had the same Comment this month, overheard at our Service Counter…
“I never read those.”
What were they talking about? The detailed notes on every invoice with your Tom Dwyer service.
In both cases the clients were surprised that conditions we’d been monitoring for a long time had changed for the worse, and they wondered why we hadn’t fixed them before. They hadn’t needed repair on their previous visits so we’d been telling them to be prepared for quite a while and noting the issues on their invoices. But both said they didn’t remember being told on past visits, and ‘never read those printouts’.
First off that says we have some work to do. One of the biggest values of our Tom Dwyer service is our non-commissioned prioritization of repairs (safety, breakdown, maintenance), explanations of what we did, and warnings about what to expect in the future. A repair issue may be unpleasant and expensive but in most cases there’s enough warning that it shouldn’t be a surprise. As a client you may not need to know all the technical specifics but you should be generally aware of your vehicle’s condition. If our clients are being surprised by anything we’ve been monitoring then we need to get better about our communication.
But it also says there’s some work for our clients to do. We understand that most clients picking up their vehicles have two overriding concerns 1) was the current problem fixed and 2) how much did it cost. No one seems ready to hear anything else until those two basics are answered! But once they are it’s up to YOU to get the most from our service. Listen to what our Advisors say, yes, but then go further… probe, ask questions, and most importantly UNDERSTAND our recommendations! Your conversation with your Advisor is your main source for reliable information, and it works best with the notes on the invoice to remind you what we talked about. We do our best, but successful auto ownership relies on you too… and occasionally reading the invoices.
We also have a couple ongoing offers you might find valuable…
Carbon Neutral Program–
Our company’s commitment to the environment led us to partner with Bonneville Environmental Foundation to create our Carbon Neutral Program in 2007. Client members offset the carbon production of their vehicles for one year AND save 10% on Labor Charges here at the shop! It’s a win for you AND our environment and it’s been very successful… since we instituted the program our members have prevented over 1.9 MILLION POUNDS of carbon from being dumped into our air!
Referral Reward Program–
Year after year, referrals from our existing clients are our greatest source of new clients, so we’ve tried hard to think of some way to appropriately reward people for their referrals. Our solution is our Referral Reward Program, where we make donations to the non-profit group of your choice to say ‘thanks’ for your generous referrals. Here’s how it works…
Your reviews and referrals matter
We are constantly grateful for the supportive and loyal clients we have developed over the years. Your comments and appreciation keep us on the right road to providing the superior automotive service you deserve. Your reviews and referrals are not only the highest compliments we can receive, but they’re the lifeblood of our new business. If you like what you’ve found at Tom Dwyer Automotive Services, please tell a friend or take a minute to write a review on Yelp, Angieslist, Google, or the review site of your choice. Thank you!
Latest Automotive Recalls
Automobiles are just like any other product; occasional flaws in manufacture or design can cause problems once they leave the factory. When an issue is identified the manufacturers and government work hard to bring the vehicles back in for refit or repair, but not all recalls make the front pages. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration maintains a constantly updated list of recalls from every manufacturer. The last month’s recalls are below, but clicking the button at right will take you to the full list at the NHTSA website.
