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Why do you choose one auto repair shop over another?

I owned a shop in the 90's and will be opening another soon. What attracts you to use a particular shop? Is quality, price, customer service, covenience, overall "value" ( a combination of the previous at a reasonable cost) etc. most important? What is of highest priority to you? In the advertising you receive what catches your eye or make you want to try a new place? In the yellow pages are you drawn to color ads, LARGE ads, or what? Does having a customer shuttle help? What about free pickup and delivery of your car within say 5 miles? Dp you prefer chains (your money leaves town ) or independents (your money is put to use in town )? Do you feel you maintain your car to a level that will maximize it's useable life or you just want cheap transportation? Anything else you want to add feel free. Thanks for your responses, even the wacky ones I'm sure I'll receive.

Public Comments

1. i hope you saved customer contacts from previous shop?
2. a clean professional shop....and the people should be speaking English...i understand having a receptionist that is multilingual. but English must be the spoken language in the shop
3. Once the warranty service from the dealer runs out, I start asking friends around the community...prefer to stay local, and locally owned. With the percent of senior citizens out there trying to maintain their beaters [or hoopties], having a "special for old guys" once in a while would be a good PR lure for new customers--and having a tow-truck available to pick up real sick cars [many of us have towing insurance so you won't have to dicker] if you're in a snow zone area would be good too. "Locally Owned & Operated" should appear on all your flyers & ads...buddy up with a local radio station too. Start hanging out in diners where the morning coffee gang hangs out...hand out cards and introduce yourself. Make good connections with local businesses, provide a little stand for your cards to place by their cash registers and pretty-please the business owners to put them out. Where we live, it's word of mouth, local folks, that adds the "value". Keep your prices practical...you can't compete with the franchise guys, but if you do good work for a few dollars more, that will matter to those of us who keep our cars a while. I had one pet mechanic who kept our 1955 VW running until 1970...and sent him every customer I could because of it.
4. it all about price and quality for me and not making me buy more stuff than i need and i like when that take you out to the shop and show you what there talking about
5. # 1 is the best answer, add honesty to that group of things and you have it. As far as advertising, I may listen to it, but I do not go to a shop because it has a cute commercial. I like Geico commercials, but I don't have their insurance. I do not go to chains, the one I went to in the past tried to sell me more than I needed. My husband worked in a dealership for more than 20 years and it was the most honest shop in the area. Many people came to that shop because of that one thing. It was not the cheapest in the area, but you always got your moneys worth and they stood behind their work. Pickup and deliveries are nice, but around here the 5 mi. rule would be worthless. Where you live, it might be nice. The shutter idea is nice, but can you afford it, it means paying a driver, having extra insurance, etc. It this day and time people are used to having to get some place on their own. Yes I keep my car well maintained. If you don't keep your car in good repair, you will not have cheap transportation. My last words is just be honest and be fair. Explain to people what you are selling them and why. I wish you the best of luck.
6. I believe the thing most on customers' minds these days is the honesty the last poster mentioned, but I think it's worth elaborating on. If I were opening a shop, I'd be looking for ways to prove my honesty, nut just preach it. Things like allowing customers to watch the repair work, to see bad parts which you recommend replacing, offering to fix a problem free if the customer was charged for fixing a problem which was not properly fixed... I've been to a place that I like near where I am, and was impressed overhearing a phone call the head mechanic made to a customer, which he admitted a mistake, which was replacing a part that was actually fine, and said he owed the customer the money for that part. In an honest business, all this should be second nature, and I think it speaks well for a business. I also think paying mechanics as fair a chunk of the labor rate as possible is excellent. Most business owners fall into a shrewd habit of trying to maximize profit, and who can blame them really? There is tons of competition for people's money in our cruddy economy, but a boss who treats his/her workers well is just plain decency, and also adds to the businesses' reputation. Those are the main qualities I look for if I need to take my car to the shop. I also believe that if you practice this sort of business, the reputation will speak for itself, and people will want to spread the word for you. A fair and honest business, particularly a car repair shop, is a rare find, and it will not go unappreciated. As for advertising in the yellow pages (and in general, I suppose), I'd recommend something eye-catching, but modest. You don't want it to look like just a telephone number, but you don't want to use huge fonts and use the tired obnoxious advertising. As for customer service, you probably have a feel for that if you had a shop before...but I think questions like whether the person wants cheap transportation, or maximizing the car life are ones you should address with each customer, particularly if it's an expensive repair. Personal attention, not just from a counter person, but the person working on the car, adds a genuine nature to the service.
7. honestly, as a retail repair business owner myself, i modeled it after what I look for in a shop, and believe me, Im hard on a shop. The most important thing to me is the professionalism. Having someone in front of you, who can look you steadily in your eye, and calmly converse with you in an intelligent, honest manner, to me is the biggest asset to a shop. There is nothing worse than having some know nothing demanding you pay the bill and end up creating some story before asking a technician (not mechanic) for help. thats the other thing. Mechanics are greasy guys in coveralls with names like Zeke and Skeeter who perform half ass work. A technician, and all who acknowledge auto repairmen as such, put a higher standard on themselves. Technicians are highly trained, and adequately qualified individuals who take the detail oriented care in their work as they do in their personal lives, which again, speaks volumes. Rework doesnt bother me, it happens unfortuneately, and delays in repair are inevitable. The right person upfront would know how to dodge the negativity bullet in those situations. This statement is an encompassing statement upon customer service, btw. good luck, and make sure this is what you want to do.. the business has changed A LOT in the last few years.