Doing the little things now to make your customers happy will solidify your relationship and keep them coming back to your shop time and time again. Doug Kaufman breaks down what customer satisfaction is and some key tricks to make their experience great. Sponsored by Manager SE from Mitchell1.

In many cases, it’s the little things that are simply taken for granted that can solidify your relationships with your customers. HOW you do things doesn’t have to be complicated –THAT you do things – there’s the trick.

Treat every customer like they’re special. Greet them by name when they walk through the door. How? Your shop management software probably allows you to look up vehicles by license plate number – once you’ve identified the car it’s a simple matter to have their entire service history at your fingertips.

Demonstrate your professionalism with multi-point inspections and make a positive first impression on your customers — you also get faster approval of additional work needed.

Be sure that your phone is connected to your shop’s WIFI network and use it during every vehicle inspection. You’ll never have to handwrite an estimate, repair order or note again — and you can also include notes and pictures to fully document any vehicle issues found during the inspection.

You can text or email pictures of necessary repair items to your customers to reinforce recommendations. Find a factory recall that they’re eligible for? Let them know that as well.

Once you do get the job, some successful shops tell us they’ll give free filter or oil changes as part of the service, depending on the job’s complexity. Even a simple vacuuming of the floor mats can go a long way to enhancing your relationship.

What can you do to build that lifelong relationship? Start with the little things. You’ll be surprised at how things grow.

Thanks for watching.