6.16.25 – Making a good first impression on customers is an important business practice. Thanks to Sheryl Driggers of Collision Advice, the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of New Jersey (AASP/NJ) membership gained new insight on elevating customer experience during “The First Call Matters,” a virtual webinar held last week.
“It only takes seven seconds for people to form their opinion, so we want to make sure everyone on our team sets out to make an extraordinary first impression when they call or enter the shop,” advised Driggers.
Building trust with customers starts the moment that employees make contact with them; therefore, interaction between a shop’s employees and customers goes hand in hand.
Driggers stressed that it is “very important for the customer service team to be able to diffuse negative emotions. No one wakes up and asks to get into a car accident so they can go to a body shop.
“Have you ever called a business and you felt like you were bothering them?” she asked. “You want to make sure you make a good impression to start building a relationship [with customers] so they take their car to be repaired at your shop.”
She suggested, “Always lead with empathy and be kind. Make sure to build on our competency. They are going to ask themselves if they can trust us with their vehicles, so we want to make sure we lead them in that direction. They called you to determine if you can fix their car.”
It all comes down to what customers want most: the shop knowing them before they know their car. Customers also want it to be “radically easy” to do business with the shop, according to Driggers.
She pointed to various tools available to body shops that allow customers to reach out to them even during non-business hours. For example, Google Business listings allow for up to 10 external links to be added, “so when you are closed, there is a way they can reach out to you. It does not mean that you have to respond right then, but you can set up something that automatically gives them a response.”
AASP/NJ Board Member Dennis Cataldo, Jr. (D&M Auto Body; Old Bridge, NJ) said Driggers’ insight inspired him to give new consideration to how he shares information with callers, especially if they have never been through the process before. “Sheryl got me to rethink how I answer the phone and deal with customers who call in with questions. We can’t assume that people know everything.”
Be sure to look for the July issue of New Jersey Automotive for a full recap of “The First Call Matters,” available at grecopublishing.com.
For more information about AASP/NJ, visit aaspnj.org.
