Has anyone ever told you how nice you are as a business owner? Odds are, it’s not a regular occurrence. And that’s a good thing.
Business is about performance and reaching goals and expectations by balancing the needs of others with your own needs. But being nice in business can be a negative because of the baggage that being nice brings.
Business isn’t nice. It’s fair.
In business, someone does something and in return, receives compensation. In your situation, fixing cars and replacing tires is exchanged for money. This is a fair transaction.
Have you ever encountered a customer who was “too nice” when reacting to a repair estimate?
When someone is given bad news, it’s normal to have an unpleasant reaction. It’s not normal to receive that news unaffected. This typically means the receiving person either doesn’t understand what was just said or they are hiding their reaction.
If a customer asks for an engine diagnostic because of a light and when the news of what is causing the light is delivered, normal reactions may include relief if the issue is just a gas cap or fear of the high cost and time it will take to fix whatever problem is detected.
Concern or interest in understanding the issue more deeply is also normal. But a non-reaction or a “nice” reaction is usually a cover-up.
At its fundamental level, retailing is human beings discussing problems and solutions. A customer presents a problem and the retailer presents potential solutions with a price tag attached — this for that. Fake “niceness” shouldn’t be part of the equation.
Now let’s talk about being kind. Kindness is a characteristic. It’s a baseline for many people. Kind people are everywhere in retailing.
In order to get customers to part with hundreds — maybe thousands — of dollars willingly, we could argue that kindness goes a long way in helping customers swallow the diagnosis.
Kindness is also truthful. It demands a level of tact or situational awareness. In the tire and automotive space, telling the facts in a way that does not offend a customer coming to you with a need that is not understood — think grinding brakes versus squealing brakes — should always be the goal.
If a customer tells your service advisor that his vehicle’s brakes have been “grinding for a while” and the advisor smiles widely knowing the job will cost $1,000, the customer can sense the hostility behind that smile. It’s very-one sided.
The customer can also experience the uneasiness of “niceness” when discussing a potential vehicle problem. It’s dismissive for a service advisor to say, “Oh don’t worry about. It’s probably nothing.” And if “don’t worry about it” is soon followed up with “I have bad news about your car,” the conversation is unlikely to have a pleasant outcome.
Niceness used to mask the seriousness of the situation also will often be used by the customer as a weapon of anger.
So don’t be nice and be wary of customers who use niceness as a mask. Niceness is a tactic to avoid uncomfortable situations.
However, you should always be kind. You have a job to do. Politely inform the customer of the situation and potential solutions.
“What could that noise be?” asks the customer. Well, if the question is posed before a vehicle inspection, the only kind answer is “I don’t know yet.”
Further kindness, in the goal of an exchange at the end, would include “But here’s what I can tell you now. It sounds like the problem with your car could be brake-related. So the first thing we will do is test drive the vehicle in the parking lot or if safe, go on a local street, making right hand turns. Then we’ll get the car in the shop and document the condition of the brakes and anything else that routinely makes that noise. Then I’ll estimate a fix and I’ll call you or text you by 11 a.m. It’s your car and no charges to you will be incurred without your approval.”
That’s being kind and fair, which will more than likely result in a loyal customer who will do business with you again.
