It’s October 28th, and I’ve got to say we’re banging on all cylinders. I can clearly say we made the right decision so far! We’ve had a bit of cool rainy weather as well which has been a factor of a slower business in our past. We have 2 techs busy out in the field and one tech staying covered up with repairs and answering the phone at the new retail shop. I’m even staying busy fixing dents here and there.
I feel the most progressive aspect of this transition has been the marketing. For the last year, we’ve been getting customers names and emails and following up with how they heard about us and how they would rank their service. Then, they receive a coupon and are added to our monthly newsletter. We have always received positive reviews from nearly all of our customers. Now, we are taking this information and finding ways to be even stronger for our customers. Before, when the other shop was kind of dingy and old, they were reluctant to give up their email addresses and even fill out their cards. With the new shop comes a heightened expectation of our service and customer retention. We are able to generate the sense of professionalism that makes customers feel trustworthy in our service.
We’ve also been getting quite a few more price shoppers, which have had estimates from other companies. They were so impressed with the facility that they felt more comfortable leaving their dents to us. I’m amazed, pretty much daily, what other companies are passing on, and it makes me proud at the skill level our technicians.
I’m still nervous about winter. Historically, we may as well lock the doors and only take care of our body shops. The weather typically keeps people indoors until the spring. However, we’re going full steam right now. We’ll see what the future holds.