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Auto Repair Shop Waiting Rooms: 5 Tricks to Cut the Wait Time!

Posted by Heather Brautman | Wed, Nov 06, 2013 @ 02:48 PM

Auto Repair Waiting RoomThere are certain things people seem to be happy to wait for: the perfect table at Nobu, Cabbage Patch Dolls, anything Apple releases, the touring company of “Jersey Boys” to hit their local theater. While you can’t ever expect your customers are going to eagerly camp out in front of your auto repair shop’s doors just to get the hottest new oil change supplies, you can make the experience a little better for them by making it as short as possible.

Pay it forward: Everyone’s heard of pizza companies' “30 minutes or it’s free” promise, and now cable companies are getting into the “2-hour window or we’ll pay you $20” game. Make the same offer to your customers and see how much more quickly service gets done. Being under the gun can increase your techs’ speed, but make sure you help them buy in to the process (consider operating on both sides of the fence: pay customers when their service times run late, but give techs a bonus when they get work done under the time frame as well).

Master your schedule: This one takes a little bit of time, but the investment pays off. You may feel like an air traffic controller, trying to keep all your employees’ and customers’ preferences in line. Some workers don’t want to be scheduled for nights, weekends, or holidays, but guess what? That’s when customers may have the most time to bring in their cars. So you’ll need to check records of when you’ve had the highest wait times (Friday nights? Sunday afternoons?) and add inappropriate staff. Someone in your workforce will be glad to have the hours, and more people behind the counter and in the service bays means fewer minutes in the waiting room.

Auto Repair Shuttle ServiceCall it concierge: Shuttle service is pretty passé these days, almost every dealership and shop has them. You may be surprised what a slight name change does to customer impression. Offer a concierge driving service while customers wait, in areas of interest such as malls, local colleges, airports, restaurants, and tourist attractions. Of course, your drivers can always take customers home and back. Don’t forget to brand your shuttle with the shop’s logo and website.

Practice makes…: No one’s perfect. You can’t always know when a missing lug nut or specific wax brand is going to hold up your service time. But practicing the most commonly-performed services can turn your shop into a well-oiled machine. Counter personnel can practice too, ringing up large orders, searching for parts online, and role-playing customer service interactions. Consider it “practice makes prompt.”

Let ‘em roam: No, you won’t rack up roaming charges. You’re just letting the people who consider themselves stuck in your waiting room get out and about. Institute a pager program – like restaurants do – where a small device operates within a specified range (a few blocks, a mile) and buzzes when the customer’s car or parts are ready. It doesn’t necessarily make wait time shorter but allows people to take care of errands, get something to eat, and basically not stare at your counter person for hours on end. 

Sometimes, there’s just no way to cut down waiting time. So, you need to take a strong, hard look at your waiting room accommodations. Customers may spend the better part of a day in your waiting room – do you want them to go home cramped, bored, and annoyed, or refreshed after an enjoyable escape from the world? You can win the waiting room game, but you can’t win if you don’t play. Download our free e-book, “How to Win the Waiting (Room) Game” here, and get tips on the best refreshments, activities, and electronics that will make your waiting room truly worth the wait.

 

waiting room tips, auto aftermarket tips

Topics: Auto Repair

Written by Heather Brautman