Mechanic’s Tale: A Sacred Trust

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More Mechanic's Tales from Doug Flint   

Most of the new customers who come to my shop come on referrals from existing customers. This is not bragging — I simply know this to be a fact since I have long ago given up on almost all other forms of advertising, other than the signs on the building. An independent repair shop probably only draws from an area no greater than five miles in any direction, so most forms of advertising hit target areas far too big, and are therefore not cost-effective. Direct mail can target an area more precisely, but the other name for it is junk mail, and it just doesn’t seem to attract the clientele I desire.

A sacred trust

A referral customer is a sacred trust. The referrer has in a sense already vouched for me, lending their credibility to me. The hurdle of establishing trust with the new customer has already been cleared, leaving me free to concentrate on diagnosing and repairing the car. The referred customer is protected by the relationship to the existing customer. If I don’t satisfy the referred customer I run the risk of not only losing him or her but also losing the established customer, who might be bringing me three or four cars a year. Such high stakes are likely to focus the mind on the problem at hand and temper any impulse to run wild with a new customer’s credit card. I also receive a level of protection from the referred customer.

Often the only way to be sure of a problem is to substitute a part to see if it corrects the problem. If it doesn’t, off it comes, and another 45 minutes is added to the tomb of the uncompensated time each shop keeps. I don’t mind doing this if I know at the end of the line I will get paid for the repair instead of hearing “now that I know what’s wrong I’ll have my brother-in-law change it.” I also trust that my established customer is not going to “sic a lulu on me,” which could be anything from a man who has sued his past five mechanics to a woman who, after six years in a women’s study program at an Ivy League school, hates all males.

But what does the referrer get out of the deal? I do not pay for referrals, as that would make the person making the referral little more than a shill. And if you are a good regular customer of mine you already get occasional freebies (light bulb changed, fuse replaced, even an occasional oil change). So other than the impulse to do good, which thankfully some people still possess, what could it be? Status. A referred customer, until they establish an existence of their own, counts toward the account of the referring customer, increasing their status and correspondingly the level of service they are accorded, such as bumping ahead of the line, road service, and other special favors.

Shop-to-shop referrals

I do not give referrals to other shops and am extremely leery of any referrals I receive from other shops. As far as referring people to other shops there is a huge system of graft that I don’t feel comfortable with (anywhere from $50 to $200) paid to the referring shop for a major repair. So if your local gas station refers you to a transmission shop, rest assured that somewhere hidden on your bill is that payoff and it may be well worth it, but I just don’t like it.

And the potential nightmares! A friend of mine referred a woman to his buddy’s shop for a repair to a manual transmission, something few shops are willing to tackle. She spent $800, which, as a single mother, was money she didn’t have. The repair went sour and the shop went out of business and my friend was faced with a tearful woman with no money, and a failed repair on his recommendation. He took responsibility, had the repair redone at his expense — another $600. Maybe he should have insisted on a kickback — at least it would have tempered his losses.

I was taken advantage of in a kickback scheme six years ago that only came to light last month. My brother’s Ford Taurus needed a transmission. At that time I simply did not have the time or the facility to do such a job. So I went to my good friend at the local family-owned transmission shop, willing to pay full price for a Jasper rebuilt transmission. How could I not trust someone I had known for ten years who reminded me of Barney Fife from Mayberry? It didn’t make sense to me at the time, but he insisted I take it to a friend’s shop tucked away in an industrial park. I did, the transmission was rebuilt, but it never was satisfactory in its shifting despite several repeat visits. My brother sucked it up the way all Taurus owners do, and thankfully (?!) totaled the car before the transmission could fail again (which it did, in a resurrected life).

Meanwhile the family-owned transmission shop (my friend was the number-one son) exploded in an embezzlement scandal, my friend being the number-one embezzler. Apparently he got so greedy at the end it was much easier to avoid the hassle of actually working on a car and fudging the paperwork and started to use his position of trust to refer people to his friend’s shop, for which he received a $500 kickback in cash per transmission, thus steering completely clear of his shop’s bookkeeper. (Sorry, Brother — I didn’t know!)

The danger also exists that no matter how good the relationship, the shop receiving the referral will intentionally or inadvertently trash-talk the referring shop, either to steal the customer or because people in this business have all the tact of a Sherman tank knocking down a hedgerow. As for getting a referral from another shop, business is so tough these days no one refers out good work they can do in-house.

To sum it up, a referral from an existing customer is likely to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. But a referral from another shop is likely to get you a sour customer who has already been milked dry, with a still-unresolved problem, who is likely to count all money spent with the other guy as money spent with you because, after all, we’re all in it together, right? No thanks, I have enough irate customers of my own to deal with. I don’t need anyone else’s.

Doug Flint owns and operates Tune-Up Technology, a garage in Alexandria,Va.