How to Turn Challenges into Great Customer Relations Opportunities

If you've followed me for any length of time, then you'll know I love this classic Camaro. I was very fortunate to find her in 2014, with a mere 98,000 miles on her, in near-mint condition, and I barely blinked at forking over $7,000 to call her mine. In the years since, I've put a lot of money into this car, doing everything I can to keep her in like-new shape, inside and out.

So it should come as no surprise that over the years, I've dealt with quite a few service providers, from dealerships, to private garages, to body shops, to franchise service shops, and so on.

As you might expect, experiences along the way have been mixed, ranging from superb to decidedly less than stellar. It's given me, if such was needed, a deeper appreciation for those that offer a good customer experience. (To be clear, the work was always accomplished and the problems were always solved, but the difference was in how I was treated as a customer.)

Most recently, I decided to get her re-painted, and I want to share what that experience was like, because it demonstrates how a good business owner can turn a challenging circumstance into a great customer-relations experience, and earn repeat business in the process. (To avoid the appearance of this being a personal endorsement or an ad, I'll refrain from providing the business name. Contact me privately if you'd like a referral.)

It all started back in early February, when I actually dropped her off with the body shop. They were very upfront that it would take a couple of weeks to do the work since they also did work on insurance cars and they were expecting an influx; I said that would be no problem. It was both very cold and very windy that day, so when we looked her over to identify trouble spots we had to hurry. In the process, we missed a dent in the hood and it wasn't factored into the estimate I got. When they took her in to start work, they noticed the dent and called me immediately to ask what I wanted to do--I could've chosen to just ignore it and paint over it, or I could have them fix it. I asked how much more it would be, and when they told me I asked them to go ahead and fix it.

So they got started, and over the next couple of weeks they were very patient with me when I would call to ask for updates. They knew that this car was my pride and joy, and they very reasonably asked me for patience so they could do the job right.

When the work was nearly done, the shop owner sent me a video showing me the details, including closeups of several of the problem areas that he'd fixed. When I answered that I couldn't wait to see it in person, he let me know when he expected to have her ready for pickup. When I came by to get her, despite being busy with a number of other cars, the shop owner took a minute to come talk to me and thank me for my business as well as my patience. It was obvious he took pride in his work, and rightly so--even though it was overcast, the car was shinier than I'd ever seen her.

That's when I got two surprises: first, that in addition to the paint job, he'd also detailed the front part of the interior for me, and second, that he wanted me to bring her back after 30 days so that he could wax her and detail her at no cost to me.

So that alone made a pretty significant impression. Naturally, I said yes, and at the end of March I took her back, and the shop owner was as good as his word. At his request, I'd prepared a list of trouble spots that I wanted him to take a look at in addition to waxing, and he said even the ones that weren't their responsibility would be no problem.

Because of complications from the coronavirus pandemic, it was another couple of weeks before he was able to get the work done, but as before, the shop was very responsive and patient with me when I'd call to check in. There were several times that they thought they'd have the work done on a given day and called me to give me a headsup, only for there to be no followup call. So I'd call just to check in, and if they missed the call they'd always call back. (The short answer--real life was happening and it wasn't their fault.)

So I just kept saying it was no problem, to just keep me in the loop about what was up, and that I knew they had a lot else to deal with on top of just me. At the end of the week, the shop owner called me back and asked me if I'd be available to come pick her up the following morning, that he knew I'd want her back for the weekend and that he was going to stay late and come in early to finish the job. I asked if I could come by around 9-9:30 the next morning, and he said that would be great.

So the next morning, I went over to pick up the car, and I got a couple of fresh surprises. Of course she looked like she was fresh off the showroom floor, having been freshly waxed and power-washed, but when I offered the shop owner a gratuity for his work (remember, all this was at no cost to me), he surprised me by flipping the script. Not only was I getting a $100 rebate for my patience, but he said that because of the type of customer I'd shown myself to be, he was also upgrading the normal four-year warranty to a lifetime warranty. Anything I needed done, for as long as I owned the car, he'd gladly take care of.

In my mind, nothing I did was terribly extraordinary. He was upfront with me and let me know what the challenges were that he was facing; I responded with patience and understanding and assured him that it was no problem, a deliberate attempt not to add stress where it wasn't necessary.

When he filled me in on what was going on, it would've been very easy for me to just shrug and go "those issues aren't my problem," but that's never been the type of person I am. In this type of situation I prefer to consider what I would want if I were in his shoes, facing circumstances well beyond my control, while still trying to deliver quality results. And then, that's what I tried to offer.

Did the work take longer than anticipated? Yes. Were things a little confused the last week she was at the shop? Yes. Could things have gone smoother? Undoubtedly.

This is what makes the difference. At every step of the way, we communicated and respected each other; I listened and stayed patient, asked questions instead of making demands, and even when he didn't have to, the shop owner bent over backwards (very generously, much more so than he had to in my opinion) to make sure I walked away happy. As a result, even though there were some issues, it was nothing that couldn't be overcome, and I walked away a very satisfied customer, willing to be a de facto brand ambassador for the shop.

I know that not every customer is going to respond the way I did (which is a shame). I know some people are going to be hard to work with no matter what you do. There are always going to be unforeseen issues, but what makes all the difference is how you handle them. This shop owner turned challenges into opportunities, and to me, that's just as impressive as his amazing paint job.

Do you have a customer success story? Share it in the comments below!