When a friend purchased a vehicle a few years back, it came with free oil changes for life. Excellent! What a deal! How nice of them! They must love their customers!
Wrong.
How wrong they were was apparent when they first used this “free” service. Long wait time. Average customer service. Free was in fact quite costly.
So they got the oil changed elsewhere, and paid for it, the next few rounds. That’s right, they emphatically turned their back on “free.”
Then, in a moment of insanity, they decided to give the dealership another shot. He was in the area; it seemed like a good idea. ”Perhaps they have improved!”
Wrong.
The wait was again long. The customer service was again average. But this time, there was a twist. After the oil change, my friend was informed that the brake fluid needed to be changed. For $160. And something else needed to be “serviced” for another $200. Wow, my friend thought. That is really expensive.
“I’ll pass for now” he responded.
He then called his mechanic. He told them what the dealership recommended. The mechanic told him to bring the car in for a check-up, but they seriously doubted the need for this $360 of maintenance. And his mechanic was right. There was no need. No issue. No problem. And their was no cost to perform this brief check-up.
The lesson was crystal clear. This dealership actively pursues the following business strategy: kiss our customers ass at purchase with free oil changes. Perhaps even lay out a few banners on our dealership walls to advertise this. Then, when they come in, sell them service they don’t need. Hope they bite. Not only do we make up for our free oil changes, but we make a mint as well.
This was an intentional effort on their part to increase revenue.
So what do we take away from this?
Pretty simple: Build Trinity Renovation in such a way that we never become a company like this.
- Offer value.
- Treat our customers how we would want to be treated.
- Don’t use our industry knowledge to perform financial rape.
Too many companies spend too much time trying to deceive into profitability. Is it really worth it? Because I’m guessing my friend will never purchase from this dealership again. How many other customers have they lost with this tactic.
I can only wonder.
