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Difficult Cients?
Posted to Shop Management Forum on 6/29/2020 27 Replies

Clients can be difficult and sometimes seem impossible. Getting along with them is not easy but I feel can definitely benefit my shop. I have found people tend to do things for their own reasons. If I show how my approach is in their benefit my odds of helping them are far greater.

What I may see as stupid behavior is often someone who places value in places other than I do. If I wish to convince them otherwise my chances are greater if I show how changing their approach will benefit them.

For instance, some people may first resist paying my price to repair a vehicle. They ask for a cheaper approach, say the guy down the street is cheaper, can they leave it as it is, supply their own parts or do I think they can do it themselves? These are all normal questions, do not mean the client is bad and if I can address them from the client's perspective, I have a good chance of winning the job.

This is no different from me shopping for a sport coat. The price ranges from $89.00 to $5,000.00 or more. Not knowing I may pick the cheapest and that may be fine for my situation. The difference explained, in terms of my benefit, may make spending more logical to me.

Client questions are not insults pointed at me. Rather they indicate a lack of knowledge in a field where I know much more than the average person. I can get angry or I can explain why it may be in their best interest to see it my way. I find one frustrating the other profitable.

Louis Altazan
AGCO Automotive
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

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