Kindness to Customers Matters

If you follow me on Instagram , Twitter or on my Crawler Chick Facebook page then you probably know by now that I have had some problems with my gecko Jeep. It's been out of commission for about 6 weeks. I scheduled an appointment at the local dealership, waited two weeks for the appointment to arrive and upon arrival and 80 bucks later (the diagnostic fee) was told they would not work on it because it was modified.

Being relatively new to WA I took to a local Facebook Jeep page to get some recommendations on where to take it. I got several recommendations for a couple of shops that the locals seem to love. In addition there was one shop in which a technician that works there specifically invited me to bring it in.  He was confident that if he could look at it he could fix it. Despite a huge community outpouring of love for two specific shops, my gut told me to pick the shop with the guy who extended an invite to bring it in. I knew that representatives of the recommended shops were members of this particular Facebook page and neither made similar invitations. So, I scheduled an appointment at Car Pros in Renton, WA.

 A couple of days after making my original inquiry and after scheduling my appointment with a shop that actually seemed to want my business, representatives of both of the recommended shops finally made an appearance on my post but they didn't offer help, they just made sarcastic comments and even made fun of me (subtly) as the dialogue progressed. I don't know why they treated me this way. They seem to have treated other people with similar requests much nicer. Maybe it's because I'm a girl?  I don't know.

The jerks, while interesting, are not really what I want to talk about though… I want to talk about the great customer service I got from Car Pros in Renton WA. As it turns out, my gut feelings were correct. My experience with Car Pros was stellar. Absolutely stellar! Here's how it went: When I called the service representative, he carefully listened to what the problems were and recited them back to me. I told him that I needed the Jeep in top repair for the Rebelle Rally. I also told him the other dealership refused to work on it. He made an appointment for me that was days away, not weeks.

Upon arrival at the shop I was greeted with enthusiasm by the service representative. He was happy to have my business... genuinely happy. The next day the service representative called me and he was excited. Words can't really describe how excited he was. He told me that they knew what was wrong with the Jeep (the list was long) and they knew that they could fix it and he was enthusiastic about that. He called me a few days later to tell me that most of the work was completed and the Jeep was running good again. We also discussed options for a particularly complicated repair. He was nice, thorough, thoughtful and answered all of my questions.

He was incredibly enthusiastic that they were going to be able to return the Jeep in excellent shape for the Rebelle Rally.

When the repairs on the Jeep were complete, I got a message from the technician that did the work. He told me the surgery was a success. He also wanted info on the Rebelle Rally so he could see the Jeep in action. He told me that I should be hearing from the service representative soon about costs and pickup.

When I arrived at the shop to pickup the Jeep the technician came to see me and did a complete walk-through, showing me all of the things he had done to the Jeep and talked about some other things he noticed that I might want to keep an eye on. The service representative, when he had a moment to break free from other customers, came over to chat with me as well. He didn't have to, I had already paid and was talking with the technician. They were both stoked that they were able to fix it.  It's rare that I go to a shop and feel welcome but even more rare to walk away with two new friends. How cool is that?!

I know that I could have probably gotten cheaper repairs elsewhere but the personal treatment and kindness that I received from these guys made the experience of spending LOTS of money completely worth it. Confidence, kindness and great work are all part of the customer experience and Car Pros in Renton, WA nailed it!

I'm not going to say who the jerks were. Instead, I plan on using my social media influence to spread the word about the amazing guys at Car Pros. In fact, just yesterday I was asked by a new Jeep owner where he should take his newly lifted Jeep for an alignment. Guess where I did not send him?

To my readers, always remember that you don't have to put up with arrogance or rudeness. Support businesses that care about you.

To the great guys at Car Pros. Thank you! The Jeep is doing great and I will send anyone who asks your way!