Our interview with Patrick Hamilton-Regional Manager of Automotive Service
All of us here at AutoServe1 love hearing the impact our product has on our customers’ lives. That’s why we took the time to visit Blain’s Farm & Fleet to interview Patrick Hamilton. Patrick is a Regional Manager of Automotive Service at Blain’s . He’s also an industry veteran with over 11 years of experience in the industry. According to Patrick, the AutoServe1 impact on customers has been extremely positive. As a result of this, its really invigorated their service advisors.
Shop technicians are really enjoying it too. He is finding they are more engaged with doing a proper inspection because of the ease of use (of AutoServe1.) Regis a technician at the shop says “With a video it’s easier to explain exactly what’s going on. You can point to different parts, or if there are moving parts you can show them how they’re moving, what way they’re moving, why it’s bad. So I think video is more in-depth & explanatory for the customer.”
•”The service advisors really enjoy sending these (digital vehicle inspections right to the customer’s smartphone) and talking to customers now, and its made their jobs easier now.”
•”The pictures are clear and its made it very easy for someone with little to no knowledge of automotive service to make these recommendations and to educate themselves as well.”
•”It’s exciting to bring some of our shops into the 21st century (with this software).”
Patrick goes on to tell us that those customers that do return, actually help them advertise. Customers that do return love it (AutoServe1.) “They’re making recommendations to friends and family, saying look what I got with this inspection. You should go there!”
We asked “What does AutoServe1 do for the Farm & Fleet brand? Patrick let us know that Blain’s is always looking to be on the forefront of implementing the best tech in the shop. “This is something that we can tout our own horns about that the customers actually get to see.
This is something we can advertise and show them (as opposed to saying we have great new alignment equipment.) Sure having the latest greatest equipment that helps techs complete jobs faster is nice, but the customers don’t care as long as the job is done right.
Check out this interview with Patrick:
Increasing Average Repair Orders Through Trust, Transparency, and Education
When people suspect a problem with their vehicle, or when they hear a funny noise or maybe feel something strange in their car, they simply don’t like going into an auto service shop.
Why? For the most part, people aren’t educated on vehicle service, repair, and regular maintenance. Because of this, it makes them feel like they’ll be taken advantage of. Explaining fixes to customers can be frustrating, and can often lead to the deer in headlights look we’ve all seen too many times.
Digital vehicle inspections offer customers a clear understanding of what those strange noises are, and what the problems are with their vehicle.
Using digital vehicle inspections will show customers exactly what technicians see with informative photo and video reporting.
When the customers get to see exactly what technicians see they become a lot more responsive and open to approving work that would have otherwise gone ignored or refused (without digital vehicle inspection technology.)
Educating drivers on why repairs are needed is absolutely crucial in today’s age. When customers are informed, they are much more likely to approve service recommendations which in turn drives up a shop’s average repair order.
It’s not just the technicians loving the implementation of digital vehicle inspections either. Don’t just take our word for it either. We also interviewed some of their customers on how they feel about the software on the other side of the inspection. Jayne & Keith let us know how they feel about digital vehicle inspection software.
Jayne says “it gives us an insight into things we wouldn’t know before we just had to trust the mechanics on (service recommendations). It gives us an insight into things we wouldn’t know before we just had to trust the mechanics on (service recommendations).
Thanks to the AutoServe1, and Blain’s Farm & Fleet team, Keith told us how “It defiantly gave me an understanding on tire tread”. Check out the full interview with Jayne & Keith:
What Do Millenial Customers Think Of Digital Vehicle Inspections?
“I’m pretty happy to see that there’s something like this out there. You can tell what is actually happening, and they’re no questions about it.” -Monica, a millennial customer at Blain’s Farm & Fleet.
As more and more millennials and generation Z are becoming drivers its crucial shops know how to speak their language-technology. These younger generations are extremely tech-savvy and want a digital aspect to pretty much everything in their daily lives (…yes even auto service repair).
This demographic also needs your help in educating them on automotive service. Through education, trust and transparency shops like Blain’s Farm & Fleet are able to inform and get these younger drivers approving service with confidence.
Monica as an example isn’t very keen on the automotive service industry. She only goes when she feels its crucial or if family recommends it.
They often have to rely on their parents, uncles or older relatives to ensure they won’t get ripped off. This generation is the least equipped to do automotive tasks previous generations thought was easy. These tasks include simply changing a tire or fixing wiper blades.
When you give these people value, and really educate them through clear photos and videos in your inspection report explaining why service is necessary you might just help them avoid a nasty accident as well. We found that 60% of millennials haven’t tried to repair, modify or fix their cars in any way, EVER. This is dangerous to the vehicle’s operator and even other drivers on the road.
Check out the interview with Monica: