Let’s talk about something real. A customer leaves your shop, notices an oil spot at home, and instead of calling you first, they take the vehicle to another shop and pay for an inspection. Then they come back expecting you to: refund the inspection bill repair the issue for free and take full responsibility without ever being given the first chance to look at it That’s not how a fair process works. If a shop did the original work, they should be the first call when there’s a concern. Any reputable business should want the opportunity to inspect the vehicle and make things right if the issue is related to their repair. But once a customer chooses to involve another shop and approve charges without giving the original shop that opportunity, it changes the situation. Standing behind your work is good business. Expecting blind responsibility without first allowing inspection is not. What do you think — should the original shop still be responsible for everything?

For all the Service advisors out there. One of my new members shared something that every service advisor in a dealership faces every single day — rising costs. Parts are up. Oil is up. Labor rates are up. And customers feel it every time they pick up their vehicle. Here is the truth nobody tells you about how to handle this. You cannot control the cost. But you can control the value. When a customer pushes back on a bill — and they will — your job is not to apologize for the price. Your job is to reinforce the value of what they received. The expertise of the technician who worked on their vehicle. The quality of the parts that went into it. The warranty that backs the repair. The peace of mind that comes with knowing it was done right. A customer who understands what they paid for is a completely different customer than one who just sees a number. Your job is to make sure they always understand what they paid for — before the work begins, not after. That conversation starts at the write up. Set the expectation. Own the value. Never apologize for doing the job right.

What is the biggest thing holding service advisors back in the automotive industry right now?