A mechanic makes me a believer

Dear The Toyota – Scion Specialist,

Thank you for changing the tail light on my Prius the other day. It was the most unexpectedly delightful automotive service encounters I have ever had.

It wasn’t that I made the appointment last minute (only a couple hours earlier), or that upon arrival you dropped everything to change my tail light in what seemed like seconds, or that when done you handed me the broken tail light (which added an unexpected level of oversight and accountability), or that you didn’t charge me for it. It was that after all of that, you gave me a tour of your absolutely immaculate facilities, where you not only worked on cars but built them from scratch.

I left your garage with the deep impression that you and your fellow technicians love working on cars. I believe you do what you do because you’re passionate about it. This isn’t a job for you.

I have never had a technician leave that indelible of a good impression. Sure there have been others. Shum’s Auto Clinic (a.k.a. Plymouth Auto) comes to mind. I always felt that they were honest guys who wouldn’t rip me off. I never, however, got the impression that they loved what they did.

So why does loving what you do matter? Because I believe that passion makes you do things better. Maybe you’re not the world’s best mechanics, but after our encounter, I’d sure bet money that you might be up there. And that’s who I want working on my car. I'm a customer, and we pick up on passion.

When running a business, it’s so easy to be concerned with process and profit that you miss the relationship-building and word-of-mouth opportunities, which are fleeting and much harder to come by. By taking 5 minutes to prioritize my car (and thus me) as a favor rather than a work order, you earned something far greater in return.

This seems like a winning strategy, but one without a formula. It demands the ability to recognize the moment, or perhaps follow your heart, which can’t be taught yet delivers the exemplars of great customer experience.

I encourage all Toyota and Scion owners to consider the factory trained and certified experts at The Toyota – Scion Specialist, located on 61 Willow Street, Redwood City, California, where it’s always sunny.

-joanie