Are you Right?

Yesterday, someone mentioned to me that saying "The Customer Is Always Right" wasn't meant to be a hard and fast rule in the world of business.

That made me think for a bit and my musings have led me to this conclusion. In some circumstances, Yes! the customer is always right and in other situations, not so much.

The customer is ALWAYS right by staying in control of his money and the repair work necessary for his vehicle.

But, and I am afraid it is a big But, the customer is not always right about what he thinks is wrong with his vehicle. Why not let us take a look at the car and if you are correct, then great! However, what if you are wrong, what if the problem was much simpler than you thought, or heaven forbid was really a safety issue that needed to be addressed?

Until tomorrow.

If you are sure you are right, then feel free to roll the dice sitting on our front counter!

Out and About

At a recent convention we attended we were told that as a business we need to become more community oriented.

Now we always have been involved on a more individual basis. But that doesn't get us, the face of our business, out and about in the community.

Granted this is a little harder for us to accomplish than then normal person since Verl also works 30 hours a week at the Lethbridge Casino!

But with the new year and a new approach to our business, expect to see us out more frequently. We did attend the Taber Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner a week ago and will be attending the Valentine's Dance for the Terry Fox Foundation as well.

Don't be surprised to see one or both of us stepping up to the plate and joining various organizations around town. After all, it has been said time and time again, the more you put into your community, the more you will receive. We are going to give it our best shot!

Until Tomorrow.

So today is listed as Fun at Work Day.

We have attended quite a few workshops put on by Mike Kerr, an Albertan, who has made Fun at Work his life's calling.

We had Mike speak at our NAPA Autopro Summit last April in Red Deer. I don't know a shop who didn't leave the afternoon's session without a spring in their step, a smile on their face and a determination to make their shops a more engaging work place.

By having fun, we don't mean that you need to swing from the hoists or dance around the shop with the oil drums. What we mean is smiling at the client, finding the silly in tense situations, good natured bantering between employees. Never should anything be off-colour, or humour at the expense of others.

Having a fun workplace helps to foster a more creative atmosphere so that is is easier for us find solutions to those tough diagnostic prolems on your vehicles in the shop.

I encourage everyone to visit Mike Kerr's website, pick up some of his material and try to put a little fun into your day.

http://www.mikekerr.com/


Until tomorrow.

http://www.mikekerr.com/

Reach for the Stars

I talked to a friend of mine yesterday whose dream to represent Canada as one of the 3 women on the Skeleton team recently came to an end. Her dream ended only by a few 1000ths of a second.

The end of the dream is still a very raw wound for her.

But I think that those of us who know her and have encouraged her and cheered her on since she first mentioned she wanted to slide head first down the mountain still feel a great sense of pride in being able to call her our friend.

It takes courage, determination, self sacrifice, and dedication to even reach the lofty heights she has.

I will always remember the day she said she was leaving her full-time position to try to obtain her goal. It takes tremendous courage and faith in oneself to jump off that cliff to begin with.

In the end I believe it is always better to have reached for the stars and fallen short than never to have tried in the first place.

No matter what my friend - you are a hero for taking the leap.

Until tomorrow.

Literacy Day

Long past are the days when if you were not any good at school and reading and writing, you could just open a repair shop and tinker with cars!

Today's auto repair shop must have highly skilled technicians who have to apprentice and attend school for at least 4 years. In fact, training in the automotive field is ongoing. We have instant training at our finger tips and encourage our technicians to utilize this whenever they can. We also attend workshops provided by various suppliers regarding specialized tools and their capabilities.

Literacy is highly important because without this basic skill you will not be able to progress in the automotive field today.

That is why we are very much in support of the initiative put on by Taber Adult Learning. So come on in and sing for us!

We are also looking into the RAP program, sponsored by the school system and the apprenticeship board as a way to encourage the next generation of future technicians. So stay in school, get that diploma, and then enter our exciting and everchanging trade!

Until Tomorrow

One Shop Doesn’t Speak for the Rest

I recently viewed a TV program on late at night that was put on by another shop affiliated with NAPA Autopro.

There are close to 600 NAPA Autopro’s across Canada and you will find variances from one shop to another.

On a professional level I was a little dismayed at the appearance of their facility. While much of what the shop owner had to say was sound advice, I was uncomfortable with the shop’s appearance and the working conditions of the employees. I found that distracted me from what he had to say.

Here at Verl’s we want both you and your car to be comfortable in your surroundings. Yes, I know this is a shop, but that doesn’t mean you should be scared to touch something or even sit down!

Pride in appearance does and should equal pride in your work.


Until Tomorrow.

Buyer Beware!

Recently we had a customer stop in for a repair. When we inspected the vehicle (one we hadn't seen in almost 2 years) the problem became very apparent.

When we perform an oil change here we also complete a thorough inspection and grease the necessary items while it is on the hoist. This client had been taking the vehicle to a quick lube place for oil changes and they had not greased the ball joints. This resulted in repairs to his truck of over $1500.00!!! While he may have saved a few dollars and a few minutes of his time, total repairs on his truck were much higher than they should have been.

So please remember these points when thinking about doing it yourself or visiting a place that specializes in quick service. Are you truly saving money? Is it worth not taking that extra time to have a professional with years of experience give your vehicle the once over?

Just remember, sometimes that old adage is true - you get what you pay for!

Until Tomorrow.

Sunday, Again.

Well, it’s Sunday again. I have spent the entire day at the shop preparing my GST Remittance. The joys of owning your own business! Why, do you ask do I do this on a weekend? Well, the reason is very simple and has 2 parts. 1 – there is no one here so I am able to concentrate fully on what I am doing. 2 – and this is the more important reason – I don’t want to have any thing distracting me from giving 100 percent to you when you call or stop in!

See you Monday.

Customer Service Beats All!

Last night we attended the annual Taber Chamber of Commerce dinner. It was a nice night out, good food, good friends and great networking.

The award that impressed us the most was the Outstanding Customer Service Award. To us this is the highest award that a business can achieve. It was nice to hear humility in the speech of the winner as well. Being humble is often a trait business tend to overlook (but we'll discuss that more in future musings!)

Outstanding Customer Service struck a cord with us since we held in our hands the National JD Power Award for Outstanding Customer Service earlier this week. While we can now say NAPA Autopro holds this high honor on a national level we truly believe that our next step needs to be more personal. On that note we will try to reach this goal now on our community level where the true value for our business lies.

Until tomorrow.

TGIF!

Maybe because it's Friday, maybe not, but I am feeling quite disorganized this morning. All the lofty goals I had made for myself of what I would like to accomplish today are starting to fall by the side of the road. However, procrastination sooner or later will cause some issues for us here, so I will try to get as much done as possible.

You probably feel the same way from time to time. That is why we make the followup calls and reminder calls to you. We don't want issues to arise in your daily life because we were not diligent in reminding you of your upcoming service. Or calling to see how your service went,just in case there was some issue you meant to call us about, but the day somehow slipped away from you!.

At least I can say the blog for the day was completed!

Until tomorrow.

We are the BEST!

Yesterday the JD Power Award for Customer Satisfaction put in an appearance at our quarterly meeting. NAPA Autopro was the lucky recepient of the award for 2009 and we will be able to claim the top dog spot until August 2010.

That means that NAPA Autopro's Canada wide as a whole scored better than the dealerships, tire stores, muffler shops, Canadian Tires and all other independent shops for Customer Satisfaction!

This is the second time we have been the lucky winner of the award.

We know the bar is now set very high, but will definately strive to achieve the top position for 2010. Please help to cheer us on!

Here are some pictures of the group and us actually holding the award.

The Actual JD Power Award!

Michelle and Verl

Bruce Cowling - NAPA; John Dixon - Dixon's Service, Cranbrook, BC; Terry Mehlhaff - Vauxhall Auto Care, Vauxhall, AB; Conrad Vanbostelen - Graham's Garage, Coaldale, AB; Cory Schiller - Sundre Motors, Sundre, AB; Dave Baxter - CerTech, Calgary, AB; Alva Rioux - Heritage Autopro, Calgary, AB; Rob Kirkham - Kirkham's Automotive, Calgary, AB; Jeff Roberts - Wrenchmasters - Red Deer, AB; Jules Zimmer - Heritage Autopro, Calgary AB; Rob Sinclair - Gateway Automotive, Calgary, AB; Michelle White - Verl's Autopro, Barnwell, AB; Verl White - Verl's Autopro, Barnwell, AB; Hagit Kage - Magnum Autopro, Calgary, AB; Erol Yersel - Erol's Automotive, Cochrane, AB

Until tomorrow.

Be the Best You can Be

I wrote this yesterday, but once again, was unable to post it as we were in Calgary to attend a day long meeting!

We are spending the day in Calgary with our NAPA Autopro peers. We get together on a face-to-face basis about 4 times a year. The purpose of these meetings is to create on a common focus on the best way to reach our customers and the best way to make our shops the best they can be.

There were 10 shops present and the prestigious JD Power Award which we won for 2009 made an appearance as well.

We all got our picture taken with the award as a group and on an individual basis! I will post the pictures tomorrow.

Until then.

The Souper Experience

It is a very busy week for us. Both Verl and Michelle have to attend a day long meeting in Calgary on Wednesday and a business supper on Friday, so we decided to take a night for ourselves and go to a dinner and a movie.

Of course, we had to see Avatar, which was really cool. After the movie we went to a restaurant that we had visited numerous times in the past. Funny how little things can put a damper on your experience. We both ordered different kinds of soup and both were only moderately warm at best. The restaurant was a higher end restaurant, but because of the soup experience they will have to work pretty hard to get us to return.

At the shop we try very hard to give the customer a WOW experience, but we know that sometimes we fail. We are trying our best to decrease the number of goofs we make, and if there is something that we need to improve, we truly hope that you will let us know.

Yesterday, we did an oil change on a person's car. We gave them the entire experience, from the oil change service, car care gift, a list of issues they need to watch in the future and a car wash.

The customer paid their bill and left, but returned moments later and said," You gave it a bath!" To us, that is soup served hot!

Until tomorrow.

With the Olympic Torch still fresh in my mind and a former co-worker about to carry it in Granum, it seems a good time to think about what the Olympic dream means to us.

The Olympic Dream is about striving to be the best, the very best that you can be. To reach this lofty goal you need to work hard, train hard, and evaluate yourself every step of the way.

Did you follow all systems and procedures? Was the customer's needs met? Did you greet them with a smile and fully listen to what they were saying? Did you read their body language correctly? Was their vehicle cleaned? Did you leave a car care gift? Mastering everything means you must work as hard as an Olympic hopeful.

Our gold medal? A happy customer who returns to us.

Until Tomorrow.


2010 Olympic Gold Medal

The Torch Run

I travelled to my hometown this morning to see the Olympic Torch. I know I could have seen it in Taber, but to me it was more special to watch pass by in Bow Island with my parents. The last time the Torch came through in 1988 I couldn't participate.

In Bow Island you were able to be so very close, no crowds or blocked streets. It is quite something to think that there are still parts of the world where there is still that home town feel.

Our little village of Barnwell also qualifies for the home town feel, not much happens in our quiet, sleepy little village, not even the Torch!

Enjoy my pictures of the morning.

Until tomorrow.


Waiting for the Torch



The Torch and Torch Bearer

Yes, we also work for hugs!

The other day a client came into the shop. We sold her a good set of winter tires in early November. One of her brand new tires was flat. Somehow a leak developed around the air valve, with the snow and slush creating deep ruts on the roads it was easy to see how it could have happened. We repaired the leak and gave her keys back to her. When we told her there would be no cost for this she threw her arms around Verl and gave him a big squeeze! And, she is also going to bake oatmeal raisin cookies for him, which are his favorite!

So, yes, sometimes we work for hugs. Tire repair free, hug Priceless!

Until tomorrow.

Ready for the Torch Run

Here is Sadie - looking all pretty and ready for the Olympic Torch Run on Sunday. Pretty Spiffy!
Remember, everyone needs to wear their red and white on Sunday
Go, Canada, Go!

Dress Up Your Pet Day

I don't know who comes up with these calendar days, but they are fun!

Our pets are right up there in the top 5 of all expenses we have in life and for us our little dog is a joy! Lizard, cat, dog, turtle, or pet rock - we do whatever is required of us to keep them healthy, fit and happy.

Now, we should apply the same principles to our vehicles. If the car is healthy, fit and happy then we will have no problems getting to the store for the new toy, the vet for the checkup, or in our case to the groomer!

Send in your pictures of your dressed up pet and we will be glad to post it on our blog for you! Wonder if I can catch mine long enough to dress him up??????


Patches, age 6, Lhasa Apso

Something's Fishy!

Be There – Be totally involved in what you, the customer is relating to us.
Play – Have fun, show enthusiasm, and allow our inner child to shine through.
Make Their Day – Find simple ways to serve or delight you, not for our own personal gain, but to contribute to your life. (no, we won’t be throwing fish at you!)
Choose Your Attitude – Take responsibility for our own attitude, it us up to US to make our day (and yours!) a great one.

This simple but powerful philosophy developed by Pikes Fish Market in Seattle has made them World Famous. We want to apply their principles to our own shop and give you the best customer service we possibly can.

Giving it our best shot!

Until tomorrow.


Verl, Tyler and Spencer Puerto Vallarta 2009, not Seattle, but still fishy!

Many Hats

Cleaning the bathrooms and mopping floors today at the shop, I was reminded that as a small business owner we wear many hats.

So far today, I have been a marketer, service advisor, janitor, parking lot attendant, and manager and it is only 9 am! People sometimes forget that owning a small business doesn’t automatically mean you can take off any time you wish. In fact, the opposite is very true. With 3 ½ employees, mostly family (not counting the dog) every part of your day is somehow focused on how do we improve, what can we tweak? Everywhere we go we are learning from our surroundings and deciding if we should incorporate that idea into our own business.

So, yes, we wear many hats and work long hours, but we are ok with that!

Until tomorrow.



At Least Mother Nature is cleaning the parking lot for us today!

Today is Clean off Your Desk Day

Here at the shop that means taking a good look at our front counter and service advisor desk.

Is there anything inadvertently left lying around that shouldn’t be? Any personal customer information that needs to be stowed away in its proper place and not be visible to anyone else? Anything with a customer’s name, address, phone number or payment information should not be visible to Joe Public. After all, we don’t want Joe Public to be able to go up to Mary Client at the local coffee shop and mention seeing how much Mary's repairs were because an invoice was left in plain sight.

As always, your safety and privacy is very important to us.

Until tomorrow.

A Day of Rest.....

Sunday.

The tools lay quiet, the bays wait, the lights are off and the computers are asleep.

For those of us lucky enough to call the shop our second home, conversations have already taken place today planning our Monday. As Sunday begins its descent into history the minds will begin to race, the tools begin to stir and the doors prepare to open.

Until then.

What's in a Name?

Yesterday, we had a gentleman enter the shop and his very first words to me were, "Remember Me?” I must confess that I didn't remember him at first glance. As soon as he mentioned his name I remembered the little red-headed boy from band class! Funny how a name can conjure up memories long thought forgotten......

We feel that way about our business as well. You don't usually see any of us not wearing something that states either Verl's Autopro or NAPA Autopro. Just like the high school basketball team we saw at lunch today who was proudly wearing their school name and colors on their clothing, we do the same.

Being affiliated with a larger group gives a sense of belonging and lets us to hold our heads up high. Because of this sense of belonging we feel that we have a responsibility to always try to act in a friendly and calm manner, no matter where we are or in what situation we find ourselves. After all, you never know when someone you had long since forgotten is going to come up to you and say, "Remember Me?”

Until Tomorrow.

A New Dawn, A New Day

Well, looking at the morning sky from the shop this morning, it dawned on me (yes, that is a pun!) that 1 week has passed into the new year and we have already slacked off on our resolution to be totally on top of everything regarding customer service. We should have had the work orders ready for the customer, their reminder stickers ready and the invoice already completed so they could get on with their day and not wait around for us. So this morning we arrived early and had everything ready for the day and the customer can only benefit! Hopefully we will be able to continue this and our reminder to keep up the good work will be just to look at the morning sky.

Enjoy our pictures from the shop door this morning.

Until tomorrow.

Doctor Client Privilege and You and Your Car

Our son recently took his brand new car back in to the dealership for a warranty claim. He noticed that some items in his car had been moved or removed. Here at Verl's we have a stern policy (in fact our employees have to sign a confidentiality agreement) that whatever we see in a vehicle that is of a personal nature to the customer is not to ever be remarked upon, ever. We truly believe that your vehicle is a large part of your personal life and as such needs to remain personal. So rest easy, you are safe in our hands.

Be Appreciative

Yesterday we left Wendover to begin our journey home. Max Air and the Peppermill Resorts in Wendover bend over backward to make your trip as stress free as can be. However, sometimes Mother Nature has other ideas. For the first time ever, the guests leaving the resort had to be bused into Salt Lake City to fly home because it was unsafe due to weather conditions to land in Wendover. The employees at the Peppermill even tried to have our luggage screened in Wendover and travel to Salt Lake City in a locked van, however, TSA wouldn't agree.

The Peppermill Resorts did everything in their power to make our trip the painless and stress free travel that we had enjoyed on 3 other separate occasions.

What we noticed is although the resort tried their best, there was still a lot of grumbling from the passengers.

In business, when a company has gone above and beyond to help you out during a unique experience it behooves us, the customer, to understand that some things are out of our control and just go with the flow.

Thanks to the staff at the Peppermill and at wendoverfun.com - your staff was amazing.


Roads into Kalispell on our way down to catch the plane.


Arriving at Salt Lake Airport, much bigger than Wendover Airport!

Roads home outside Kalispell on the way home.

Roads didn't get better!

Close to Browning Montana - UGG!

A Stress Free Experience

I must admit that the Wendover experience is as stress free as can be. From the moment of arriving at the airport, to the hotel check-in, everything is done for you. All your needs and wants are anticipated and taken care of. (And Michelle won $25.00 on the flight down!) One prime example is never having to touch your luggage again after the airport check in and the WOW comes from arriving at the hotel where all you have to do is give them your name and your room keys are handed to you and you luggage magically appears in your room!

We need to take this lesson back to the shop and try to incorporate as much as possible of the WOW into your experience as well, and we will start that as soon as we get back to work tomorrow!

Hoping for better roads home!

Until then.

Customer Service

First off, have to apologize - with only 2 machines in the hotel with internet access, it is a little harder to do this than we thought.

Customer service is very important and the WOWing (new word!) of the customer is very important. One flight attendant on the way here did this to the max. He was cheerful and made the flight (and I hate to fly!) enjoyable. From the standard airline regulations all the way to the end of the flight he was able to find humor in every situation while at the same time controlling situations that could have become ugly. With humor he was able to disarm a man using a cell phone who heard the same message as the rest of us - cell phone usage was not permitted on the plane.

Maybe this guy was trained by Westjet? - anyway - I enjoyed the flight!

Until tomorrow.

Welcome to Wendover

Well, after a long day we finally made it to Wendover, Nevada. Our favorite little vacation town. We also developed a new found respect for the TSA. Michelle wore a pair of pants with many brass buttons and with the increased security from a week ago, she was singled out for a very thorough inspection! Verl laughed at her while the TSA determined that it was her clothing that was to blame and that she was indeed NOT a terrorist! Oh Well, at least we know now the skys are safe from pants with brass buttons!

With no interet access in our room, posting each day will be a challenge, but one I think we will be able to live up to!

Until tomorrow.

Welcome to 2010

It seems to me that there are 2 different opinions regarding the ringing in of the New Year. Verl noticed at the casino last night that while the actual celebration lasted only about half a minute, it was how people approached the new year that was interesting. Half seemed glad that the year was ending and the other half were excited for the new year. Personally we are very glad that 2009 is now only a memory and we can not wait for the new year to begin. If Christmas is about Peace, then the New Year is about HOPE!

Happy New Year Everyone!