Written by Craig Baills, SafeTstop Partner, Toowoomba

Our industry, Our trade is at a crossroads! A crossroads of progression, technology, change and development. We have seen more change in the past ten years than ever before and the next 10 will be a whirlwind of technological advancement, system changes, and vehicle developments along with major changes to our most important asset, the Customer.

Our customers are our life blood, and the hard truth is, they pay our bills and help us become profitable, keep us in business and keep our industry turning. Why do we need to educate them? haven’t we always tried to do this?

In the past, we have educated our customers on consistent vehicle maintenance schedules, expecting reliable service and advice, offering value and quality, and to expect an above average service, all quite normal!

Now, at a crossroads we have other stakeholders jumping on board our industry, wanting a piece of the pie, wanting us to share our customers. Wanting us to believe that they have good intentions, all whilst driving prices down and promoting more service whilst taking a cut of what we work hard to earn. Meanwhile, the customer is being educated that “online” is the way to go, and yes, I am talking third party booking platforms, again.

I am a great advocate for online visibility and awareness to our customers, but on our terms, and not via dictation from external third parties. So we, as an industry, need to educate our customers, and also many others in our industry, in the following areas.

1. We are professional, highly skilled, educated trades people

2. We are a professional alternative to dealers

3. We will not devalue our services and repairs or be cheap to get jobs

4. We offer quality and value that comes at a price

5. We can be easily accessed through technology

We are one of the most technical and advanced trades. We are required to know more and deliver more, our knowledge base is massive, our cost of operation does not decline and yet we have external businesses expecting us to slash our hourly rates to buy a customer that they want to supply. “NO DEAL”
We are specialists in our field, and we need to recognise this and price ourselves accordingly. Go and buy a solicitor for an hour and expect to pay $450 + GST / hour for a cheap one. Go to the dentist and expect to pay they same, go to a specialist doctor and again, brace yourself. I want our industry to realise that we are valuable, knowledgeable and needed, and as such, we need to very closely consider what we are worth per hour.

Technology is our friend and makes it easier for us to access our existing customers, our new customers and regularly communicate with them. Take the time to set up your business infrastructure to make your customer more accessible to you, without the use of third party booking platforms. Talk to your database provider, your IT specialist and utilise the technology. Give your business an online presence and educate your customer to know that you exist in the IT world, Let them know that you:

1. Have an email address

2. They can reach you via SMS

3. They can book online via your website

4. They can reach you via messenger or social media

5. They can find you on Google

6. You still have a phone number

7. Or call in and talk face to face

These are seven immediate ways a customer can communicate with you, why do we need an external third party platform? My advice, use the technology to make your business easily accessible, convenient to book into and a pleasure to communicate with, all while securely keeping their data in your business and not giving it to an external source. Build customer trust on your terms and not someone else’s.
And don’t forget, its ok to

1. Call your customer

2. SMS reminders to your customer

3. Email your customer 

4. Let them know you still exist

5. Communicate with them, they will appreciate it

Embrace the technology, embrace the future and keep up with the times, but most of all, your customers are your lifeblood. Work with them, communicate with them and deliver to them the service and expectation that you would expect if you were in their shoes.

Here’s to the future.

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    SafeTStop
    5.0
    Based on 20 reviews
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    Wendy Bieder
    09:23 27 Jul 22
    When you want the best , look... no further. Amazing system and incredibly accurate.Can’t wait to run my caravan over the machine .read more
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    Great service with a quality... productread more
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    The people at Safe-T-Stop... have been over the past few years EXCEPTIONAL and the device itself (plate brake/suspension tester) to all intents and purposes infallible. On the rare occasions the unit has broken down, service has been remarkably fast. Annual servicing of the unit has been done professionally and always on time. Frankly, i wish more businesses and tools were all this good.read more
    Chris Mullins
    Chris Mullins
    06:22 30 Nov 21
    Good job as agreed
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    21:55 16 Nov 20
    I've dealt with SafeTStop... support team on 3 occasions and I must say they are incredibly helpful, I have been talked to by their NSW team from VIC over the phone about how to replace components and other required calibrations. Many thanks to Denise for my most recent concern which was resolved quickly with excellent customer service.read more
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    11:47 10 Sep 20
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    00:55 19 Nov 19
    Best piece of workshop... equipment I have purchased. Fantastic team to deal with & great support.read more
    Nicholas Valassis
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    02:56 21 Sep 19
    Installation was easy with no... interruption to the business. A very powerful tool that is crucial to have these days with our complex braking systemsread more
    Ebbett Volkswagen
    Ebbett Volkswagen
    02:33 28 Aug 19
    Fantastic product, and great... after-sales support. The platetronic tester gives our customers security in knowing that their vehicles are being tested at a high level for brake imbalance, forces, and for steering geometry readings. Highly recommended.read more
    Andrew Gadea
    Andrew Gadea
    05:08 22 Aug 19
    Excellent service from Denise... and the team. Installation was great and the SafeTStop equipment is great for our business.read more
    Craig Baills
    Craig Baills
    01:47 18 Aug 19
    I did not realise the value... of Safe T Stop until we invested in one and had it installed. This piece of equipment would be number 1 as the most productive tool in the workshop as well as being accurate in its testing and diagnosis. Safe T Stop makes diagnosing and testing brakes and suspension easy and simplified with pin point accuracy. Highly recomend it for any workshop.read more
    DION CLAYTON
    DION CLAYTON
    09:35 12 Aug 19
    We at DRC AUTOMOTIVE had a... safetstop installed at our workshop and think it’s a great piece of equipment, every car that is serviced in our shop is driven over the safetstop to check and know it’s leaving with all brakes working as they should. We never realised how important this equipment is and what we have found when using it.Also the team at safetstop have always been great and would highly recommend to any other workshops Dion Clayton/ DRC Automotiveread more
    Peter Forrester
    Peter Forrester
    10:11 05 Jul 19
    PipeWolf Media
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    05:40 03 Jun 19
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