Emergency auto repair spells trick instead of treat

Beware, Halloween is nigh. Solving a stranger's automotive emergency may become more trick than treat for kind-hearted tire dealers and service shop operators.

What's more, the root causes of the trick shouldn't spook anyone. After all, they're rooted in basic human nature.

First of all, one person's perceived car emergency is not necessarily your emergency. Nonetheless, some motorists believe they're entitled to exceptional service even though they've done nothing to earn it.

This breed of customer is a total stranger who appears at your business unannounced, yet he or she still behaves like a long-time, faithful customer.

However, this car owner does something your regular customers usually do not: He expects you to drop everything and fix a vehicle ahead of regularly scheduled patrons.

Predictably, this stranger's attitude quickly begins grating on your staff.

Second, this vehicle's problem may be minor or major. (It's more likely to be serious — clouds of steam coming from the grille and coolant dripping below the car.)

Sometimes the symptom suggests minor trouble, but what truly matters is that the car owner believes the ailment is an urgent one.

Mind you, the car's problem may have existed for a long time, but once the car owner decides that it warrants attention, look out. This selfish motorist wants solutions.

Third, these personalities and the awkward situations they create are old news to veterans of a service business.

With all due respect to my readers and colleagues, selfish motorists are anything but new or recent phenomena.

In the later 1960s, I watched these car owners' antics when I worked in traditional, full-service gas stations. Sadly, I have continued seeing them throughout my travels around the country.

Some service personnel may believe that these over-demanding motorists appear only during a full moon. Experience has shown, however, that they may arrive, trying to take advantage of you during the busiest times of the year.

Prepare yourselves mentally to be unfailingly polite to selfish motorists. That said, be equally steadfast about saying "no" — and saying so repeatedly.

Fourth, don't let a potential treat sway your judgment when people demand instant action on a car problem. This treat is the warm, fuzzy feeling service personnel get when they fix a problem that a competitor could not or did not.

This includes handling an emergency repair for a hapless car owner. Some tire dealers and service shop operators crave that fuzzy feeling more than candy — especially when they've had a difficult week. Let's face it, who doesn't like feeling needed and valuable?

Last but not least, an unexpected repair job may be a welcome treat when business is slow and technicians need work, but cramming a job into an already busy schedule becomes a counterproductive trick.

For one thing, competent and conscientious techs hate rush jobs — rightfully so. Some of the worst shop injuries seem to occur during rush jobs.

Injured technicians aren't productive ones, so both the tech and the business suffer.

Another reason good techs hate rush jobs is that they foment mistakes, and mistakes breed costly comebacks. Techs bear the brunt of the mistake by having to do the task over again — work they didn't want to rush in the first place.

Repeatedly I have seen capable techs scale the proverbial wall to assist faithful customers who are in a jam, but many techs feel disrespected when a boss forces work on them without providing adequate repair time.

Furthermore, a hasty assignment is a trick when the beneficiary is some stranger the crew may never see again.

So, bosses, weigh jobs carefully — trick or treat?