With the complexity of modern vehicles and the environment they work in, having comebacks and repeat repairs is inevitable. However, some steps and processes can minimize them and their negative effects on your business and customers.
Above all else, when it comes to repeat repairs, we need to keep the customer in mind and limit their inconveniences and hassles. Keeping them informed and fixing the issue as quickly as possible will hopefully gain their trust back and give some understanding of the situation.
Comebacks are the result of several varying issues: miscommunication between the customer and advisor, advisor and tech, part failures, misdiagnosis, and so on. Many are preventable, and some are not. It’s in the handling of the situation that will make the difference, though it is best to prevent comebacks from happening in the first place.
Understanding the customer’s exact concerns and preventing them
This requires spending time with the customer and their vehicle to understand the issue fully. Many times, the customer’s expectations can be the cause of the issue, not you. Other times, it is just the customer’s inability to explain their problem.
These types of comebacks are the easiest to prevent. You can simply go out to the car with the customer and verify their exact concern. Road testing is a great first step. Yes, this is going to take time and effort, but in the long run, it will save you time, money, and customers.
This is especially important when customers have noise issues with their vehicles. What bothers one person, another person (tech) may not hear. I had a customer come in about a noise in their car. I started the car, and the whole lower dash assembly began to vibrate and make a noise loud enough that I had to raise my voice to be heard over it. “Do you hear the noise now?” I asked. She responds, “No. You have to drive for it to happen.” I wondered to myself, “What could it be if not this noise? Is this car even safe to drive?”
I put it into drive and, as the RPM fluctuated, I heard a “zing” noise from under the car. “There it is! That’s it!” She exclaimed over the dashboard noise. I put the car into park, re-engaged drive, and the zing noise repeated itself. I immediately recognize the noise as the catalytic converter shield vibrating loosely due to some rusted welds.
If any tech was given this car, I can assure you that they would have immediately blamed and fixed the lower dash assembly. Imagine giving the vehicle back to the customer with the dash noise fixed but not the converter shield. She would not have been very happy!
A failed part
Comebacks that are the result of a replaced part failure will happen. The easiest way to avoid this is to use quality parts. Quality parts are not only better but often come with warranties that cover some of the replacement cost in the event of premature failure. Take care to have all your documentation in place so if an issue does occur; you have a minimum delay in getting the needed parts and reimbursed.
Shop and industry failures
Then there are the repeat repairs and comebacks that are the result of misdiagnosis, improperly performed work, accidents, and so on. No matter the cause, the number one priority is to keep the customer happy and back on the road. Investigate the root cause during and after the repair without delaying the completion and return of the vehicle.
Here are some things that I find to be some of the biggest reasons for comebacks:
Training
Today’s vehicles have ever increasing technology built into them. Training to keep up with these advancements is, without question, necessary. Technicians would benefit from training on just the basics of each system in a vehicle. When it comes to electrical diagnosis, for example, the cause is often something basic like an unwanted voltage drop in the circuit. My experience is that many technicians do not understand what a voltage drop is and depend on measuring the resistance of the circuit, which is not as an effective a way to diagnose most electrical issues.
Technical information
I believe that you cannot work on any modern vehicle without having the proper technical information of the systems. Not knowing can result in costly damage or worse, injury to a tech. Having access to at least one technical resource should be a minimum requirement for every shop.
Any vehicle that comes in should be checked for TSBs, recalls, or other information available that may provide a fix even before diagnosis. Even with this information, a tech should still go through the diagnostic procedures required to verify the issue.
Proper tools
Using the proper tools to perform diagnosis and procedures seems like a “no-brainer,” yet shops still attempt to address issues without the proper tools or information. Why put yourself in this position where the odds are against you from the start? Of course, if the cause is completely obvious, such as physical damage, diagnostic tools may not be needed, so go for it.
Negligence
Comebacks related to sloppiness, negligence, or other tech-centric behaviors are an employee issue and need to be dealt with immediately since they can lead to liability problems. Some comebacks are just the result of the tech not verifying the “fix” with a road test. Each one of these comebacks should be documented and followed by a discussion on how to prevent it from happening again.
Process
Regardless of the cause, your shop should have a system in place for dealing with comebacks, keeping in mind to minimize inconvenience to the customer as much as possible. The better each situation is handled, the more it will help rebuild trust with your customers.
There are plenty of negative emotions related to each comeback, which is understandable. In my experience, it is best to take emotion out of the situation and deal with it in a “matter of fact” way. Just find out what the issue is, get it fixed, then talk about it.
Then sit down with the tech and determine the cause of the comeback and whether the tech gets paid or not. To be the most effective, do not delay this discussion. Have it as soon as possible once the customer’s issue is fixed. Make sure the tech understands the outcome of your discussion.
An example
A vehicle returns, the issue is verified with the customer and is possibly related to previous work. The original paperwork is provided along with a new repair order for today’s return visit, and the job is returned to the original tech to determine the cause.
The tech finds and corrects the concern and documents each step on the repair order. At this point, the vehicle should be road tested by a manager to completely verify that the repair has been successful. Finally, the customer is contacted, and the vehicle is released to them.
Tech and manager should sit down and discuss the situation. This conversation ought to end with the final determination as to whether it was a chargeable comeback or not.
Conclusion
Comebacks will always be a part of the service process. Minimizing their causes and quickly dealing with them is part of service. Removing emotion and learning through each repeat repair will help reduce not only the number of comebacks but will also lower the time and money lost with each one.
Prevention is easier than dealing with them. The ideas above work. Use them, and when a comeback does occur, take care of the customer, get the vehicle fixed, discuss the situation and how to prevent it in the future with the tech, then move on to the next job.
