I'm a fairly demanding customer. As a business owner, I understand that sometimes someone screws up or something fails to happen as it should. But my team and I work hard to make sure this doesn't happen to our customers. If it does, we handle it how we'd expect to be treated. Given that commitment, I expect the companies I do business with – whether personally or through the shop – to do likewise.
I've stuck with most of our shop's vendors for years. Business trainers suggest shopping around for vendors to make sure you're getting the best deal. There's certainly value in not letting vendors take your business for granted.
There are vendors that won't meet my expectations for service and quality; when we find those that do, I don't want to switch.
That said, I also need our vendors' help to keep my business profitable, which never gets easier. So I want to be one of the customers that they most want to keep.
My shop will never be any dealer's biggest shop customer. But as part of my efforts to be one of their best – and thus one they work hard to please with outstanding service and pricing – I've spent some time lately talking to parts managers about what the best shops (from their perspective) do. Here's some of what I heard.
PAY YOUR BILL PROMPTLY. This isn't a surprising request, but several of our vendors said our shop's on-time payment record makes us more valuable to them as a customer than shops buying higher volumes of parts and then making them wait for their money.
MAKE YOUR ORDERS EASIER TO PROCESS. Ordering earlier in the day helps, dealers say. Make sure you provide an accurate VIN. Some dealers prefer that you use OEConnection's "CollisionLink" to place orders electronically. When possible, avoid ordering those "just in case" parts that you don't think you will probably need.
"Check twice; order once," Ross Ames, parts manager at Weston Dealerships in Gresham, Ore., tells me, citing the value of order accuracy. "There is no way we can stop a special-ordered part from shipping to us once we've ordered it. So we now have to store that part you canceled for 60 days, then fill out a mound of paperwork and pay for shipping it back to GM."
REDUCE YOUR RETURNS. Most dealers track the percentage of parts returns by shop. Returns are a huge cost for dealers, so shops with the highest return rates aren't apt to get the best deals and service.
SUBMIT RETURNS PROMPTLY. We expect dealers to pick up and process any parts returns quickly. So it's only fair to do our part and get parts returned to them in a timely manner.
KEEP PART RETURNS IN GOOD CONDITION. Painted, damaged or dirty parts, and parts that have obviously been installed can result in delayed, denied or reduced credit. "If you're sending a part back, think about if it's in a condition you'd accept if we delivered that part the next time you ordered it," says one parts manager. "If you wouldn't accept it as a new part, you can't expect to get full credit."
CARE FOR THE PACKAGING. The condition of the packaging is as important as the condition of the part. Don't tear or crush boxes, don't write on packaging (use removable labels to mark them), don't open stripe boxes until checking the sample on the outside, and keep packaging reasonably free of dirt, dust, tape and paint.
INCLUDE PAPERWORK WITH RETURNS. Parts managers say they are amazed at the number of parts they get returned that arrive with little or no indication of what shop bought them or when. Provide a copy of the invoice with your return parts. We use a form to list the purchase order number and the parts being returned; the parts drivers sign it when they pick up the returns. This helps us track returns so we get credits due.
OFFER SOMETHING IN RETURN. Give vendors reason to treat you better. A shop owner I know of didn't ask for an across-the-board added discount. He said he was using that discount for marketing to increase his business; he only wanted the discount if his shop's purchases met agreed-upon increases over a period of time.
That's the type of thinking that will motivate your vendors to take good care of you – even if you aren't their biggest customer.
Contact info:
