How to Improve Your Service Department
Like most businesses, bike shops are always fine-tuning their processes, especially when it comes to their service department.
Getting things down to a perfect science can feel daunting and it’s not always easy. While improving and automating businesses processes will be something you constantly work on, in this post we wanted to take a different angle and focus on the customer experience.
Sometimes there are far too many variables that are out of you control so we say if you can’t provide precision, provide consistency for your customers. It's easy to get caught up in streamlining operations and cutting costs, but if the the person on the other side is not satisfied with the end result, all efforts may be in vain.
We have broken down the process of getting customers to choose you to service their bike and ensuring everything runs as smoothly as possible into 3 steps: getting them, serving them, and following up with them.
Let’s dive in and take a look at how independent bike dealers can fine-tune the customer experience.
Getting Them
It all starts with getting the customers through the door and choosing you as their trusted bike expert. You have the ability to ensure all those that bought a bike from you, come back to you for all their repair needs.
Choose You as the Expert
Getting those customers starts with having the right tools and process in place before they even reach out or walk-in to your store with something that needs fixing.
The bike industry can take cues from the automotive industry to improve customer education. Every driver expects to get an oil change at some point, but most riders don’t even know the basics of bike maintenance. There is untapped potential for independent bike dealers (IBDs) to adopt effective techniques to educate customers.
Here are 3 ways to incorporate and prioritize customer education, and make sure they don’t only see you as a retail outlet, but their trusted bike expert.
#1 Integrate it in the selling process
While this is easier said than done, especially during the busy season, making sure that customers are educated on how to maintain the specific bike they are buying will plant a seed from the start of what’s to be expected and who can provide a solution for them.
Everyone will be excited when purchasing a $10,000 bike, but they won’t be too happy when they find out that hydraulic disc lines need to be replaced and that it could have been avoided had they known to maintain it with regular bleeds.
#2 Follow up after their purchase
Get specific and use campaigns to schedule automated follow ups. Your point of sale is a powerful tool that knows exactly who bought what and all the details of their bike.
The beauty of campaigns is that you can get very specific with your message, while the usual 6 months post purchase follow up is a great starting point, an Ikeono customer has been experimenting with getting specific with how they reach out to their customers.
Depending on the brand or model of the bike, they offer educational recommendations, and avoid sounding too salesy.
#3 Be available to answer questions
If a customer has purchased their bike from you, your website is most likely the first place they will visit to check out what you have to offer next time they need something.
A web chat tool on your website gives them the ability to ask a question before bringing their bike in since what you have on your website might not cover all their questions, and that’s normal. But at least they won’t just click away.
Lock in the Appointment With a Deposit
So they told you they will come in, and scheduled the appointment but didn’t show up?
Bike shops know this all too well, however if you have been texting your customer, you easily grab a deposit to make sure they actually show up.
While you’re chatting with them, send over a secure payment link and take a deposit on the repair, doing this will dramatically cut down on no-shows and guarantee that they come in for their appointment.
Capturing deposits is not only a way that makes sure they come in for their appointment but it also protects you against customers that might abandon their bike after the repair.
Confirm the Day Before
Things happen, even when you have collected a deposit, people can forget, to make sure you don’t waste any time shoot them over a text to confirm the day before.
This can either be manually done via a template or a work order status from your point of sale.
Serving Them
Keeping customers informed is just as important throughout the service process. How many times have you had to interrupt your mechanic to get an update on a repair because you have the customer on the phone waiting for an answer?
They are eager to know when they can pick up their ride, but phone calls usually tend to slow you down or you just end up playing phone tag. The need to constantly stay updated is not your fault, our society has been conditioned to be in the know every step of the way thanks to Uber Eats or Domino’s Pizza tracker.
And back to the educational piece, customers generally don’t know what a repair process looks like or understand that there are supply chain issues that are affecting how fast you deliver. They don’t have to understand every single detail of what you do, but you can give them a sense of knowing and keep their mind at ease.
Here’s Justin from Sycamore Cycle’s take on bike shops shifting their focus to their service department after the pandemic bike boom:
“I would say focus on your team, recognize and understand what they’re good at and enjoy, then have them focus on that. It doesn’t make sense for everyone to try to own the entire customer journey, there are two sides that you have to get right in your service department: your customer’s experience and their bike. Don’t expect anyone to pick up all of it — instead let your team shine in the areas they want to shine in.”
Work Order Status Automation
The thought of keeping your customers informed throughout the repair process can rightfully sound exhausting – but that's only if you are only resorting to calling them or sending over an email.
Both methods are laborious and most of the time your team doesn’t even want to do it.
Texting them throughout the different statuses that you have already implemented in your point-of-sale will keep them in the loop. The best part is that the store phone number gets into their phone, and opens an easy channel of communication.
This sets you up for success for all future inquiries, you won’t get a phone call checking in on the bike and it won’t interrupt your day as abruptly.
Texting throughout the service process also becomes a selling tool because you can recommend different options for parts. This is not exactly a conversation you can easily have over the phone and forget typing it up in an email.
Whether you are dealing with a hobbyist or a commuter, there are multiple options for parts that a customer might not know about but would be interested to explore.
This is a type of conversation that can easily happen over text message that you might have avoided before and just chose what you might have thought was the best option. Keep their needs in mind by sending over a few options via text message, build multiple quotes based on their budget, and get their approval.
Protect your business along the way
One of the key parts of integrating texting in your business is the ability to share images. Documenting the service process will keep your business protected.
Whether it's a confirmation to head a different direction on a repair or sending an image of damage that you might have found, images make it easier to get your point across and provide a type of documentation that phone calls just can’t.
Coordinate Pickups
Everything in your store is a liability and at the same time takes precious square footage, so it’s safe to say that you want to get those bikes out of the store as soon as they are ready.
Instead of an employee dragging their feet to type up an email or simply getting preoccupied with something else, automate pick up text messages as soon as the repair is done. Bake it into your workflow and forget it. Not only will this make your customers happier but it will also help your team.
If they don’t want to say it, we will – with the younger generation taking over the service side of the business, they simply don’t want to do phone calls or emails and will put it off, it’s a generational thing,
Following Up With Them
Last but not least, the job is not done until you follow up with them. The theme of educating your customer is still very much even after they pick up their bike from repair.
Checking in on your customers might be more important to do on the service side than anywhere else in your business.
There are perceptions issues within the bike service space and these types of situations can be mended by building a relationship with your customer. The bike they just picked up might drop a chain and they might think you did a poor job. They might not necessarily leave a bad review but they sure as hell won't return to you next time they need something.
Don’t wait for a public online review to pop up to learn about your customer’s experiences (the good and the bad), instead text them to see how you did, they will appreciate it and it gives you more control over your online reputation.
If they tell you through a text message about how happy they are, guide them towards a Google review. Positive reviews about your service department are more valuable than reviews about a sale, at the end of the day everyone can sell, but it’s more difficult to provide such a great service experience that customers want to share it.
Fine-Tuning Was Just the Beginning, Growth Comes Next
So you have fine-tuned your service process, how can you grow from here?
Track Your Process and Keep Moving Forward
We don’t want you to resort to discounts and big sales to keep your business running given all the ups and downs the industry has faced the last couple of years, check out this blog post to see our take on what running a successful bike shop looks like in 2023.
Your service department always was and continues to be the area of your store where you have the most control and where you are able to provide a type of experience that builds relationships and deep trust. By integrating a way to have easy and open communication with customers, you can make sure all those customers that walk into your store stay loyal to you.
Cars have check engine lights that push them directly to their mechanic, but there’s no such thing for bikes which is why we like to call Ikeono the check engine light for bike shops.