Service Writing Tip: Justify Your Recommendations

Writers, are you as tired as I am of getting lambasted by customers when you recommend work beyond the symptoms displayed by a vehicle that was brought to your shop? Between TikTok videos and fuel touching $5 per gallon (or six, for those of you burning diesel), it seems as though every customer is ready to get defensive as soon as my number pops up on the phone screen.

Here’s the thing: sometimes, they’re right. Technicians should be handing you a laundry list, and they should be open with you about the pressing needs and the less-pressing ones so you can confidently present your three-box estimate. Effectively, you need to make sure you and your tech are on the same page regarding the less-pressing items going in either Box Two or Box Three, and the best way to do that is to ask your tech why an item is being recommended.

There are generally some common reasons a technician is going to recommend something:

• The manufacturer specifies the service by mileage
• The manufacturer specifies the service by time
• A part has visibly failed (or actively failing)
• A part could be failing and there is reasonable suspicion to request diag time to look into it
• Another component is being serviced and a difficult-to-access part can be replaced for little additional labor
• A part may be destroyed to gain access to another part requiring service

None of this is news to you, but the framing to the customer matters a great deal. Recommending a cabin air filter because one is filthy is easily demonstrable, and many writers do the Vanna-White-walk-the-part-to-the-showroom-for-inspection bit. But put yourself in the customer’s shoes if your tech has recommended the same thing due to mileage … but it was recently replaced and the tech never pulled the filter? Now, your customers have their guard up and with good reason—unless you justify the recommendation.

“We didn’t pull your cabin air filter out to inspect it but we’re recommending one because Toyota recommends replacement every thirty thousand miles.”

“Replacing your water pump, cam, and crank seals would be wise during your timing belt replacement since we’ll already be in that part of the engine and a future service could be costly.”

“There’s a damp spot on the fins of your radiator, so we think a cooling system pressure test might help us see if there’s a seep that will probably begin actively leaking soon.”

See how plain those sentences are? They instantly let a customer know why something is on the list. You’re proactively answering the question you know is coming. You transfer your knowledge instantly to the customer. I personally love taking this one step farther and getting a customer under the car if your shop’s policies and insurance allow a visit to the bay. “Here, rock this tire up and down. Feel that click? That’s play in your ball joint. Now come over here with me to this car—no click. That play will wear out your tires and make your steering less precise, and you might even notice some noise, like a weird popping when turning at low speeds. Do you ever have that?”

By getting customers involved with the rationale, you’re making it clear it’s their car and you’re just there to get the work done as it’s needed. “Your car is operating fine right now, but your battery is testing a little bit marginal. It’s probably OK for now, but keep a sharp eye on it—it might start acting up when the weather gets colder.” Note the justification and the not-so-immediate push on the replacement. You might get the job today. You might not. But one thing is certain: there are few more powerful experiences for an automotive customer than declined work yielding the outcome predicted by the writer.

And most importantly, sometimes the justification is that you do not have information you need at hand. “Because a broken timing belt will necessitate internal engine work should it break, manufacturers provide service intervals before they’re likely to let go. Because we don’t know when it was last done and you’re near the next interval, you may want to see if the previous owner can tell you when this service was last performed.”

In any event, if you can provide a clearly-articulated reason for your position, your customer is far less likely to nitpick your estimates line-by-line. Set your customers at ease, and keep your ambitious techs honest, with some simple rationale for your clients.