When and How Should Auto Repair Shop Owners Ask for a Review?

by Rick White, President 180BIZ                                                                (Estimated Read Time 3 minutes)

Well, I want to keep talking about the reviews. One of the reasons you're not getting a review is because you are not asking for it. There's a thing called the illusion of transparency. That means you unconsciously expect other people to know and understand what it is you need. A lot of you don't ask for a review because you're not comfortable doing it, and you kind of hope you’ll get them. Believe me, hope and prayer have a part in our lives, but they are not business strategies.

Hope and prayer aren’t business strategies!

You may be thinking, “Well, I did a really good job for them. Maybe they'll send someone to me.” That doesn't work. You need to ASK for the review. You may think, “But Rick, it's so uncomfortable to ask.” My question to you is why are you in business?  To help and serve others.

Opportunity comes disguised as another person's problem.

So, here's the first thing we need. It’s our mindset. Realize that you are there to help and serve others, and you want to protect them from being taken advantage of by either by lack of knowledge, a lack of diagnostic skills, etc.  You want to help and protect them. Once you have that mindset where it's your duty, your responsibility, your obligation to get that to happen, now all of a sudden it's just about when and how.

You must ASK for the review!

For me, I want to, I want to take over the world. You must have felt that way too when you started. You want to help everyone in your area. You want to be that person.  But first, you must ASK for the review. Not with a form, not on the bottom of your invoice, although it should be there. You must ask in person or on the phone.

Ask after Thank You

So, when should you ask for the review? The ask comes right after they say thank you. You probably, like many other shop owners, negate the amazing stuff that you bring to the table every day. I'm telling you, you’re clients think you're absolute magicians. They're amazed at what you're able to do with a piece of machinery. So when they say “Thank you,” they genuinely mean it and they feel beholding to you. That is the exact time you want to ask for their help. It would sound something like this.

“You're very welcome. I'm wondering if you might be able to help us out. When someone's looking for a service provider and they're not sure what to do, they go to reviews first and it really helps them figure out the best place to go for them. Would you be willing to give us a review, an honest review online?”

Use Google, Yelp, or Facebook

Now you can do it with Google, Yelp, or Facebook. Ask for the review after they say thank you. Another way to ask could be this.

“You're very welcome. I could really use your help. We're looking to grow our business like everyone else and one of the best ways to do that is with a review, an honest review. It will help people that are looking for a great place to go. It will make them feel safer coming here. You will help them and us at the same time if you don't mind. I would really appreciate it.”

Make it SUPER EASY!

Now what you want to do is make it super, super easy for them. Have a link, a QR code, or something to make it easy.  Ask for the review. Make it easy for them to leave it. Sometimes people may not know what to talk about. You can use a template. I’ll show you how in our webinar titled “Everything Reviews.” Sign up for our Pocket Business Genius webinar series.

God bless. Take care. Stay safe and go make some money.

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