Quality service keeps customers coming back

March 18, 2016
In Waukesha, Wisconsin, Jerry's Automotive Service keeps customers coming back with outstanding service.

“There are some great shops out there, and I love it when my competition is good, because that will only make me better,” says John Haunfelder, owner of Jerry’s Automotive Service, Inc. How good is Jerry’s? Let’s just say there’s lots of competition in metropolitan Milwaukee.

At a glance:
Jerry's Automotive Service Inc.
Waukesha, Wisc.
Location
John Haunfelder
Owner
15
Years in business
15
No. of employees
22,000
Total square footage
11
No. of bays
128
Weekly car count
$460
Average RO

Rising through the ranks, Haunfelder eventually bought the operation in 2000. “When you purchase a business, you dump everything you have into it and everything you will ever have,” he declares. “Failure’s not an option, so you’re going to explore whatever avenue it takes to make it work. But Jerry was a very good businessman, and I learned a lot from him. He gave me a good background in not only how to fix cars, but also in handling customers. Once I bought the business from him, I was able to run with it and continue to grow.Established in 1958 by Jerry Neuwirth, John went to work there as a teenager in 1977. “His shop always had a strong reputation,” Haunfelder recalls. “They did a lot of different repair work — they were the ‘can do’ shop. I remember when the job posting came out — all of the guys [from high school] were talking about it. I was down there within the hour to be interviewed.”

“You’ve got to know what your expenses are and make sure you make enough to stay afloat, or else you’re doing no one — from your technicians to your customers — any favors,” Haunfelder explains. “I keep it a little more basic: I’ve got three or four factors I look at monthly and things I check, like technician times on jobs and productivity, certain margins on parts; I’ve got a real good handle on it, making sure we’re keeping it where we can make money.” 

Haunfelder has dealt with every change in the industry over the past few decades, from shop management systems to diagnostic systems. “Literally everything has changed pretty dramatically,” he notes. “I’m still a technician; I used to float in the shop but now I stay up front more. I still confer with my techs a lot, and if something’s beating them up we’ll put our heads together.”

Owner John Haunfelder

To that end they’ve been doing more in-shop meetings, typically once a month, adjacent to whatever seminars are available regionally. “We try to hit the bigger ones, like that AutoMechanika down in Chicago,” Haunfelder reports. “If there’s a new piece of equipment (my crew is) not comfortable with, we’ll go over it, do our due diligence ahead of time…and we’ll work with the equipment, use it on several cars. The guys can ask questions of one another, they can show one another; it’s been a very good tool.”

For business advice, however, Haunfelder usually follows his own counsel. “Everyone’s got a wonderful way to run your shop, but they’re not running shops,” he argues. “The 20 groups are nothing but managers getting together and sitting in each other’s shops and evaluating what they’re doing. If I’m going to sit in a shop to work on anything, it’s going to be mine.

“(Advisors) tell us you should book so many jobs per tech, bill so many hours per that job,” Haunfelder relates. “I don’t spend a lot of time on that. I could fill my day doing all that fun stuff, but you can tell when you’re getting too crowded, to move to the next day. I’ll talk with my service advisor that tomorrow’s pretty full; better save it for someone who’s in real trouble, a good customer, otherwise we’re into the next day or the next. We’re constantly conversing as to what’s what.

“We are a very strong shop, a financially secure shop,” contends Haunfelder, “and we have great clientele. Do I stay in my office all the time and work on my business? No. Do I devote time to thinking ahead and planning what our next steps are to keep us current, ahead of the curve? Certainly. Do I need 8 hours a day to do that? Certainly not.”

Jerry's Automotive held an in-house GM theft system clinic.

Haunfelder also concedes they do very little marketing. “Could I do more with my website? Yes,” he answers himself. “Are we starting to see more appointments made online? Yes, we are. But about 95 percent of what we do is still done over the phone. Some customers only use email, but I still think a lot of people want to talk with someone when they set up the appointment. Certain situations, (clients) could type for two days or they could talk with me for five minutes. I can narrow the problem down with three or four questions: how many miles are on the car? What are your plans for the car? Do you plan on keeping it 5-10 years or a year or two? It depends on the scenario, what kind of problem are you having.”

One thing that hasn’t changed — customer service can make or break a company. Here Haunfelder has everyone helping out: “Of course techs make money working on the cars,” he explains, “but they test drive with customers, verify complaints, and listen to problems so that they can quietly get them addressed. And I expect my guys to be pleasant with customers, because you’ve got about a three-minute window for a customer to buy in. If the tech doesn’t say anything or doesn’t look at them, they’re going to be uncomfortable. Say a couple nice words, ask a few good questions; now the customer has greater confidence in your ability to fix their car.”

A super clean facility, plenty of amenities are must-dos for the modern shop. But beyond the WiFi and wide variety of periodicals in the waiting area, Jerry’s also offers loaner cars. “If someone gets in a pinch at the last minute,” Haunfelder notes, “if their car breaks down and it’s not going to be ready till tomorrow — here, hop in our car, get to work, we’ll see you tomorrow. You can just ease their tension ten-fold. You try to tailor your customer base towards those who appreciate that extra service, and you do all you can to keep those people.”

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