Meet Customers Where They’re At

When my husband Dana and I started Haglin Automotive, our loyal customers found us from The Yellow Pages.

Things have drastically changed since then thanks to all the technology advancements. Online reviews and Google play a big part in whether a customer will set foot in your shop or return for future repairs. 

At Haglin Auto, we always adjust to meet customers, and whether they’re a return customer or a new customer, we prioritize how they feel.

It’s important to meet your customers where they are. We even offer customers free vehicle pick-up and delivery service, free shuttle services, and free loaner vehicles.

But, more importantly, we make sure they understand their repairs and can see everything that’s going on with their cars.

Build Trust with Digital Vehicle Inspections (DVIs)

Haglin Auto has been around for 41 years in the Boulder area, and twice a year 30,000 people come in and out because of Boulder University of Colorado, so we’ve always had an influx of students.

And in order to cater to our college students, we started implementing DVIs. 

The reason we made the change in the first place was because our service writers would call a local college student and say, “You car is doing this, this, and that,” and a lot of the times a student would respond with, “I don’t understand,” “I’m not the one paying,” or “Let me call my mom or dad.”

From there, the student would make a phone call home, they would ask questions, and then the student would call back with questions. 

Meet Customers Where They Are

Once we realized this was happening often with our customers, we asked ourselves, “Okay, how do we adapt to meet their needs?” And from that point on, we decided to offer those students the convenience of our service writers sending all DVIs from Tekmetric straight to their parents, so they can see everything going on complete with pictures and videos.

Creating that relationship not only with the students but also with the parents has been great. And I understand firsthand what it’s like sending your loved one to another city or state.

My daughter, Krystine, went to Northern Arizona University. When we dropped her off for her freshman year, I made a point to drive to the local shops and based on who they were, I was able to determine which one she should go to if she experienced any car issues. 

‍“We want parents to feel comfortable with their children taking their cars to our shop.”

Knowing that someone was there for her if there was an issue with her vehicle was great, and that’s always been our philosophy. We want parents to feel comfortable with their children taking their cars to our shop. 

The parents can see everything, and with Tekmetric, they can actually authorize everything and even check out using Text-to-Pay.

Adopting the FORD Strategy ‍

At Haglin Auto, we treat all of our customers like family.

We’ve adopted the FORD strategy from The Customer Service Revolution: Overthrow Conventional Business, Inspire Employees, and Change the World by John R. Dijulius III. With each customer that enters our shop, we make it a point to get to know them by asking them questions about each of the  FORD topics. 

If you can name different FORD facts about your customers and employees, that’s great! If not, you may want to find out more about them.

At Haglin Auto, we work hard to give our customers the experience they deserve. We always live by The Haglin Way.