I took an independent survey to 22 friends with this question:

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you need to get your car serviced?

Everyone responded, “I hope I don’t get ripped off.”

Can you imagine being in the car service repair industry and your customers are walking in the door already armed and ready for a fight?

Out of curiosity I searched Car Repair Services in Delray Beach Florida – the city where I live – and 183 results appeared. That’s some pretty hefty competition.

So imagine my surprise and delight when I left Jiffy Lube® at 9:00 a.m. Saturday morning with a big smile on my face.

After getting rained out of golf, I decided being the first person at Jiffy Lube® would be great.  Especially since the red oil change indicator light had been on for… well, let’s just say… quite some time.

I showed up at 8:10 and two people were already being serviced.  5 minutes later it was my turn… he took my keys and off he went.  12 minutes later he returned and asked me to come with him to review my car.

Uh-oh.

Out in the mechanic bay area – and in front of an Ipad®, he handed me headphones and said he had just placed new head phone sanitary covers on them and would I join him in a walk-through of my car. A little surprised, I joined him for a video walk through of my car –showing me around the car and under the hood – noting the corrosion on my coolant container (my word not theirs), displaying my air filter and commenting how clean it was, next the battery check monitor and the results, the brake check special doohickey, the wear and tear of my tires and much much more.

All the while I kept saying, “WOW.”

And with my marketing hat.. said this is a breakthrough idea and a key differentiator.

My car’s results… corrosion on the coolant and other indicators showed the coolant to be acidic and should be flushed and replaced… BUT I was asked when the last time I had my car serviced… which was in May at the car dealership. My new buddy at Jiffy Lube® suggested I call and/or check my paperwork and if they had replaced the coolant, they needed to re do it at no charge.

He went on to explain Jiffy Lube® gives a one year warranty and mine might be under warranty too and he didn’t want me to spend unnecessary money.

HELLO… are we in Kansas now?

I got a price and IF my car dealership didn’t replace the coolant in May, then I am headed back to Jiffy Lube®.

Not only was this clever marketing approach a WOW it absolutely removed the, I hope I won’t get ripped off emotion from the get go.

They took care of the oil change and the tire rotation (the video showed this) and I was good to go. I paid proudly and with a smile – even for the extra tire rotation – because of the video display.

The experience didn’t stop there. As the service man walked me to my car he laid out the red carpet for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Guess what, I went to a party Saturday night and another Sunday day… everyone heard my Jiffy Lube® Story!   And I couldn’t resist this blog.

Key highlights for other businesses to take away:

1. Competition is tough. What are you doing to change the customer service experience for your customers?

2. Differentiation. How are you standing out from the crowd?

3. Engage your employees. These guys were working with a smile. They no longer had to fear customers questioning their information. It was fun for them to take the video as well as present it.

4. Customer Surprise. What can you do to surprise you customers?

5. Honesty counts. How can you show your customers you have their best interests at heart?