Oil Change Customer from Hell or Hoax; You Decide

Evacuation, "E-Vac" Oil System for Oil Changing

How do most mobile oil change companies remove the used motor oil from the crank case? Well they "Evacuate it" or in the industry we call it "E-VAC" and this means we suck it out of the dip stick tube with a thin tube which is pushed into the crankcase. Many wonder will this get all the oil out? The answer is not all the oil. In many cases there will be some oil left, not much, but 100% is difficult even using the oil plug on the bottom of the pan.

Since it will not get all the oil out some consumers wonder; will mobile oil change companies be putting less oil in? This is the wrong question because even places like Jiffy Lube or Wal-Mart cannot get all the oil out and if you did your oil change yourself same thing. A properly used "E-vac" system gets nearly all the oil out. How do I know this? Well when we take the oil out if we loosen the oil pan drain plug we barely get a drop out after evacuation technique. If a consumer has a problem with 'E-vac' systems it is because no one has educated him correctly or he is unaware of the process. Most mobile oil change companies will remove the oil he old fashioned way if the customer requests it, thru the oil plug on the bottom of the pan. Oil change companies whether mobile or fixed are service companies and service is what we must do for the consumer.

I remember one gentleman requesting this and I had told him if that is what he wants, we will do it his way. So this gentleman said; "Well yes I would prefer that." So I said fine no problem let the operator know and it will be done by your request, "You can have it your way." I felt like a Burger King commercial, but what the heck, we claim we give good service so why not? Then the gentleman said; "Well I have two cars one is a Diesel Mercedes 300D and it takes 7.4 quarts of oil, so you are not going to charge me more are you?"

Well it does take 2 quarts more than most cars. So the price would be $2.00 per quart extra. Our cost at the time was $1.79 per quart most likely considering this guy would want some special oil, with oil prices up motor oil is also up a bit. Then he said; "I want Synthetic Oil." The conversation got lively then since he wanted the lowest price and synthetic and then a special job. I tried to explain to him on a Diesel Mercedes that the "E-VAC" system would take more oil out than draining through the oil pan plug. In the Mercedes 2.5L Diesel draining from the plug would remove 7.4 quarts including the oil in the filter, meanwhile the "E-VAC Systems" will remove 8.25 quarts. "OH," he said?"well then use the E-VAC thing, but I do not want to pay for the difference in oil between the 7.4 and 8.25 quarts." I am thinking to myself, this guy probably wants a free oil change. I said "Okay Sir, what is the other car?" He said "It is a Lincoln Marquis and I want the oil to be drained from the plug, but it is lowered with 16 inch rims and sits only three inches off the ground and I do not want you to jack it up, also the skid plate is bent and I am not sure you can get to the plug?"

At this point I am thinking this guy is so full of it, I cannot believe it. You cannot jack that car anyway it has self levelers and you have to turn the system off, meanwhile he said he would leave the car hood open for us? Usually in this case we would drive the car up on ramps. But how could we without the keys? Besides the "E-VAC" system would do the job fine anyway. After explaining this to the guy, he asked if we had a guarantee if the cars motor blew up after we worked on it? This whole time I am being cordial but thinking to my self I will be glad when this year is over. After having this belligerent customer harass me for ten minutes.

We asked him, can I schedule your cars for service. He said no, I just wanted to hear if you knew what you are talking about and he hung up. Now mind you, I was personally answering the phone and the only person that did not know what he was talking about was he himself. He must have been a competitor or something, there must be 100's of oil change companies in the Dallas Fort Worth area, but it just seems like a real waste of time for someone to be spending their holidays calling competitors?

If he was a real potential he was for sure the 'customer from hell' with a ten gallon hat and probably no cattle or two cars. When dealing with hard to deal with customers in the automobile business, remember be nice and cordial, you can complain to yourself later, no sense in making enemies. Think about it.

"Lance Winslow" - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs

More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More Customer Service Information:

Related Articles

Making Your Contacts Work For You
The best way to explain this concept is to tell you a story. While calling for lease purchasing property, I spoke with an older widowed woman.
Caring for Your Customers
You probably think I am going to say something like, "The customer is always right." Right?? Wrong.
Handling Customer Complaints
Even the best business will receive an occasional customer complaint. Knowing how to resolve these complaints will help you gain loyal customers who will then refer others to your business.
CRM = Customers (dont) Really Matter
CRM was supposed to bring companies closer to their clients. The basic idea was to; find out what a client wants and needs, give it to them, and get them to be your client for life.
Is your Online Business Customer-Friendly?
Customer service is increasingly seen as one of the most valuable uses for a commercial World Wide Web site.  Your Web site is available on a 24 hour, seven days a week basis.
Are You A Coward? I Was
Over the last month, I have come to hate emails and answerphones; not because I get 100 emails every day but because emails and answerphones are fast becoming the tool of the coward. At Beyond Philosophy we worked with a client a while ago whose account managers and sales teams never used to speak to anyone! They just used to send emails.
What You Need to Know About CRM
1. It's all about the customer.
Five Tips to Calm Cranky Customers
1. Tis the SeasonRecognize that everyone is frazzled during the holidays- you and your customers.
How To Use Your Current Customers
Jay instructed a customer of his to offer a rare coin collection to new customers for just $19. He was actually losing a couple of dollar on every sale! But .
The Sellers Creed
I will not make sales. I will make Customers.
The 3 Rs of Customer Service
What I am about to tell you may seem very obvious - you may even say DUH!!! but the fact is, - many company's forget the 3 R's of good customer service- Respect your Customer, Take Responsibility for Your Actions and Products and give your Customers a Full REFUND when it just isn't right. I promise you that if you follow these 3 simple rules you will never have to run after the same customer again!Respect the customer! Just about as plain as the nose on your face Right? Wrong!How many times have you been greeted in a less than courteous manner or worse yet- not at all!! Never lose the opportunity to make a great first impression- very rarely do you have a second chance to undo the damage done by that first encounter.
Listening to Customers - 5 Tips
In a strange juxtapositioning of articles, this month's UK 'Management Today' has three pieces, relating to the importance of listening to customers.Susan Rice, CEO of Lloyds TSB makes it clear how vital it is for great leaders to listen and hear.
You Bever Know Who Youre Serving
You Never Know Who You're Serving when customers turn irate.I think of myself as a reasonable person.
Outsourcing: The Unspoken Costs
Outsourcing seems to be the new-new thing and approximately 50% of our major corporations are doing it. What are the costs? The benefits? And what skills need to be managed in order to make it work optimally?Let's get a clear understanding of what we mean by outsourcing: it's the shifting of easily codified jobs - such as help desk support, call centers, system maintenance, and programming jobs - to countries that can manage them more cheaply.
Astonish your Customers With These Customer Service Tips
Customer service today is getting worse. Win customers overand you build your business for life.
Create Win-Win Deals With Your Competitors
In the competitive world of the 20th century, we generally viewed competitors as the enemy. And a competitor was anyone who sold to the same target audience as us - even if they sold a different item.
Mexico: Online Ordering-Dont!
I got it into my head sometime in December 2004 that I wanted order a laptop computer. I thought I would get one from the hugely popular computer company that allows you to call their 800 number and custom order what you want.
Customer Service - How Good Are YOU?
At 8.30 am a wealthy client (on his way to make a presentation to the local council at 9 am) walked into a store that sells photocopiers.
Adjustment DENIED
It's just a simple thing - I bought a new set of shelves for my office. It wasn't a real problem, but when I got the shelves home, I found dents on the front of the shelves where the package had been leaned up on some other object, the shelves had been removed from the original box and put into another box.
Customer Conversion Mistakes That Will Cost You
The following are common mistakes that Sales Managers and Owners make in the sales process which could be costing you thousands or even hundreds of thousands in lost revenue.- No system to capture and log prospect information/contact data on incoming ad calls.