The annual Kiwi trek to the beach is stressful enough without your customers worrying if their car will make it there and back. The lead up to the holidays is a great time for you to offer your clients some peace of mind, by ensuring their vehicle is ready to be loaded to the max with family, all the holiday toys, camping gear and the kitchen sink! This can be a win-win for your business and your client, they get some valuable peace of mind, and you potentially generate good will and additional income for your business!
Make use of a pre-holiday check as a hook in your marketing material in November and December – package it up at a good price – it will potentially provide extra work on vehicles that are in fact not ready for the holidays and will also produce a lot of client good-will. Or maybe offer it as a free add on to any repair during this time, generating good will and potentially extra work if an issue is discovered. This could be ideal to promote via your website, within your reception area with signage or brochures, via a local letterbox drop or other marketing channels that you use. And don’t forget to also suggest that caravans and trailers (including especially boat trailers) get checked as well.
There are many forms in which you can offer this from a basic checklist of items to a more comprehensive check over.
Some of the things you might include in your check, either because they are safety issues, or because they cover parts of the car that will be enduring extra loads and use over the holiday period could include:
Tyres – check tyre condition and inflation – most motorists don’t check tyre pressures anywhere near often enough, don’t forget the spare as holidays are when it may be needed – finding a flat spare at the side of the road will not make for a happy customer!
Brakes, suspension and steering – with higher loads likely this is a basic safety check, we are fans of a basic spanner check as well to test security of all the key bolts in the suspension (Must be from our motorsport and 4WD heritage!).
Cooling system – long trips with heavy traffic and stop start motoring in queues puts a heavy load on cooling systems, add a heavier load or towing into the mix and the system might get critical – cars stopped at the side of the road in holiday queues with the proverbial steam geyser coming out from the engine bay are not an uncommon sight during the summer holiday break. Test for leaks, flush and replace the coolant as required, check fan operation and drive belts as a minimum.
Air conditioning – a lot of drivers don’t use their air conditioning over winter as they think it is just for cooling, so there may be operational or odour issues when they start using in summer, so now is a good opportunity to check the system operation and condition.
Wiper blades – yes, it rains in summer and a good parts opportunity if they need replacing.
Lights – standard WOF check that all lights work.
Obviously, there is more to check but this outlines some of the key areas to consider ensuring your customers have a happy holiday motoring experience.