Good service?

Here's an interesting lesson from the car industry.

Took my Saab estate to the Saab dealers yesterday because the ABS lights, brake lights and Traction control lights were all on, and the big red triangle in the middle of the dashboard was saying "Oy, don't drive!"

Now my excellent local garage doesn't do ABS, so it had to be the Saab dealers, even though I've never visited.

The phonecall from the dealer later that day came as something of a shock - £1,400 + VAT for new brake pads, discs, tyres, in fact pretty much everything moveable on the car. Oh, and a £60 test to see if the head gasket had gone, which could be another £2,500+.

After a day of panic I rang round a few people and got some advice.

So the following morning I asked the dealers if they had switched off the ABS warning light. Various mutterings and shufflings at the other end of the phone, so I said that was all I wanted, and I escaped with a £51.00 tab.

NONE of the work they wanted to bill me for was essential to fix the ABS. But they did not make that clear to me at any point. You can be absolutely sure that I will never go there again.

And the moral of the story?
I see music (performing or training) as a service industry. As far as I'm concerned, there are two schools of service industry.
i. Sucker the gullible, blind them with science, people are stupid enough to part with their money.
ii. Give people clear explanations, value for money, and stay honest and helpful, and your customers will recommend you to others, and come back themselves.

Which school do you belong to?


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