Communication Skills You Need as a Car Mechanic
While the fond images of a grumpy and sweaty car mechanic covered in motor oil and that black grease thing surely still have their place in popular culture and our everyday lives, nowadays there is emerging a new kind of car mechanic.
Still, to a great extent covered in motor oil, modern-day mechanics are the sort of folks who have to know their way not just around a wrench and constructing a new exhaust pipe, but also around computers and browsing online stores for spare parts.
Since the vehicles themselves these guys are fixing are getting more and more digital every day, to be a mechanic in this climate of modernization and new technologies, you have to acquire a new set of skills besides the good-ole workshop artisanship.
In this article, we’re going to talk about one particular set of skills that you’d need to develop as a professional car mechanic in this day and age – communication skills. In the passages below, we’ll list some of these skills, as well as those related to them, so you can have a clearer idea of what these modern-day mechanics shop might be looking for.
Here’s the deal...
Workplace Organization
Although the proper organization of your workplace isn’t a communication skill per se, knowing where your tools are at any given moment, as well as where to look for the spare parts when you need them can make conversations with your customers much more to-the-point than if you’re constantly wondering whether you have those spare bolts or not.
The thing is, being well-organized in the way you run your workshop can give you that extra level of confidence when it comes to interacting with the customers.
Not only that, but a person who hears a confident mechanic on the other end of the phone line is no doubt going to increase the likelihood of committing their car to your workshop.
Administrative Aptitude
Being able to quickly and efficiently schedule an appointment without having to hire a secretary to do it for you can be a massively useful skill for a mechanic.
The thing is, as, in any line of business, some sort of order has to exist as to who gets serviced and when, so if you can tackle the administrative and often boring parts of running a mechanic’s shop, you can both increase the customer satisfaction rate and earn more money.
Also, creating lists of the spare parts and items you have available at your shop can be a fairly useful skill, as you won’t be in doubt as to what parts to order, or what are the ones you have enough of in stock already.
Computer-Savviness
Understanding the basics of operating a computer is pretty much a given nowadays.
Still, as a mechanic, you may want to slightly expand your computer expertise so that you can cover Internet browsing, for example. If you know how to do this, you can find parts for the car you’re working on quickly and order them online.
Also, there are many different programs where you can create 3D models of various parts. If you have one of those printing machines that can create parts on the spot, that would make your life even easier. (Although, you would probably need some training to make this happen for you.)
Other than that, there is a multitude of programs for easy scheduling and dealing with customers, too. So, if you don’t feel like writing everything down on sticky notes and then having to remember where you placed them, getting a computer with such a piece of software installed on it can be a great solution.
Communication in Person
Every once in awhile, a customer will have some questions to ask about their car other than ‘Is it fixed yet?’.
Now, while it’s not your job to teach them what you’re doing to fix their vehicle, what you should do is be friendly to them and be prepared to have a chat with them.
Treating your customers as not only a source of income but in a friendly manner will make them keep coming back for more.
All in all, communication is an essential part of building a strong professional relationship with your customers. It represents a gateway to not only having a strong business with a constant stream of revenue but also to having fun on your job.
