Accurate Invoice = Happy Customer (Lesson 3)
The importance of job stories to your business and to your customers cannot be underestimated. The way your invoice is presented has a significant impact on the relationship between you and your customer.
A professionally presented invoice strengthens the trust your customer has in your business. Conversely, an invoice that is difficult to understand can damage the relationship.
A transparent invoice that accurately itemises each repair makes it immediately clear what work has been done and how long it took. When you empower your customers to understand the costs involved with their repairs, you also help them understand that they are receiving a valuable service for a fair price. They usually don’t feel the need to ask additional questions and you won’t have to spend time justifying the invoice because of the way it’s presented.
If the invoice received by your customer is difficult to understand, they will rightly ask questions and place great emphasis on clear explanations. Any uncertainty that your customer has about their invoice will threaten the trust they have in your auto workshop. They may start to question whether or not you deserve their return business.
Having to justify the work you’ve done for your customer by spending time walking them through the invoice is time that you could have saved by providing an invoice that was pre-printed with detailed and accurate information.
If you did not work on the job, a clear invoice will save you the awkward situation of having to find the mechanic who did the job and then asking him in front of your customer what he means and why. Similarly, you don’t want to have to chase the administration person to find out the reason for the cost of a certain item.
Having to chase down this information becomes an unnecessary and expensive exercise that makes your auto workshop appear disorganised.
What kind of information do you provide on your invoice and how do you choose to present it? Please consider leaving a comment below with your own experiences.
To your success,
Australia’s #1 Automotive Business Growth Expert
