Rediscovering Red: More Than Just an Oil Change

It’s a little difficult to explain why I was flooded with a sense of joy when I spotted someone familiar at the computer kiosk at my local car dealer service shop yesterday.

Let me give it a try. I hope it inspires you to connect with your local service people, from car dealers to food servers.

We have to go all the way back to 2003, when I was shopping for a new car. I knew exactly what I wanted - a basic, low-end model of a brand to which I’d already been loyal to for over a decade due to the quality of the brand and service.

I went to a nearby local dealership, loan in place and ready to drive home in a new car. They didn’t have any in stock and recommended another area dealer. I went there, and the salesperson was so out-of-touch, I walked out. (His starting price offer after “going to talk to the manager” and making me wait 20 minutes was sticker price. I didn’t have time for that nonsense.)

I then went to a dealer quite a distance south and bought the car on the spot at a fair price. The salesperson was so outstanding, our family bought a second vehicle from them a month later, and eventually my sons bought cars there as well. It was clear the employer treated their people well, and most had been there for decades.

For the next 15+ years, I would drive past 2 or 3 other dealers for the same brand, just to get an oil change or repair at that dealership – all because of the people who worked there and that first experience with the veteran salesman.

It was such an investment of driving time, I’d take my laptop and work from there instead of dropping the car off – even for an all-day service. I’d do virtual meetings from the enclosed room provided off the main service waiting room; I referred to it as my mobile office.

I usually dealt with the same few service advisors when I’d check in; my favorite by far was Red.

The day I went in for an oil change and Red wasn’t there to check me in, I was oddly unnerved.

For me and my sons, he was the service department. Red was always in motion. A wealth of information.  No question was too small, and all his answers were thorough and efficient. He was conscious of keeping things moving in the check-in process, yet, his full attention was on making sure you had everything you needed.

I tried not to let it upset me; things change.

I did wish I’d let him know how much I’d appreciated his attention to quality service and care.

I started having interactions with the other service advisors who are the liaisons between customer and mechanics that made me uneasy. I wasn’t getting the kind of advice or information I had from Red. The work environment seemed to be deteriorating.

Then, one day, I needed an immediate oil change, and I went into another station with drive-in appointments. Then I needed service and scheduled there. Late one night, my son’s car broke down near there, and he was able to get it to the lot for them to address in the morning. I wasn’t committed to using this closer shop yet and kept wondering if I should go back to the other one.

Then, as I was sitting in my car still in the drive-up waiting to be checked-in yesterday, I saw who I thought was Red behind one of the kiosks. I couldn’t believe my eyes! It’d been years, but I was sure it was him. Then as fortune smiled upon me, he was the service advisor who came over to check me in.

He recognized me immediately and greeted me by name. We chatted briefly about how he’d been, my car, my son’s car, etc. I learned he’d left the other job to care for his father, and had just taken the job at this new location in recent months.

It absolutely delights me that he’s really happy at this new location and seems to be thriving there.

I didn’t let this opportunity slip by. I let him know how much I appreciated him and his service, and how thrilled I was to see him.

I’m now firmly committed to this new service shop because I have a human connection that matters to me. It increases my social value, and I hope in a tiny way, his as well.