"Mercedes-Benz" is a trademark of Mercedes-Benz of North America, Mercedes-Benz USA LLC and other Mercedes-Benz corporations. The word "Mercedes-Benz" is solely used to identify a make of automobile. It does not imply or indicate any affiliation or relationship between Stephens Service Center and the manufacturer or its dealers.
If you want to achieve excellence . . . you can start right where you're standing. Go the
extra mile. And most importantly.... render better service then is expected. Excellence is
the result of a sincere effort and skillful execution. All the talk in the world will never take its
place!
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Fact 1
There are more safety features and technology in a modern Mercedes-Benz than there was in the first space mission to the moon.
Fact 2
"In 1965, a mechanic needed to understand 5,000 pages of service manuals to fix any automobile on the road. Today, with the advent of high-tech electronics, that same mechanic must be able to decipher 465,000 pages of technical text... the equivalent of 250 big city phone books." - Elizabeth Dole, U.S. Secretary of Labor
Fact 3
Not all Mercedes-Benz mechanics are created equal. Experience, determination, and ethical standards are not written down in a technical manual. These are qualities that come from a different place.... a different time.
Monday to Friday
7:30 to 6:00
hen you take a car into a large service center for a repair, there are a multitude forces at work. Let's say for
example, you take your car in because the gas cap won't go on. Like your Service Advisor, the mechanics typically
all work on a commission system known as "Flat Rate". When the mechanic is dispatched your car, he will no doubt
see the gas cap doesn't fit properly because the metal tabs in your fuel filler neck are bent. The mechanic knows he
could easily fix it for free. He also knows the "official Mercedes-Benz repair", is to replace the gas tank. $2000 later,
you think to yourself; "that was an expensive gas cap, but at least it works". The mechanic will rationalize replacing
the gas tank because he's a "professional". He also has a family to support. If he fixed your problem for free,
he knows there wouldn't even be a "thank you". Multiply this scenario by a few hundred, & you'll have some idea of
how many times this type of thing happens in a "flat rate" shop.
uccess depends as much on the cumulative effect of many small acts, as it does on doing what's expected. The
little things you do...or fail to do... often testifies louder than the noisiest proclamations of your intentions. We're
expected to be big in the big moments, when everyone is watching. If we want to convince customers of our
commitment to customer satisfaction, we must prove it in the small things we do every day. The commitment must
be ingrained in our DNA. It must be who you really are. But in this day-in, day-out real world; if a business expects
employees to step-up & "walk the talk"; they must be paid for doing the right thing. If a shop in wants
their mechanics to focus on the details that add up to customer satisfaction; a salary is the only answer. If a shop
wants a mechanic to focus on profit, pay him a commission (Flat Rate). But you'll never convince any customer of
your sincerity, if you charge them for every breath you take.
By now, most people know if you try hard enough, you can rationalize anything. A business can have all the"customer satisfaction" meetings & catchy slogans it wants. If you're only in this business for the profit. . . well, let's
just say you'll need a bigger dog!
ome people think repairing a Mercedes-Benz is like
buying a box of Cheerios. One mechanic's diagnoses is
the same as any other. Callers say, "A Mercedes-Benz
expert diagnosed my problem, all I need now is the
cheapest price." I suppose we could ask them if all the
people they work with have the same same skill &
product knowledge? Mechanics are no different.
