Job 1 – connect with customers: Arnold auto repair shop expands staff, customers
Business was down at Calvert’s Express Auto Service and Tire in Arnold and staff had dwindled to two when the COVID-19 pandemic started affecting day-to-day life in mid-March.
So, owner Gary Calvert hired Gary Daniel to take over as store manager at the shop, 1754 Jeffco Blvd., and Daniel brought with him three technicians he had worked with for the last seven years.
“It (business) has started to take off, and things have been doing pretty well here,” Daniel said.
Daniel said he strives to give customers a sense of security about his crew taking care of their vehicles.
He said that starts out front with office manager Melissa Planitz.
“She is a big part of what we are doing here,” Daniel said. “She greets (customers) and talks with them. We try to make people feel as comfortable as we can.”
Daniel said a key to making customers feel comfortable is to converse with them like friends, not customers.
“I try to open up to them like we know each other,” Daniel said. “We will talk about sports or anything they want.”
He said the technicians make sure customers understand the diagnosis for their vehicles – what is going wrong and why repairs are recommended.
“I show a customer everything,” Daniel said. “I always tell them, if someone can’t show you, don’t buy it.”
Technicians wear masks when speaking with customers, he said, to help prevent spread of COVID-19. Often, customers choose to wear masks, too, he said.
