Time after time, you’ve heard from business advisors about the importance of “finding the need,” or “going the extra mile” for your customers. But what, exactly, does that mean? What does it look like to find the need and go the extra mile?
Alan Moore, owner of Ville Platte Transmissions LLC in Ville Plate, Louisiana, seems to have a pretty good idea of what it looks like. Here’s a copy of letter that came to ATRA from Cliff and Laurie Barber:
We had the pleasure of staying at your Chicot State Park on Memorial Day weekend this year. Unfortunately our truck had transmission problems during our camping trip. We were headed back to Florida from Nevada.
Some nice campers told us about a business in tow that could help us, Ville Platte Transmission. We called Alan on Sunday and he returned our call, telling us he would work on our truck Monday, Memorial Day.
We want to let everyone in your town know how HAPPY we were for his expertise. He not only worked on a holiday to help us get back on the road, he loaned us his truck and a ladder to fix a problem with our travel trailer. He gave us a ride back to our campsite and returned to pick us up when our truck was fixed.
He did a fantastic job fixing our truck for less than half what a dealer would have charged. Please let everyone know about his business and what a great person he is. We will return to Louisiana in the future to do some more camping.
Wow! Talk about going the extra mile. To begin with, notice that Alan spoke with the customer — and picked up the truck — on Sunday… when most shop owners are enjoying a well-deserved break.
“I transfer my shop phone to my cell phone on the weekends, and they called and left a message. As soon as I got the message I called them back. They were on their way home from Las Vegas, and I could tell they were upset.
“I had the truck towed in and told them, ‘Don’t worry any more; we’ll take care of it.’ The next day they got a ride to my shop. They needed some parts for their trailer, so I handed them my keys and told them to take my truck.
“They came back with the parts and said, ‘I hope they have a ladder at the campground.’ I told them, ‘Hold up,’ and I loaded a ladder into my truck and drove them back to the campground.
“I couldn’t get the parts until Wednesday, but I got them back on the road as quickly as I could and charged them about $1500. The dealer wanted $3800 for a new transfer case. They were so happy.”
And who could blame them? Alan really stepped up on this one. Did he go further than necessary? Maybe. But his extra effort paid off: The customer also sent a copy of this letter to the Ville Platte Chamber of Commerce. They forwarded it to the local newspaper, who published it along with a story about the shop.
According to Alan, he’s seen a number of new customers who’ve mentioned this letter as their reason for coming by. So maybe going the extra mile really does pay off — it certainly did for Alan.
And this isn’t the only time Alan has stepped up to help take care of consumers in his neighborhood.
“If someone’s in dire straits, you have to do what you can for them. I do a lot of repairs for customers for free; and that gets me a lot of referrals. I’ll scan the car and tell them, ‘It’s this right here: Go get the part and I’ll replace it for you.’
“Some people might think that’s bad business, but you do that and you have a customer for life.
“I had a customer come in with a 4-wheel drive with a transmission problem. I gave him an estimate for $1800 for a complete rebuild, with a full warranty through ATRA. They went and bought a reman from the dealer for $2800.
“Three months later the customer was back at my shop: The dealer wouldn’t warranty the transmission because they saw mud on the side of the vehicle. I said, ‘Let me check it.’
“It didn’t have a speed sensor signal. I put a new speed sensor in — no charge — and told them it’s fixed. They said, ‘We’re coming to you from now on.’”
And it’s not just the customer they help that’ll be coming in. “It’s a small town and word gets around quick,” says Alan.
A Little History
Ville Platte Transmissions has been in the same location for about six years; Alan had another shop in Oakdale for about four years before that. How he got into the business is an interesting story in itself. Turns out he has a powerful legacy with the transmission industry:
“My father (Walter) and two uncles each had their own transmission shops; I pretty much grew up in the business,” he says with a chuckle.
“I remember coming home from school, my daddy’d tell me ‘Get under that car and don’t come out until the transmission’s out.’ I was maybe 12 years old at the time. Back then, he rebuild a transmission for a hundred dollars! It was a long time ago.
“Dad and my older brother, Brett, continued to train me.” And after he graduated from high school, he went to work for his father as a full time R&R technician. But his father wouldn’t teach him how to rebuild.
“My uncle had a shop in Crockett, Texas, about 35 miles away. He told me that, if I’d come over at night, he’d teach me how to build. So I’d go there at night, and that’s how I learned to rebuild transmissions.” Eventually he began rebuilding at his father’s shop.
It wasn’t long before he decided it was too difficult working for his father, so he went to work for his brother in Zachary, Louisiana. “I stayed there for about four years.”
He went on to work at a number of other transmission shops over the years, gaining experience in all areas of shop management.
When Alan’s father passed away, it left Oakdale without a transmission shop, so his uncle suggested that he open a shop there. “I found a building, bought the equipment and parts, and got started. The day I opened I had about 60 cars waiting for me, so it was a good idea.”
That was in 2008; a tough year for most shops. But according to Alan, “It turned out pretty good. They were lining up. We did well from the start.”
Ville Platte is a custom rebuildonly shop, and Alan is the rebuilder. “I do all my own rebuilding; nobody else is going to rebuild for me,” he says.
That’s not to say he wouldn’t entertain the possibility of using a reman if a transmission were too damaged to repair. But no one should plan on Alan’s support for building a reman business: “I figure I’ve bought about two remans since I opened.”
Adding General Repairs
While they started as a transmission-only shop, today Ville Platte is a full-service repair center. “We do everything; right now we’re fixing the air conditioning on a 30’ motor home. You have to nowadays.”
