I'll be honest.
I may be the outlier here, but... I don't like taking my car to an auto shop.
Like any terrible relationship, I have the feeling that if I bring up one, small, issue they will utilize that to open a can of worms and take all my money and then I'll leave.
...Wow. That analogy works really well but hits a little hard.
ANYWAY.
Eastman's has restored my faith in a healthy relationship.
Car-wise.
I'm working on the other stuff.
I have been to this shop a few times because its location is near my work, but I will continue going there because of their honesty, dedication to service, and customer satisfaction. Every time I have been here they have always been AMAZING at being forthright. In one instance, their technicians looked over my vehicle and Larry (the owner) told me that...although they could do the work, to scout around. It may be more cost effective to go to a shop that specializes in what I had going on. (AMAZING. A place that's honest and will take a customer's well-being over a credit card swipe).
Another example is when I went there in the morning and asked if they could look at my battery. I could pick up my car later in the d... NOPE. Larry walked out with me. Looked it over. Grabbed a wrench. And fixed my issue within 5 minutes! When I asked the charge he, clearly joking, said, "I dunno...five bucks...?" (I did give him that $5).
When my battery acted up again though, he was still there. He ran tests on it. We couldn't find the problem, and he apologize (which - I think it was a fluke...I haven't had an issue since) but he did recharge it for me. He also didn't actively seek to find other areas of improvement. He said there were more tests he could do but said, those take more time and are more expensive. We should see if this was just a one-off (it was) before going through all of that.
His shop has probably saved me 100's of dollars.
Honesty. Honesty is huge when building a rapport with customers and retention. Of course, quality technicians and work is required and Eastman's has that as well. I don't know much about cars so I can't really speak on technique. I just know this:
When I need something fixed.. They fix it. It doesn't mess up again.
(or)
Eastman's will give me honest answers, recommend other avenues to resolve a problem
(and)
Charge fairly or just ask for $5.00. read more