Economic times are forcing businesses and people to think differently.  Every day, I am having conversations with customers about how to cut cost and maintain what they have today.  You, personally, can no longer have the philosophy of staying under the radar and get by on what you have always done.  Today is more about, how do I differentiate myself?  What decisions can I make that drives savings to the bottom line?  How can I contribute more?

Just the other day, I had a neighbor come to me with the following story.  “I went to the Big Name dealership and I needed a standard check up on my car, can you believe that they wanted to charge me over $400?  For years, I had heard about a small auto shop down the road that did great work, cost less, and were fair and honest, but I have never tried them because I was comfortable going to the dealer where I bought my car.  Fortunately or unfortunately, times have changed and my cash flow is tighter and I couldn’t afford not to research my options.  Low and behold, just like everyone had told me, my price was under $200 at the small auto shop and I didn’t need to leave my car for the whole day.  In addition, I felt like the owner was honest and concerned about my well being.  I took a calculated risk and my expectations were not just met but exceeded”

This story is very similar to the stories that I am hearing day in and day out from our customers about Third Party Maintenance vs. OEM Maintenance.  For the longest time, they were comfortable going to the OEM because that is what they knew and pricing was never an issue.  Today, times are different.  They need to save money but don’t want to lower quality or expectations.  Once they try third party maintenance, their expectations are exceeded, their costs are lowered and they have a partner that is willing to listen to their concerns and develop a program that meets their needs.  Just like my neighbor.