Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to E. J. Josephson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
E. J. , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?
I have worked for over 50 years in everything from mom and pop shops to Fortune 500 companies. The common theme I have observed in successful businesses, big and small, is customer service. It doesn’t matter if you are selling a product or providing a service, if you have no customers you have no business.
Road And Track Specialists, Inc. is a full service Powersports repair facility. We sell a service. We repair motorcycles, all terrain vehicles (ATVs) and utility vehicles (UTVs). We have a very diverse customer base to include on and off road motorcycle enthusiasts, ranchers, farmers, commercial interests, first responders and county government vehicles.
Our guiding principal at Road And Track Specialists is to create Lifetime Customer Loyalty and foster repurchase intent. We want to provide such a great customer experience that they would not consider having their vehicle repaired by anyone else. Our hope is they will return for service and repairs over and over again.
We have two basic strategies to achieve these goals:
1.) Responsiveness to the customer
2.) Adhere to the Road And Track Specialists motto, “Fixed Right the First Time”
Let’s break it down. What does it mean to be responsive to the customer?
1.) Answer the phone!
In a call center one extremely important metric is “speed to answer.” I ran a large customer call center for a major automobile manufacturer and our goal was 20 seconds to answer the phone from the first ring. Most of the time the phones were answered faster than that. Now, Road And Track Specialists is not a call center. We are a very busy repair shop with tools, equipment and vehicles everywhere. Getting to the phone can be almost impossible so I wear a wireless headset. I can be across the shop wrapped up in a project and just hit a button and I’m connected to my customer. I answer almost 98% of all calls that way. That is so powerful is can’t be understated.
2.) Return messages as quickly as possible.
I’m amazed that the customer is amazed that I returned their call. I get the impression that the customer left a voicemail expecting that it would never be returned. It seems there are so many businesses that don’t return calls or respond to texts and emails. I have captured customers for life because I returned their calls when other shops did not. Responding to your customer is easy to do and should not be overlooked.
“Fixed Right the First Time”
If you are in the service industry this is a critical component to success. At Road And Track Specialists we work on a lot of “aged” vehicles. Many of our customers are not familiar with complex repairs so it’s our job to take them through the process.
1.) Set appropriate customer expectations.
Keep it real and be honest with your customer. Diplomatically tell them the truth. It builds trust and they really appreciate it. We deal with this on a daily basis. Some of our customers think they just need a tune up when they need extensive repairs. It’s our job to explain to them what’s involved and develop a strategy that will get the them to the end result they want.
2.) Fix it right the first time!
Pay attention and don’t cut corners. There is only one way to fix something and that’s the right way. Fortunately for us we have over 40 years of troubleshooting and repair experience so we rarely have a vehicle return for the same repair.
3.) Active delivery
We take the time to walk around the vehicle with the customer and explain all repairs. We’ll point out new parts that are visible, we’ll demonstrate operation of the vehicle to showcase how well the vehicle performs and we’ll review the repair invoice to answer any questions the customer may have. These actions leave a lasting impression with your customer. It builds trust and customer confidence in our business.
At Road And Track Specialists we have invested thousands of dollars on tools and equipment to be successful. Answering the phone, returning messages, setting expectations and spending time with our customers is basically free and in our opinion is the true key to our success.
E. J. , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Road And Track Specialists, Inc. is the result of over 40 years in the Automotive and Powersports industries. It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get here but the result is a very successful business with very high customer satisfaction. We enjoy a 4.9-5 star rating across all social media platforms with over 1000 repaired vehicles.
It all started from humble beginnings with automotive and diesel technical school in the late 1970’s. I spent time working in full service gas stations then moved on to truck fleet service where I was gaining experience as a technician. At about the same time I had a group of friends that were motorcyclists. They convinced me I needed one and that started a love affair with motorcycles. I decided I needed to get out of fleet services and went to work at a Honda motorcycle dealership. I spent the next five years as a line technician in three different dealers from New Jersey to Florida.
Looking to expand my career at moved on to the American Honda Motor Company, Inc. in California. I spent the next 23 years in the Motorcycle, Power Equipment and Automotive Divisions. I was a Motorcycle and Power Equipment Customer Specialist, Senior Technician in the Motorcycle Emissions Laboratory, Senior Technician in Power Equipment Engineering, Customer Specialist in the National Consumer Affairs Department, Senior Technician and Fuel & Emissions Techline Specialist in the Automobile Engineering Department, Automotive Instructional Designer specializing in Fuel & Emissions, Powertrain Controls and Second Generation On-Board Diagnostics (OBDII) and lastly I was a Region Manager in the Automobile Customer Service Department.
In 2008 I left American Honda to pursue business and Real Estate interests. A few years later I made my way to Texas with my family and took a position as an Assistant Manager of a Pierce Fire & Rescue apparatus dealership. That was a unique position I couldn’t pass up. Very few people get an opportunity to work with multi-million dollar specialty vehicles. Ladder and boom trucks, pumpers, tankers, ambulances and custom brush trucks, it was very interesting and a great experience.
Coming full circle in 2018 I started Road And Track Specialists, Inc. which is a full service Powersports repair facility. It turned out to be the right place at the right time. The Texas Hill Country is a major destination for motorcyclists and almost every ranch or farm has at least one all terrain utility vehicle. Those things combined with the physical location of our shop have really helped with our success.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
Road And Track Specialists most effective strategy for growth, by far, was establishing a solid online presence. We capture about 68%-72% of our customers from raw, organic Google searches. We achieved that by having a professionally designed website and social media presence.
We at Road And Track Specialists are experts at Powersports vehicle repairs, we are not website or social media developers. We sought out experts in that field and made a critical investment in our business. Not only do we have a website that adheres to Google best practices and parameters we have a properly constructed Google Local business page. That is critical to success. We also have a presence on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Yelp, Bing and other sites.
Another key to making this all work is to be active on those platforms. Almost daily we post a photo and short repair description of vehicles that were completed the day before. The bulk of our activity is on our Google Local business page, Instagram and Facebook. We now have close to 1000 individual posts on each one those three platforms.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
When I started Road And Track Specialists I only had basic hand tools that I had purchased during my early days of being a line technician in the late 1970’s. I calculated I needed about $10,000 in a lump sum to really kick things off right. I just didn’t have that available. Luckily my past experience and track record was established and known so I approached a family member and made a pitch. I offered them 10% interest on a five year $10,000 loan. To create breathing room I made sure I could pay the note off at any rate at any time including one balloon payment on the last day of the loan. We had a deal. I started repayment one year after the loan was funded and paid it off early. it was a win win for everyone.
Contact Info:
- Website: RoadAndTrackSpecislists.com
- Instagram: road_and_track_specialists
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RoadAndTrackSpecialists
- Yelp: Road And Track Specialists