Blacklist Service Limits a Shop's Exposure to Problem Customers

No doubt mere have been times when you've wished you could "fire" a (fill in the blank) customer. The aggravation of dealing with some customers can quickly outweigh any financial gain that might be achieved by servicing their vehicles. Things get worse when the aggravation is brought on by nonpayment for services performed, or other forms of financial double-dealing. If things go really bad, you'd have every right to wish that you'd never agreed to work on the troublesome customer's vehicle in the first place.

Many shop owners have developed a gold-plated gut when it comes to these types of situations. If their gut tells them that a potential customer is going to be a problem, they simply refuse to service the vehicle. You're not operating a hospital emergency ward, so you have the right to deny service to anyone, without providing a reason. To keep things on an amicable and noninsulting basis, the shop owner can provide any number of reasons for refusing the vehicle.

But what happens when your gut lets you down? Would it be beneficial to have access to the experiences of other shop owners in your area and to share your experiences with them? This type of information exchange already exists on an informal basis among cooperative shops, but the AutoSnop Blacklist website provides a centralized point for the collection and sharing of this information. Coral Gables, FL, shop owner Cory Cooper developed the website to protect fellow shop owners from financial losses and to weed out abusive or dangerous customers. The site offers a free trial membership, with monthly or yearly payment options after that. Cooper also plans to add a user forum, a national parts locater service and a News & Events page to the website.

One of the worries of the Internet age is that your good name will be defamed or your credit rating damaged without basis and by someone you've never even met. Certainly, a website that collects unflattering information about automotive service customers holds the potential for abuse in the wrong hands. AutoShop Blacklist maintains diat die service it offers is legal and that they're governed by die rules that apply to credit agencies, which also collect information, good and bad, about consumers. The website also collects a good deal of information about you when you apply for membership, to make certain that you're a legitimate shop owner, with a legitimate reason for exchanging this type of information. If diis service looks like it could be of value to your business, check it out at www.autoshopblacklist.com.

Copyright Hearst Business Publishing Sep 2007
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