How to Use Online Reviews to Select an Auto Body Shop
You rely on your car every day, so getting into an accident isn’t only scary – it’s inconvenient. That’s why it matters where you choose to get your repairs. You need your car back quickly, but you also need your car to be properly repaired and safe to drive. Who wants to risk another collision, right after having collision repair?
For this reason, you shouldn’t choose the first auto body shop that appears in the search results. But if you’ve never worked with an auto body shop before, how can you know who to trust with your vehicle? Beyond getting referrals from people you know, online reviews can be very helpful for finding more information to make the right decision.
Vetting Online Reviews
The first place many people look for reviews online are sites like Yelp, Google, and Angie’s List. Although these are helpful to give you an overall idea about what to expect with service and customer satisfaction, it’s important to understand that not all customer review sites are the same. Some websites will let anyone post a review, regardless of whether they’re a legitimate customer or not. Other websites allow featured businesses to place ads sponsoring positive reviews to increase their visibility.
Another issue with online review sites is that it can be difficult to know if the reviews you’re reading are truthful. Statistically, customers who had a bad experience at a business are far more likely to leave a review than a customer who left completely satisfied. It’s also not uncommon for bad reviews to include some exaggerated points to make the experience with the business sound even worse.
A better option is to search for verified customer testimonial platforms, like Carwise or Auto Body Review. These are specialized sites that only allow real customers to post reviews. If you’re looking for accurate information about what to expect from an auto body shop, a verified customer testimonial platform is the best place to check out.
Websites that specialize in educating consumers are growing in popularity because consumers have shifted to using them to make their purchase decisions – and not just in the automotive industry. Today, nearly 90% of consumers look at online reviews before deciding whether to choose a service or purchase a product. In addition, 84% of consumers trust the reviews they read online – which means most people trust online reviews as much as they would trust a referral from friends or family.
Don’t Forget About Forums!
Keep in mind that forums can also be a reliable source of information that’s just as good as word of mouth. Comments in online forums tend to be a genuine reflection of a people’s experience with shops. Customer discussion forums can also be a channel for communication between an auto body shop and its clientele. Interaction between the two can give you insight into how well the shop stands by its work and how they interact with their customers.
Forums also present an excellent opportunity for the business to respond to customers that may have had a negative experience. Look for companies that obviously care about customer satisfaction and building a relationship with their customers.
It’s also important to remember that with everything, there’s always room for improvement. Negative reviews aren’t going to be ignored by a reputable company that’s interested in customer satisfaction and improving their work; instead, they’ll take the time to listen to customer advice and complaints and use this feedback to provide better service.
Additional Tips
Here are a few more tips for finding reliable information about an auto body shop:
1. Look into several different auto body shops in your area.
2. Ignore posts that are poorly written or that tend to use a lot of capital letters or exclamation points.
3. Skip reading the really short responses like, “They were great!” Brief reviews won’t give you enough information to understand the type of service and the repair quality you can expect to receive. Instead, look for longer, well-written reviews that include details.
4. Try to find testimonials that are specific to the make and model of your vehicle.
5. Do a search on information about the type of repairs you need, and check to see if the shop has a good track record fixing them.
6. Keep in mind that businesses change over time. If a shop has reviews going back ten years, focus instead on the ones that are more recent – no more than a few years old.
How to Leave an Effective Review for an Auto Body Shop
If you’ve already had collision repair performed on your vehicle, you may want to consider leaving a review to help other consumers make their decision. Here are some things to remember when writing a review:
1. Leave constructive feedback. Think about what you liked or didn’t like about the service; how can the shop make improvements?
2. Clearly explain the reasons you were happy or unhappy, such as quality of the repairs, customer relations, policies, etc.
3. Keep the tone of your review honest, but stay civil – even if you were unhappy with the service.
4. Be sure to include the dates you had the services performed, along with the make and model of your vehicle and the type of work the shop carried out.
5. Don’t include links to websites or any personal information.
6. Read through your review before publishing it to make sure you’ve included all the important information and points you wanted to make.
7. Update your feedback if needed.
Cline Collision’s Commitment to Excellence
At Cline Collision Center, our top priorities are customer satisfaction and providing safe, high-quality repairs. We value feedback from our customers and continually work to ensure we provide the best possible auto body repair in Sonoma County. From paintless dent removal to extensive collision repairs and aluminum body repairs, we handle it all – and we hold OEM certifications with many of the top automakers. Feel free to reach out to us with any questions you have about your auto body repair or schedule an appointment with us today!
