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Policies for Policy's Sake: Not the Way to Keep Local Customers
Mechanics are like hairdressers. We find one we trust and we remain loyal. So despite living walking distance from the Hogan and Sons Goodyear on Market Street in Leesburg, I was still taking my car to a shop near my office in Ashburn.
Well, one morning I walked out the front door to find a flat tire on my Jeep. My fella jacked it up, threw the tire in his truck, and we went around the corner to the only place in town open at 7am on a Saturday: Hogan and Sons.
I waited mere minutes as the mechanic determined that all I had was a slipped valve. He popped it into place and reinflated it, and the service manager told me it wasn't even worth a charge. He recommended I drop the mechanic a cash tip and have a nice day.
Of course that unexpected favor and excellent service stuck with me, so when it was time for my next oil change, I made an appointment at Hogan and Sons. I love to patronize neighboring businesses, and now I had a good feeling about this place.
On the day of my appointment however, I arrived to hear that same service manager speak the stiff language not befitting a community businessperson: "It's our policy." Those three words are a sure way to turn me off and lose my money.
Let me back up and explain. I don't like to supply my home address to businesses who don't need it. It's my way of ensuring that I stay off the mailing lists and of creating less opportunity for my identity to be compromised. I don't see a reason for a business that is not going to be coming to my home or sending me a bill to maintain my home address in their files.
So when Hogan and Sons asked me for my address I easily stated "unlisted."
"Well if you are going to be paying by credit card today, ma'am, I must have your address. THAT'S OUR POLICY AND I CANNOT MOVE ON THAT."
Now when I pay for my groceries at Giant and use my Visa, the cashier doesn't ask me for my address. When I shop for jeans at The Gap with my Mastercard, the salesperson doesn't ask me for my address. So I know there is nobody forcing Hogan and Sons to ask me for my address except for themselves. And so the policy seems rather arbitrary and unnecessary to me.
MY policy is that I don't give my address to anyone who doesn't have a good reason to need it, so I calmly told the service manager "please cancel my appointment, I will take my car to my usual shop in Ashburn who doesn't require me to provide my address. Goodbye."
It's that simple. Folks, don't let businesses force you to give any information that you are not comfortable providing. If you have a legitimate reason for not sharing your address, then don't. Hogan and Sons has no legitimate reason to track any of its customers down at home based merely on the fact they pay by Visa, OK? Maybe they want to send you coupons, special offers, maintenance reminders, or product recall information. If you want it, that is OK too. But if you don't, then move on and find a local business who will understand and respect your need for privacy.
The fact that the service manager let me walk out the door because of a senseless policy means that my $30 dollars and all my potential future automotive business was not worth it to Hogan and Sons. A true local businessperson would know better than to allow such to happen. What a shame.
In the comments section, tell us about a Loudoun local mechanic you recommend!
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