The receipt is a record of completed services. The information on the receipt can go a long way toward helping a customer keep accurate service records. It can also offer education on what work was done and what work will be required during a guest’s next visit.
How much information should be included, and how should it be presented to the customer? Damon Cannon, manager of Lube Pro Oil Change, recently spoke with NOLN about the anatomy of a receipt at his shop in Lubbock, Texas.
The Challenge
Finding the balance between enough and too much information can take some experimentation. Once you find the balance, it’s still worth revisiting periodically to ensure your shop is providing customers with the most relevant information.
“It took some time,” Cannon says. “I figured the most helpful, useful stuff that I would want to know, what they want to know. I want it to be informative, but short and sweet. Not a whole book.”
Too much abbreviation or technical terminology could lose the customer. Not enough detail could leave a customer to question what service was performed.
The Solutions
Cannon created an invoice template from Lube Pro’s point-of-sale software.
“There are options, adjustments to be made,” Cannon informs NOLN. “The wording can be changed. There are small tweaks that can be made.”
While changes are sometimes required to get the balance right, if the information on the receipt works for both customers and the shop, consider keeping it. After deciding on a format, Cannon has mostly stayed with it. The details on the receipt make sense to the customer.
“I really haven’t adjusted anything in a couple of years,” says Cannon.
The basics on Lube Pro’s printout include the name, address, and phone number at the top of the page. The date and time of service also appear in the header. Customer information follows the shop details. Lube Pro also lists vehicle information such as the make, model, mileage, and the next service due date.
Following the shop and customer information is a list of completed services, with appropriate details.
“We have our oil changes categorized by good, better, best, and diesel,” Cannon explains. The receipt lists the service and the quality of lubricant used. Any other services, such as a filter replacement, are also included on the page.
While the two-bay shop does not handle anything beyond oil changes and basic maintenance, mechanics perform engine checks to help customers determine which services their vehicles need.
“We have a service checklist that shows numbers 1 to 15 of all the items we looked at,” Cannon states. “We have three main things we check: the battery, water in the battery, (and) power steering and transmission fluid.”
The Takeaway
The vehicle maintenance summary is useful to customers, yet 9 out of 10 people do not read it, according to Cannon.
“I talk to people personally,” he says.
The Lubbock shop has a list of mechanics to send customers who need work done.
“I will recommend services on differentials and fuel filters. If I notice something, if the tires are ‘jacked up,’ I have a person I refer them to. I have a transmission guy, a tire guy, a windshield guy,” offers Cannon.
The manager goes over the receipt with the customer to ensure they understand the checklist for the upcoming service—those 15 points most people ignore—and any issues to note.
“I type in the comment notes such as 'oil was low' or 'a wire was showing,’” says Cannon. “Things I want them to be aware of. I use a highlighter to circle it and draw their attention to that portion.
“We offer the best advice we can.”
Payment information, such as the credit card authorization, appears on the page rather than on a separate receipt that gets stapled to it.
Cannon makes a point to make the service personal. When going over the receipt with a customer, who is often sitting in his or her car, he squats or kneels down to window level to be more personable.
“Sometimes I sit in the passenger seat and talk to them,” he says. “I do the best I can to take care of my customers.”
