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Category: Tips for Tires

Recognizing Your Employees!

Posted on September 13, 2022September 13, 2022 By right-e261f6
Recognizing Your Employees!
Auto Shop, Tips for Tires, tire business

I happily just celebrated my 15th anniversary with Upright Communications (Upright Tire) just this month! And as I celebrated my successes, it prompted me to think about all the ways that we can be celebrating our employees when they reach epic milestones (or even 90-day ones! Celebrating anything is fun!).

As noted by Tire Review, former U.S. Defense Secretary and Ford Motor Co. President Robert McNamara put it simply: “Brains, like hearts, go where they are appreciated.” Who can relate to that? I mean, I certainly can appreciate that sentiment. If you’re not appreciated, chances are you’re not going to put all your heart into your work. 

In the day-to-day grind of running a business, we can quickly get caught up in the ‘thanks’ or simple ‘congratulations’ for when employees reach a milestone. However, given the shortage of quality talent and life as it is, can shop owners afford to not implement an employee retention program centered on recognition? Being recognized, both monetarily and morally, can boost morale more than you may realize. (So many valuable words that start with ‘m’ in that sentence!)

A 2013 Harris Interactive online survey, on behalf of Glassdoor, reported that 81% of respondents said they’re motivated to work harder when their superior shows genuine appreciation for their work, and 53% said they’d be more inclined to stay with the company longer if they felt more appreciation from their bosses. 

So now that you know all this, what the heck do ya do!? Let’s think!

What to celebrate?!

  • Work anniversaries – 90-day, 1-year, and epic milestones like 5, 10, 15, etc. These are really big deals. Think how hard folks work for you and they CHOOSE to remain with your organization. If you appreciate them, let them know!
  • Professional certs – I’ve always wanted to shorten the word ‘certifications’! 
  • Individual or team production efforts
  • No work days missed
  • Unexpected kindness showed towards customers and co-workers
  • Personal successes like volunteering opportunities outside of work for example

As I’m learning through personal growth, the positive behavior you want to be repeated is the one you need to be celebrating! Quality shop owners know that recognition improves engagement, and it’s that personal touch that can make your day-to-day that much better.

Oh and also, when rewarding folks it’s not just about a yearly review, it can be things like giving baseball tickets to an avid baseball fan for when they sold a crap ton of tires. Or maybe you’ve had an employee work really hard for you and you know he/she has been away from their family a lot – consider thinking of them too. Your job accounts for a LARGE portion of your well-being and that includes the impact your job has on your home life. 

How to do it!?

I heard of an acronym one time that resonated with me…. It’s RISE. R – Regular. I – Immediate. S – Specific. E – Encouraging.

It basically goes like this… Regularly recognizing your employees at least once a week gets you into that routine of noting people’s successes. The sooner you can recognize that behavior, the more often they’ll repeat it. That’s your ‘immediate.’ Then, you have the specific recognition that you want to focus on! And finally, you continue to encourage and support your employees when they do an outstanding job. 

If anything, we need more excuses to celebrate with each other. Tell us how you celebrate your employees!

Top Five Tips for Responding to Negative Reviews

Posted on September 13, 2022September 13, 2022 By right-e261f6
Top Five Tips for Responding to Negative Reviews
Tips for Tires, Tire Dealer

Negative reviews happen to the best of us. Whether a customer has a bad day, one of your employees has a bad day, service is too slow, or any other extraneous factor, these are reasons that may cause your business to receive a negative review. Don’t fret – a negative review is not the end of the world. 

In fact, many review sites display the review as an average, so the more reviews (hopefully four or five stars) your business accumulates, the less a one or two-star review will drag your overall star rating. Keep in mind that your negative reviews will still be on display, so it is important to try your best to respond to the unhappy customer and try your best to mitigate the situation or add clarity.

We want to make sure that you have the tools and resources to address these negative reviews respectfully and conductively. Here are a few tips you can use when addressing any negative (and even positive) reviews you receive:

  • Respond in a timely manner. When you’re aware of a negative review, please address it as soon as possible. Set aside five to ten minutes to formulate a response that you’re happy with. You may have to do additional research on a specific service case that may require a bit more time.
  • Always respond. It sounds easier to respond to positive reviews, but the negative reviews’ responses will likely be sought out by prospective customers. Your response will allow the prospect to gauge, given both perspectives, whether the circumstances of the negative review are valid enough to not choose your business. Both sides of the story are key to this process.
  • Don’t be defensive. Being defensive can cause you to say things you don’t necessarily mean or may just reflect poorly on your business. Keep a level head and try to formulate your response with empathy and understanding. 
  • Offer a discount or refund for the inconvenience. Depending on the weight of the negative review, and if you feel that it was more on your business’ end, you could offer a discount or refund for the inconvenience. This is a sign of goodwill that speaks volumes to an unhappy customer. 
  • Take the conversation offline. Whether you direct them to email you personally or reach out to your customer support, this may be a good option for unhappy customers that need more follow-up. By showing this customer that you’re trying to fix the situation, they may be more willing to revise their previous review with a more positive one.

Here’s hoping you don’t get too many negative reviews in the near future, but it’s always good to be knowledgeable about how to respond appropriately. We hope these tips help you manage your tire shop’s online listings. Please contact Upright Tire if you want assistance in managing your reputation management.

Good Read

  • Emergency Road Services – All You Need to Know
  • 9 Easy Steps to Install a Gooseneck Trailer Ball
  • Be Careful Of Emergency Road Services All Year Round
  • Recognizing Your Employees!
  • The New Pinterest Analytics Tool!

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