As a mechanic, you’ll need to have plenty of technical skills and love working with your hands. However, what is easy to overlook is that having great communication and interpersonal skills can help you out significantly during your career.
Excellent communication skills can be a bit of an art in and of itself, but they’re essential for cementing yourself as a great mechanic. Customers, after all, will trust you (and their money) with their vehicles and they’ll want superior customer service to know that they can trust you. Here’s why social skills are such an important part of being a mechanic.
You’re Going to Interact With Customers on a Regular Basis
As a mechanic, you only have work so long as you have customers will to bring their vehicles to you for repairs and maintenance. So, if you want to be successful in your career, you’re going to have to interact with customers frequently. Being able to talk to customers with respect, empathy and understanding for their needs is important.
That said you may also encounter customers with complaints, or unrealistic expectations, so you’ll need to be calm, measured and ready to help them to the best of your abilities with whatever concerns they have. At the end of the day, you’ll want to build up enough of a rapport with customers to keep them coming back to you for repairs, so it’s important that you keep things positive and be transparent and professional with clients at all times.
You’ll Need to Interact With Your Coworkers, Too
Professionalism in your demeanour extends not only to customers, but to colleagues as well. After you become a mechanic, you’ll want to know when to reach out for help from others—and who to reach out to—to effectively troubleshoot car issues in ways you may not already know. This is especially important during your apprenticeship when you’ll be learning and making a living at the same time. Likewise, your colleagues may reach out to you for help or guidance as well, especially as you gain experience and newer hires look to you for advice. Whether you’re looking for advice or giving it, having the right communication skills can help.
As a Car Mechanic, You’ll Need to Explain Repairs and Maintenance
As a car mechanic you will have to be transparent with customers about the repairs and maintenance their vehicles need. You’ll need to carefully take information from them, as well as from service advisors, about what issues the vehicle is having and the necessary repairs and maintenance. This can sometimes mean explaining complicated mechanical procedures and terms in ways the average person will understand.
In many cases, you’ll have to inform customers if the procedure means the repair is going to take longer than anticipated, how much it may end up costing, and how best to proceed. Again, it’s all about building a rapport with customers so they continue trusting you and coming back with future repairs. Explaining procedures descriptively and transparently will help you do exactly that.
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