Always Get the Tacos Next to The Gas Station: A Lesson

Finding good food on a road trip can always be challenging.

On a recent trip, I was driving just above the 60 MPH speed limit, while my wife was scrolling through Google trying to find someplace for dinner.

As you know, if you’ve ever tried to find food in the next town or hamlet, you’ve got to be quick because no sooner do you find the restaurant than you’ve passed it or it’s behind you and in the wrong direction. It’s tricky business and requires timing and skill and nerves of steel. My wife is brilliant at this.

So, we were barreling along and my wife’s eyes lit up and blurted out, “TACOS. Got a taco place!”

We were hungry and on it.

She recalibrated Waze for Los 7 Hermanos in Winchester, Virginia, and off we went. Waze took us slightly past and around the place and then we saw the joint. Now, we like a good joint and this one looked a little…sketchy.

It was a rickety old station which had old pumps and rough pavement. The windows were covered with posters showing all kinds of Mexican food and these posters looked like they were purchased at OpenAMexicanRestaurant.com and was in an adjacent space but in the same building as the gas station. So, the restaurant was in an attached space and under the same roof as the gas station.

I looked at my wife, Natalie, with a “I’m-not-so-sure-about-this” look. She confidently said, “You never get the tacos INSIDE the gas station and ALWAYS get the tacos NEXT TO the gas station.” So, off we went and the food was incredible.

(I can highly recommend the tamales if you are ever in Winchester.)

Unexpected Surprises and Pleasures

Here’s another unexpected surprise – when an upset customer tells you they are going to sue you. I know that sounds counterintuitive but it’s really not. It’s really a gift.

The customer is telling you how upset they are. You should listen.

You have to ask yourself, “Is this customer really going to sue us?” The chances are greater than 50%/50% they are not, and yet, they blurted out they were going to take you to court. It’s a gift because you know you need to resolve the problem.

Unresolved customer problems result in lawsuits, large bills for attorney’s fees, and sometimes regulatory inquiries, which always costs time and money. So, when this happens, it’s a gift and a reminder that you should resolve the issue. Some employees at dealerships will hide behind the notion the dealership “did nothing wrong,” and the customer is being “unreasonable.” Both may be true and I am not saying you should give it all away. I am saying you should find a compromise to make the customer “satisfied.”

The word “satisfied,” is important here. It’s the word I would use in conversation with customers. “Satisfied” is different than “happy.” “Satisfied” may mean the customer has to compromise their expectations and settle for less, depending on the size of the “ask.” Creating a meeting of the minds often takes multiple meetings and a lot of work. Give and take is essential.

As a business, it is not our job to determine “who is right and who is wrong.” It’s our job to make and retain profit. The best way to retain profit is to make sure no one is lining up to picket the business, or go to the local TV news “gotcha” crew, or head to the courthouse, or go see a regulator. All of these will have poor outcomes.

Let’s be clear, you should not be arguing with the customer. That is different. By the time you are arguing with the customer, you might as well be paying a lawyer. Lawyers argue and they are expensive.

Business people resolve problems. Whether you are a sales agent, office clerk, or technician, your job is to bring problems to conclusion. Those problems take on different shapes and forms, some small and some big. Almost everyone’s job at the dealership is about taking care of problems. This results in handling and concluding customer issues. This is our business: satisfying customers.

A satisfied customer is able to move past the point of conflict and continue on their way without any hard feelings towards your business. Satisfaction is truly the key to forward momentum, much as a traveler on the road is comforted after a good and unexpected taco meal.

Earlier, when I used the words “unexpected surprise,” you may have thought about someone bringing you a gift and all the pleasantries which come along with that gift. Instead, next time a customer tells you they are going to take you to court, you should say to yourself, “Thank you for the wonderful gift. It means so much to me! What a thoughtful surprise.” This gives you the opportunity to solve a problem, right then and there.

It’s easy to dismiss something that doesn’t look right at first glance, like a taco shop next to a rickety gas station. But if you’re willing to pause and take a closer look, you might find something valuable hiding in plain sight.

When a customer threatens to sue, it feels just as unappetizing at first. But underneath that tough exterior is a gift: the chance to fix the issue before it becomes a real crisis. Just like the taco stand, what looks risky at first glance may turn out to be exactly what you needed. You can solve the issue at hand and prevent the same problem from happening in the future. And that’s even better than Taco Tuesday.