Latest / Crossroad Conversations with the Lewis Brothers / Ep. 89 - "Eating Crow: The Leadership Skill Nobody Wants to Practice"

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Ep. 89 - "Eating Crow: The Leadership Skill Nobody Wants to Practice" · Crossroad Conversations with the Lewis Brothers

0:00
SPEAKER_00: If you're listening and you're like, I've never been wrong or I haven't messed up design right there.
0:06
SPEAKER_00: Because we all, we all work human.
0:08
SPEAKER_00: That's we all of that one is admitting you have a problem.
0:11
SPEAKER_00: Admitting you have a problem, okay?
0:12
SPEAKER_00: Admitting it.
0:16
SPEAKER_00: Hey everyone, welcome to Crossroad Conversations with the Lewis Brothers, where we aim to share real stories about running a successful family business, working through adversity, and pouring back into the community that keeps our door open.
0:28
SPEAKER_00: We're your host, Matt, Shelby, and Taylor, and we bring you relevant local business advice and automotive insights that are sure to change the way you look at running a business.
0:38
SPEAKER_00: And maybe even throw in a plug for you to do business with us.
0:41
SPEAKER_00: Hey, welcome back to Crossroad Conversations with the Lewis brothers.
0:45
SPEAKER_00: Shelby and I are in studio today.
0:47
SPEAKER_00: Younger brothers back in the store making sure all the wheels stay on.
0:51
SPEAKER_01: Guaranteed.
0:52
SPEAKER_00: And today we got episode 89, Eating Crow.
0:56
SPEAKER_00: Isn't that fun to talk about when you're wrong, eating crow?
0:59
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I don't know that we're actually physically talking about the crow, but the idea of eating crow, right?
1:04
SPEAKER_00: That's right.
1:05
SPEAKER_00: Eating crow, admitting you were wrong, owning a bad call, walking back something you said with confidence.
1:12
SPEAKER_00: It's the kind of leadership moment that defines you but doesn't show up on any resume.
1:17
SPEAKER_00: Most owners would rather die than admit to making a mistake publicly.
1:23
SPEAKER_00: This is the conversation about why that's the problem.
1:27
SPEAKER_01: Right.
1:27
SPEAKER_01: And before we fully unpack episode 89, if you didn't already go look at episode 88.
1:33
SPEAKER_01: And we talk about you don't run a business.
1:35
SPEAKER_01: Wait, what?
1:36
SPEAKER_01: You run a network.
1:38
SPEAKER_01: And so we fully broke that down.
1:39
SPEAKER_01: Every business has vendors, how to handle those vendors, how to make sure you're getting your value, when to hire new vendors, when to replace those vendors, and when to completely just reset that whole thing.
1:48
SPEAKER_01: So that was episode 88.
1:49
SPEAKER_01: You can always check that out at Crossroad Conversations Podcast.com or anywhere that you get your podcast.
1:55
SPEAKER_01: Make sure you like and subscribe so you see every week on Thursdays when that new episode drops.
1:59
SPEAKER_01: And anything automotive, Lewis Superstore.com with over a thousand vehicles.
2:03
SPEAKER_01: But the key to that is transparency.
2:05
SPEAKER_01: What you see online is what you pay in person.
2:08
SPEAKER_01: No hoops, no shenanigans, no, you had to have had this.
2:13
SPEAKER_01: What you pay on what you see is what you pay.
2:16
SPEAKER_01: Uh so always check that out.
2:17
SPEAKER_00: That's super important to us, Shelby.
2:19
SPEAKER_00: And I'm glad you said that.
2:20
SPEAKER_00: And that's why when you see that our names on the building, because we'll stand up and back anything we say we're gonna do, and we're not gonna turn and run from you when we see you in the grocery store or out in public.
2:32
SPEAKER_00: What you see online is what you'll get.
2:34
SPEAKER_00: And the only way to prove that is test us.
2:36
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and that's not like, you know, so we see sometimes in some stores of, okay, we want you to come to our store.
2:43
SPEAKER_01: And so in order to do that, they say my price needs to be lower than anyone else.
2:47
SPEAKER_01: It's need to be more attractive.
2:48
SPEAKER_01: And that's your classic bait and switch.
2:50
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
2:50
SPEAKER_01: But then you can't find someone to say, why will you not honor this price?
2:56
SPEAKER_01: Well, the humility in it says, I don't want to be in the grocery store to say, hey, you had your car online for 26.5, and when I showed up in person, 33,000 was the best you would do.
3:08
SPEAKER_01: That's right.
3:08
SPEAKER_01: And so it's just treating people how you want to be treated and being a very good price, but being a real price.
3:14
SPEAKER_01: That's what we pride our business on.
3:15
SPEAKER_01: That's what we've always done.
3:17
SPEAKER_01: But it now it is under heavy scrutiny with the FTC.
3:20
SPEAKER_01: And it's like, okay, here we are.
3:21
SPEAKER_01: We've been playing this game forever, and we'll continue to do it.
3:25
SPEAKER_00: That's so good.
3:26
SPEAKER_00: So, what's in the garage today?
3:27
SPEAKER_00: Today we're going to the Jeep Compass.
3:29
SPEAKER_00: And there's a reason I bring you the Jeep Compass.
3:31
SPEAKER_00: It's a mid-size SUV that's affordable and capable for everyone.
3:36
SPEAKER_00: So when you look at the compass, they come standard with full-wheel drive.
3:40
SPEAKER_00: So to get you to the Buffalo River, it'll give you through those few inclement weather days here in northwest Arkansas.
3:45
SPEAKER_00: It gets great fuel mileage, over 30 miles a gallon, and it's got all the tech you're looking for.
3:50
SPEAKER_00: So if it's the big screen, if it's the wireless, you know, Apple or Android CarPlay, if it's the backup, all the technology of the blind spot, the driving safeties to help reduce your insurance rates and to make your overall driving experience fantastic.
4:05
SPEAKER_00: Plus, it's got the Jeep name with it.
4:07
SPEAKER_01: And here's the cool thing I love about the compass because oftentimes that B segment or that C segment car that's at great entry level rise, uh, it kind of gets forgotten about new stuff, a new look, new technology, new interior, new colors, new styles, right?
4:24
SPEAKER_01: Because they're trying to keep costs low.
4:25
SPEAKER_01: If they constantly stay new, it gets expensive.
4:28
SPEAKER_01: Well, guess what?
4:28
SPEAKER_01: Jeep somehow redid it, right?
4:31
SPEAKER_01: So that it's got an all-new grille.
4:33
SPEAKER_01: It's got the new big screen in there.
4:35
SPEAKER_01: It has new interior uh touches.
4:37
SPEAKER_01: It's nice.
4:38
SPEAKER_00: And it's all they're all of them are full-wheel drive.
4:40
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
4:40
SPEAKER_00: And they're$26,000, right?
4:42
SPEAKER_00: They started a new car.
4:44
SPEAKER_00: $26,000.
4:46
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
4:46
SPEAKER_00: So that's affordable.
4:47
SPEAKER_00: So we're talking mid-400s payment, zero down.
4:50
SPEAKER_00: If you're looking to build your credit or if you've never had credit before, it's identified as one of those cars for first-time owners.
4:55
SPEAKER_00: So we can help you establish your credit there.
4:58
SPEAKER_00: Have you in a capable vehicle that's fun, like you just said.
5:01
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
5:02
SPEAKER_00: And I think right now we've got a little over 25 of those to choose from here on the lot.
5:06
SPEAKER_00: Let's go.
5:06
SPEAKER_00: So let's get started today.
5:08
SPEAKER_00: The moment you knew you were wrong, I would say the majority of people, actually all of us, we all had that inner feeling of knowing we're wrong.
5:18
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
5:19
SPEAKER_01: And sometimes it's like you can see it because it's your Adam's app of like, or where you look, or how you answer.
5:28
SPEAKER_01: Or I just spoke and I wasn't supposed to, or spoke too soon, and that wasn't actually the question they were asking.
5:35
SPEAKER_01: You can tell.
5:36
SPEAKER_00: So the next piece is what separates the great from everybody else.
5:42
SPEAKER_00: And it's what you do next.
5:45
SPEAKER_00: Do you admit to it?
5:47
SPEAKER_00: Do you own it?
5:48
SPEAKER_00: Or do you dance around, pass the buck?
5:53
SPEAKER_00: Or worse, lie about it.
5:56
SPEAKER_01: It's it's so good that that this is the subject and talking about it, and it happens to everyone, but how you handle it is the most important part, and it defines your character, it defines what type of leader you are, and it's the hardest thing to do until you put it into your normal routine.
6:15
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna give my example and then you can give your example.
6:20
SPEAKER_01: But every month we have cake day, right?
6:23
SPEAKER_01: And it's cake, not keg.
6:25
SPEAKER_01: Some people are like, you have keg day?
6:26
SPEAKER_01: No, it's cake day.
6:27
SPEAKER_01: We celebrate, we celebrate birthdays and anniversaries and accolades.
6:32
SPEAKER_01: It's our best way to keep up with our 250 employees to make sure they feel as valued as they actually are.
6:39
SPEAKER_01: And so the one of the last things we do is read off a board.
6:42
SPEAKER_01: And our marketing team uh and our HR team does such a great job to give all the birthdays for each store and all the anniversaries.
6:49
SPEAKER_01: And this last month I was reading and I got down to one of our employees in office.
6:53
SPEAKER_01: And she's worked here for well over a year.
6:55
SPEAKER_01: I know exactly who she is.
6:57
SPEAKER_01: Um, and I read her name.
7:00
SPEAKER_01: I read like 20 names on here, and I got down and her name is Rayleigh.
7:04
SPEAKER_01: And I said, Raleigh.
7:07
SPEAKER_01: I'm you know, my bad.
7:09
SPEAKER_01: Uh it's like, hey, I'm not the best at uh enunciation, pronunciation, pronunciation, and reading that.
7:15
SPEAKER_01: And so then I pull that and I say, and happy birthday, Rayleigh! And all the girls in the office are dying laughing.
7:22
SPEAKER_01: And I said, I'm out, run.
7:26
SPEAKER_01: In the middle of my presentation of 115 people, Lewis Ford, and I said, Okay, I said it wrong.
7:33
SPEAKER_01: Tell me, you, you know, I know who you are.
7:38
SPEAKER_01: How do you say your name?
7:39
SPEAKER_01: She said, It's Rayleigh.
7:41
SPEAKER_01: And I said, My bad.
7:43
SPEAKER_01: Went to go blame it on Prairie Girl, but it was just me, right?
7:46
SPEAKER_01: I said, It's Rayleigh.
7:47
SPEAKER_01: I apologize, I said it Raleigh, and just called it straight like, I'm not gonna let this get any further.
7:54
SPEAKER_01: And then later I went into her office and I was like, You could have given me a heads up or something.
7:59
SPEAKER_01: And she's like, Whatever, I thought you knew me.
8:01
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, I do know you, but just calling it out.
8:04
SPEAKER_01: But talking podcasts and where we've learned, did you have an example of?
8:09
SPEAKER_01: Oh my goodness.
8:10
SPEAKER_00: So we're in a high-level meeting the other day.
8:14
SPEAKER_00: High level meeting.
8:15
SPEAKER_00: And then I'm gonna get to that story.
8:17
SPEAKER_00: Okay, okay, okay.
8:18
SPEAKER_00: Let's start.
8:19
SPEAKER_00: I got I got so many of these stories.
8:21
SPEAKER_00: Can I first say though before I give my example, you said it a minute ago that most of us have have messed up.
8:27
SPEAKER_00: If you're listening and you're like, I've never been wrong or I haven't messed up, that messign right there.
8:33
SPEAKER_00: Because we all, we all work human.
8:36
SPEAKER_00: That's we all of that.
8:37
SPEAKER_00: That's one admitting you have a problem.
8:39
SPEAKER_00: Admitting you have a problem.
8:40
SPEAKER_00: Okay, admitting it.
8:41
SPEAKER_00: Okay, so we're in a board meeting this past week.
8:43
SPEAKER_00: And when we say board meeting, the leaders of all of our companies, so general managers, operators, controllers, CFOs, owners, my dad, my uncle, everybody.
8:55
SPEAKER_00: And I'm going over reports, and I'm so proud to go over what our team has been working on in our parts department and how much success we've grown there.
9:04
SPEAKER_00: Really excited to go over these reports.
9:07
SPEAKER_00: And somehow I had it in my mind that last month was April.
9:12
SPEAKER_00: And it wasn't.
9:13
SPEAKER_00: Last month was May.
9:15
SPEAKER_00: So the reports I went over was April, and I kept talking about April, how it was, and then it finally nobody would say anything to me.
9:24
SPEAKER_00: And all these people have entrusted me to be in charge of the company and in control as the leader and to know everything and be on it.
9:32
SPEAKER_00: And I was on the wrong month.
9:34
SPEAKER_00: I'd printed it, I'd gone over it, and it was the wrong month.
9:38
SPEAKER_01: I didn't really think much of it because the manufacturer usually doesn't certify stuff for you know a couple months.
9:43
SPEAKER_01: So I just thought, hey, this is a good example.
9:45
SPEAKER_01: Like we weren't really going over the numbers, we were going over the format.
9:49
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
9:49
SPEAKER_01: At least that was my thought.
9:51
SPEAKER_01: I was with you, but and you rolled it out, right?
9:53
SPEAKER_00: But then I called it out because I could have gone with that.
9:56
SPEAKER_00: And you actually said that, and it was really a loft to me.
10:00
SPEAKER_00: And I could have just hit it out of the park and said, yes, just like the manufacturers, I'm doing this.
10:06
SPEAKER_00: But instead, who better than the person in charge to pause, admit, and say, I made a mistake?
10:14
SPEAKER_00: Because I had an audience of leaders in there, and I could use my mistake as an example on how I want them to be.
10:21
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
10:22
SPEAKER_00: If you want trust and belief within departments or even cross-departments, when a mistake is made, you must first admit it because they know you made the mistake.
10:33
SPEAKER_01: I I think they need to understand how to fail.
10:43
SPEAKER_01: And I think it's the timing of calling it out, how you respond from it, and then what you where you go from there, right?
10:51
SPEAKER_01: I think that's where that was a good example, not on purpose, but in that meeting to say, oh, I messed up.
10:58
SPEAKER_01: And it's not like crap, the office gave me the wrong one, or I hit print on April instead of May or May instead of April.
11:05
SPEAKER_01: It's like, I messed up.
11:06
SPEAKER_00: There is so much credibility.
11:08
SPEAKER_00: There's a fear of loss of credibility, yeah.
11:11
SPEAKER_00: Where in fact these moments we're talking about will gain you credibility with your team because they're like, oh, he's human.
11:19
SPEAKER_00: He's running the company, but he's human.
11:21
SPEAKER_00: He makes mistakes too.
11:23
SPEAKER_00: So, not quite a year ago, but last fall, there's a big event that we sponsor.
11:27
SPEAKER_00: It's the construction developers event.
11:30
SPEAKER_00: And it brings all the big construction companies together.
11:33
SPEAKER_00: We hand out awards, uh, it's with the chamber, it's in Favil, but it's for all in Northwest Arkansas.
11:37
SPEAKER_00: And I'm on stage MC in this.
11:40
SPEAKER_00: And we're going through and I'm reading.
11:43
SPEAKER_00: There's not a teleprompter, but I'm reading the sheets about who won and which the next award is.
11:49
SPEAKER_00: And just like Shelby said, our pronunciation may not be the best.
11:53
SPEAKER_00: We read just what's on the sheet of paper and sound it out the best we can.
11:58
SPEAKER_00: And we get to a guest speaker who's gonna announce the next award.
12:03
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
12:03
SPEAKER_00: Now I know this individual.
12:05
SPEAKER_00: We worked with him.
12:06
SPEAKER_00: In fact, they help us develop this podcast.
12:08
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
12:08
SPEAKER_00: And we've worked with him for years, and I've gotten to know him.
12:11
SPEAKER_00: His name's Parker.
12:13
SPEAKER_00: And Parker's a friend of mine, and I know he's coming up.
12:17
SPEAKER_00: I've talked to him, but I am in the zone.
12:20
SPEAKER_00: I read off the sheet of paper, and I said, Everybody help me welcome up Peyton from Podcast Videos.
12:27
SPEAKER_01: And so everyone was like, Yeah, because they didn't really know, right?
12:30
SPEAKER_00: They didn't know the difference.
12:32
SPEAKER_00: So Parker walks up and looks at me.
12:34
SPEAKER_00: And I mean, there's a thousand people in the row.
12:37
SPEAKER_01: But he's actually a little different.
12:39
SPEAKER_00: Looks at me and he's like, Matt, you forget my name.
12:42
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, No, man.
12:43
SPEAKER_00: He's like, You forgot my name.
12:45
SPEAKER_00: I was like, No, I didn't.
12:46
SPEAKER_01: You're on the stage.
12:47
SPEAKER_00: I'm on the stage, and I'm like frozen in the moment.
12:51
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, oh crud.
12:55
SPEAKER_00: And he gets up there and he's like, I know Matt introduced me as Peyton, but I'm really Parker.
12:59
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, oh crud, I did make a mistake.
13:01
SPEAKER_00: Because I was still a little bit in denial, right?
13:03
SPEAKER_00: That second.
13:03
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, I said it right.
13:05
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
13:05
SPEAKER_00: I no, I read the sheet of paper.
13:08
SPEAKER_00: And it was wrong on the sheet of paper.
13:12
SPEAKER_00: Let me just say that.
13:13
SPEAKER_00: I'm not passing the buck, but it was wrong on the sheet of paper.
13:16
SPEAKER_00: So Parker gets done speaking, and then I'm up again.
13:19
SPEAKER_00: And it's like, okay, crap, what do you do?
13:22
SPEAKER_00: Elephant in the room.
13:23
SPEAKER_00: Elephant in the room.
13:24
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, you just got to call it out.
13:26
SPEAKER_00: Now we're in the middle of football season.
13:27
SPEAKER_00: So I used a football analogy.
13:29
SPEAKER_00: And I said, hey, when your number one receiver drops a pass they should have caught, what's the best thing to do?
13:36
SPEAKER_00: You throw it again to him right then to rebuild his confidence.
13:39
SPEAKER_00: So I get up there and I said, Hey Parker, I apologize.
13:43
SPEAKER_00: I said, I know your name's not Peyton.
13:46
SPEAKER_00: I was reading the sheet, but that's my fault for not knowing that.
13:50
SPEAKER_00: And hopefully, if nothing else, that's brought you some attention and everybody should go see podcast videos.
13:56
SPEAKER_00: So it just took the time to call it straight out in front of over a thousand people.
14:00
SPEAKER_01: Here's the thing.
14:00
SPEAKER_01: I've been to hundreds of those awards banquets all across.
14:04
SPEAKER_01: And that one's as great as any.
14:05
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
14:06
SPEAKER_01: Right.
14:06
SPEAKER_01: But sometimes you zone out in those things.
14:09
SPEAKER_01: Right?
14:10
SPEAKER_01: Even if you know you're getting an award and someone has done really well.
14:13
SPEAKER_01: I know.
14:13
SPEAKER_01: It's just kind of monotonous.
14:14
SPEAKER_01: But can I tell you the merit that you gained by one of the laugh that you gave, but then the owning of that?
14:22
SPEAKER_01: Some people will remember you and will remember Parker after that, right?
14:26
SPEAKER_00: It will.
14:27
SPEAKER_00: It was an embarrassing moment, I'll tell you.
14:28
SPEAKER_01: But just they're on it.
14:31
SPEAKER_01: Like, and that's the importance of how long you let something sit before you say something.
14:36
SPEAKER_00: Like the window closes.
14:38
SPEAKER_00: It does.
14:38
SPEAKER_00: No different than you during cake day the other day, is the longer you wait, the harder it is.
14:43
SPEAKER_00: And then your mind, we talk about the mind in here, but your mind's so powerful because then your mind's like, hey, it's not that big of a deal.
14:50
SPEAKER_00: Nobody really heard.
14:51
SPEAKER_00: They forgot.
14:52
SPEAKER_00: Don't worry about it.
14:53
SPEAKER_00: Because at first it's like, yeah, I'll address it here in a little bit.
14:56
SPEAKER_00: Well, then a little bit happens and somebody else asks you a question.
14:59
SPEAKER_00: And then you're like, ah, it's not really a big deal.
15:01
SPEAKER_00: Nobody said anything.
15:02
SPEAKER_00: And then a day goes by and like, hey, I'll address it tomorrow after I get through my meetings.
15:06
SPEAKER_00: And then it's like, well, it's not that big of a deal.
15:09
SPEAKER_00: I'll go by and just say hi.
15:12
SPEAKER_00: You have a small window of an opportunity to actually not only fix the problem, but gain the respect and confidence from your fellow colleagues or friends when you mess up.
15:24
SPEAKER_01: Eat the crow, call it out, and say, here's what I said, here's what I meant, here's what I actually meant to say, and here's what I actually really do feel and mean.
15:33
SPEAKER_01: In this timing, I apologize.
15:35
SPEAKER_01: Is there a way that you could forgive me?
15:37
SPEAKER_01: Right?
15:37
SPEAKER_01: And then they're like, okay, you're human.
15:39
SPEAKER_01: I appreciate it.
15:40
SPEAKER_01: Thanks for calling it out.
15:41
SPEAKER_01: Thanks for doing it in a timely manner.
15:42
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
15:43
SPEAKER_01: And we get to move on, right?
15:45
SPEAKER_00: I will tell you a byproduct here that you may not have even thought about is the longer you wait, okay, the tougher one it gets to address.
15:54
SPEAKER_00: But here's what I've seen happen between leaders.
15:57
SPEAKER_00: If it's like Rayleigh, okay, if you wouldn't have gone and addressed her, what would have happened is then you might not have walked through the office as many times.
16:09
SPEAKER_00: You start building a little callus, like, oh my God, uh, I know I messed up there.
16:14
SPEAKER_00: It too much time's gone by.
16:15
SPEAKER_00: I should have addressed it, I didn't address it.
16:18
SPEAKER_00: So I'm just not gonna go by there as often to give a little bit of a gap in time so everybody will forget about it.
16:23
SPEAKER_00: Crow gets a little bigger.
16:24
SPEAKER_00: And one day turns into a week, and a week turns into a month, and a month turns into now you only go there twice a year.
16:31
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
16:32
SPEAKER_00: So then all of a sudden, by not eating crow, you're not effectively managing and present in a department where you need to be present so you have their buy-in, and all of a sudden, this department doesn't get along with this department anymore.
16:46
SPEAKER_00: And then all of a sudden, the numbers trend down or the customer, the CSI numbers go down.
16:52
SPEAKER_00: And this huge domino effect happens just because you would need crow.
16:58
SPEAKER_01: All right.
16:58
SPEAKER_01: It's just it's just basic and simple, but not that easy, right?
17:03
SPEAKER_01: I say it's basic and simple, but they understand, and so many po people have such a hard time with it.
17:09
SPEAKER_01: And it's just put your guard down.
17:12
SPEAKER_01: It's okay to be human.
17:14
SPEAKER_01: They knew you were human, they know you're human, and they know mistakes will happen.
17:18
SPEAKER_01: What you don't realize is if you won't do it, is you are giving them the okay to not address when they mess up.
17:27
SPEAKER_01: That's so good.
17:28
SPEAKER_01: So you're teaching them how to address a situation when they mess up.
17:32
SPEAKER_01: When there is crow in the room, how do you handle that?
17:35
SPEAKER_01: What's the proper way?
17:36
SPEAKER_01: You don't give blame, you take blame, and you say, I messed up.
17:40
SPEAKER_01: Hey, can you guys forgive me?
17:41
SPEAKER_01: Can we start back at the top and let's roll through this thing?
17:44
SPEAKER_01: And if I mess up again, just call me out, right?
17:46
SPEAKER_01: But I am human.
17:48
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna have fun.
17:49
SPEAKER_01: Let's go.
17:50
SPEAKER_00: You know, the hardest time to do this is the first time.
17:52
SPEAKER_01: Oh my, and that's for anything.
17:55
SPEAKER_01: That's for anything.
17:57
SPEAKER_01: But then you kind of like, ooh, okay, that wasn't so bad.
18:00
SPEAKER_01: Okay, what can I learn from that?
18:01
SPEAKER_01: And the embarrassment lets you remember that it that it's Rayleigh, it's not Raleigh, it's Parker, it's not Peyton.
18:09
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
18:10
SPEAKER_01: In those scenarios that you're like, we are going over May, not April.
18:15
SPEAKER_01: That makes you, you know, because they say you win or lose.
18:18
SPEAKER_01: I like to say you win or learn, right?
18:20
SPEAKER_01: You win or learn.
18:21
SPEAKER_01: So if you didn't win, then you're learning from it.
18:23
SPEAKER_01: And hopefully you don't make that mistake again.
18:25
SPEAKER_00: And as we've talked about in other podcasts, you are always influencing somebody, whether they say it or not.
18:32
SPEAKER_00: So that opportunity, you're either influencing somebody and if it's in business within your business on how they should handle it or how they shouldn't handle it.
18:42
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
18:42
SPEAKER_01: So just remember that.
18:44
SPEAKER_01: All right, leadership fun fact quiz of the week.
18:46
SPEAKER_01: According to leadership research, what percentage of employees say they trust a leader more after watching than them admit a mistake?
18:54
SPEAKER_01: It is A 35%, okay, B 45%, C 50%, or D 85%.
19:02
SPEAKER_01: Did you delete the answer so I couldn't see them?
19:04
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
19:05
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna go with just because what we've talked about, I'm gonna go with the highest number.
19:09
SPEAKER_00: Was that D at 85?
19:10
SPEAKER_01: That was D at 85.
19:11
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
19:12
SPEAKER_01: That is true.
19:12
SPEAKER_01: Oh, okay.
19:13
SPEAKER_01: I should have mixed them out better.
19:14
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm but according to leadership research, okay.
19:18
SPEAKER_01: 85% of employees say they trust a leader more after watching admit a mistake.
19:23
SPEAKER_01: Oh man.
19:24
SPEAKER_01: It's this is everything we just talked about, right?
19:26
SPEAKER_01: I love that.
19:27
SPEAKER_01: So uh next up, eating crow with your team.
19:30
SPEAKER_01: Don't eat all the crow by yourself.
19:33
SPEAKER_01: How to walk back without losing authority.
19:36
SPEAKER_00: You know, we've talked about this because we just talked about two different instances that we just called it out with the team and continued to move forward.
19:48
SPEAKER_00: And in a meeting situation or a presentation, if you do not address it right then, it could hinder the rest of the meeting, the rest of the agenda.
19:59
SPEAKER_00: And you can use it as a team experience.
20:02
SPEAKER_00: So with your team, you're going, hey, we messed up on this.
20:06
SPEAKER_00: I was the leader of it.
20:08
SPEAKER_00: You guys followed suit.
20:09
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for following suit.
20:12
SPEAKER_00: The there's a piece here, and this isn't even the notes, uh, but I think it's very important.
20:18
SPEAKER_00: Your team, and it's not uh our entire team, it's not the top 250 plus employees, but your leadership team, they better feel comfortable that they can call you out in a respectful way when something's wrong.
20:33
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
20:34
SPEAKER_00: If you're around a bunch of yes people, you have the wrong people.
20:38
SPEAKER_00: You haven't given them the authority to say, hey Matt, let's let's re-go over that.
20:44
SPEAKER_00: I think we're missing something there.
20:46
SPEAKER_00: Or let's double check those numbers.
20:48
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and I think one of the most important keys of what you just said was is giving them the authority.
20:55
SPEAKER_01: But listen, it's in how to properly call you out.
20:59
SPEAKER_01: Because the last thing you want to do is a BS flag to slap you in the side of the face that makes you build hostility against, like, what the heck, man?
21:07
SPEAKER_01: I know I was wrong, but you know, you didn't have to kick me in the teeth and MF me over here, right?
21:14
SPEAKER_01: Like, hey, I true I hope I don't do that to you.
21:18
SPEAKER_01: That's right.
21:18
SPEAKER_01: You know, so and I think that's a way of when you mess up, like let's say in one of our doc meetings, we're going over our daily performance with our managers, and and that's a pretty vulnerable, everyone leave their stuff outside.
21:31
SPEAKER_01: That's right.
21:31
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna go over what's gone, what's the hurdles, where was the wins, what's the losses, and and how do we adjust for today's business.
21:40
SPEAKER_01: And in that, if I mess up reading something or if a report came over wrong or whatever it is, we're gonna dissect it at a at a good level to realize that, and then hopefully everyone has the ability and understanding to call each other out to say, what's really going on here?
21:56
SPEAKER_01: What is this?
21:57
SPEAKER_01: And then you get to, when you mess up, you teach.
22:00
SPEAKER_01: Them, all right, here's what happened, here's what we're gonna do moving forward, and here's how we're gonna double check.
22:04
SPEAKER_01: You you check me on my numbers, I'm gonna check you on your numbers, and then that teaches them how to then mess up properly with their team.
22:12
SPEAKER_00: Sure, absolutely.
22:14
SPEAKER_00: There's been times, especially on our Monday reports, anything that we manually enter in, we might uh compile 10 different reports into one dashboard that we go over.
22:25
SPEAKER_00: And we talk about what we're speaking about today, but saying it and doing it's two different things.
22:31
SPEAKER_00: Like they have to feel like their job's not at jeopardy.
22:34
SPEAKER_00: They have to feel like that the spotlight's not on them now.
22:39
SPEAKER_00: I'll get into a section and I'll get all the way done and go, well, shoot, that was wrong right up there.
22:47
SPEAKER_00: And then I'll simply say to everybody, hey guys, you got to tell me when I'm in the middle of this.
22:53
SPEAKER_00: Like, hey, I think there might be an error.
22:55
SPEAKER_01: Because you're confident in the numbers, because there's, you know, there's gonna be 400 numbers in this report going through it, but sitting back, not presenting it, your mind's going a little bit slower.
23:04
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
23:05
SPEAKER_01: And it's like, hey, real quick, I think those trade numbers are off.
23:08
SPEAKER_01: Because then that's gonna move all the metrics past it.
23:11
SPEAKER_00: And there's been times where we've been wrong on a report in a meeting, and you've been right there, and I've asked you, I'm like, hey, plug that in there and then throw it on the screen.
23:20
SPEAKER_00: Give me the number or something, and then adjust it.
23:22
SPEAKER_00: Because what's more important to us, and also to me, is standing up there, is it's not the report, it's that the credibility of the report.
23:34
SPEAKER_00: So then our leaders will use it to go make a difference in their department.
23:37
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
23:37
SPEAKER_00: So if there's an error and somebody's not willing to go, hey, Matt, I think something's wrong right there on the amount of pencils or the amount of trade appraisals, they'll say then the whole report's wrong, and they'll miss the opportunity of growing their department.
23:52
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
23:53
SPEAKER_00: So we we talk about that.
23:54
SPEAKER_00: Hey, just tell me, hey, I think our amount of deals submitted over is wrong.
23:58
SPEAKER_00: Let's adjust that and see what it does.
24:01
SPEAKER_01: And in that, I there's a very, very, very proper way that you say I was wrong.
24:07
SPEAKER_01: And sometimes it just starts with I was wrong.
24:10
SPEAKER_01: But what you often see is the cowardly ways that most they take the crow and they say, There's a crow.
24:17
SPEAKER_01: I don't know how it got in here.
24:19
SPEAKER_01: I didn't put it in here.
24:20
SPEAKER_01: I'm not in charge of keeping the crows in or out of here, right?
24:23
SPEAKER_01: So that's what we often see leaders do, and then that builds a wall, and then people are focusing on the crow in the room instead of what you're trying to focus on.
24:32
SPEAKER_01: And so the the proper way is saying, Hey, I'm wrong.
24:35
SPEAKER_01: My bad.
24:36
SPEAKER_01: I messed up, and not saying the computer did it wrong or the ports that came to me that were wrong, or I know I'm your leader, but this has nothing to do with me.
24:44
SPEAKER_01: This most likely is you, which generally it is someone else's, right?
24:48
SPEAKER_01: I mean, it it happens like someone typed Peyton instead of Parker.
24:52
SPEAKER_01: That's right.
24:52
SPEAKER_01: Right?
24:53
SPEAKER_01: In mine, it was all on me, right?
24:55
SPEAKER_01: But that was my bad for not going around and say, hey, tell me how to properly say each one of these names.
25:01
SPEAKER_01: That's my fault, right?
25:04
SPEAKER_01: I should have looked all those things, but most people will not do that.
25:08
SPEAKER_00: The the key, I'll tell you a trigger here, is if you start with I, you're more than likely headed down the right path.
25:18
SPEAKER_00: If you start with this, you're headed down the wrong path.
25:22
SPEAKER_00: If you say this report's wrong, this plays wrong, that was wrong, because you're getting ready to blame it on something else.
25:29
SPEAKER_00: If you take ownership and we got younger kids, so we're constantly trying to teach them.
25:36
SPEAKER_00: And as soon as one of my kids talks about an issue and the word but comes out, I'm like, stop.
25:44
SPEAKER_00: There's no but either we were in the wrong, we didn't do it right, or we weren't.
25:48
SPEAKER_00: There's no but there's no you can't say anybody else's name.
25:53
SPEAKER_00: You and they'll repeat this to you.
25:55
SPEAKER_00: And they say they're they're tired of me saying this.
25:58
SPEAKER_00: You can control who, and they'll be like, Me.
26:01
SPEAKER_00: You can control you.
26:03
SPEAKER_00: That's it.
26:04
SPEAKER_00: All right.
26:04
SPEAKER_00: I don't want butts, I don't want excuses, I don't want anything else.
26:08
SPEAKER_00: It will get you nowhere in life.
26:10
SPEAKER_01: Like, hopefully, I know it will resonate because I know that we learned so much from dad of you know, being a good leader and helping us to be so slow to anger and think through things and all that.
26:24
SPEAKER_01: So I know it'll resonate.
26:25
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't seem like it is right now, but you know, uh, we're finishing up uh uh baseball.
26:32
SPEAKER_01: We finished up baseball uh this week with all three of my boys, the other ones in basketball as well.
26:40
SPEAKER_01: Um, and they're they're they're winning some games and losing a lot of games.
26:45
SPEAKER_01: And so we're constantly going through because that man, this society is all about passing the blame.
26:52
SPEAKER_01: And so it's the refs, it's the other kids, it's the parents, it's the game changer, it's the and so yeah, I it's just like, hey, we get in the car, it's like, hey, you played great, appreciate you giving all the effort that you could, appreciate your sportsmanship, and you know, just trying to give positivity of the good things, like the wins when you lose.
27:12
SPEAKER_01: And and so we're constantly working on, we're not blaming anything on the refs because they didn't score or not score any points, right?
27:19
SPEAKER_01: Or the umpires that for the calls that they did, or the strike zone that I mean, let's be honest, like they're a little league umpires, not that they're not great, right?
27:28
SPEAKER_01: Like, but then I mean you get paid$25.
27:31
SPEAKER_01: Well, I watched one get whacked in the face the day of the ball, and we were there.
27:36
SPEAKER_01: This is gonna blow your mind.
27:37
SPEAKER_01: We were there till 1145 Monday night.
27:40
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, I don't care what you call it, just call it over, right?
27:44
SPEAKER_01: We won, which was great, but I was like, I was supposed to be in bed two and a half hours ago.
27:49
SPEAKER_01: Uh this is gonna wreck me tomorrow.
27:51
SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh.
27:52
SPEAKER_01: And so, but of just learning that, and that's so important.
27:54
SPEAKER_01: So if I can instill that in in my kids and in my family, their world will be just completely different because of their mindset.
28:03
SPEAKER_00: I I was talking to somebody else about this the other day.
28:05
SPEAKER_00: We were we were just walking around and we were talking about they have young kids too.
28:09
SPEAKER_00: And I said, it is so clear to me that if you'll do just a few basics and you'll instill these into your kids, I don't care what GPA they get, I don't care what degree they get, I don't care how smart or not smart they are, but if they can just do these few things, how they will beat everybody else in life.
28:30
SPEAKER_00: And, you know, one of those is exactly what you talked about is not blaming others.
28:38
SPEAKER_00: Two is being respectful, learn how to say yes, ma'am, and yes, sir.
28:41
SPEAKER_00: And I'm on a whole another kick here.
28:43
SPEAKER_00: Three, something as simple as opening the doors for people.
28:47
SPEAKER_00: Just good manners.
28:48
SPEAKER_00: And then making it through the highs and lows.
28:52
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
28:52
SPEAKER_00: That we live in a society where if it's not going your way, give up and jump ship.
28:58
SPEAKER_00: And we see that in college sports right now with NIL quite a bit.
29:02
SPEAKER_00: And what I'm worried about on these young individuals is when they get out in the workforce and everything's not going their way one day, or or they get a boss that doesn't lead exactly like they want, or this or that, that they're not going to be able to bridge the gap.
29:17
SPEAKER_00: Right.
29:17
SPEAKER_00: You just got to stay consistent.
29:20
SPEAKER_00: And you got to be able to weather the storm.
29:22
SPEAKER_00: I don't mean a storm for your entire life, but we have good days and we have bad days.
29:27
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
29:27
SPEAKER_00: And it's just it's so important.
29:29
SPEAKER_00: And and eating crow goes right along in this.
29:32
SPEAKER_01: I love that.
29:32
SPEAKER_01: I saw a thing the other day and it said, hey, you know who'll make it through a recession or a really tough time?
29:37
SPEAKER_01: It's like car dealers and cockroaches.
29:41
SPEAKER_01: And I love that we were one of the two, right?
29:43
SPEAKER_01: It's just one that I was like, I don't know, they always find a way, right?
29:47
SPEAKER_01: They're not gonna blame on anything else.
29:48
SPEAKER_00: So because you're just resilient and you just like at the end of the day, we control what we can control, and that's where a hundred percent of our energy goes.
29:59
SPEAKER_00: We get people asking us about the business all the time.
30:02
SPEAKER_00: Hey, what do you think about the tariffs overseas?
30:04
SPEAKER_00: And what do you think about this?
30:05
SPEAKER_00: And what do you think about that?
30:07
SPEAKER_00: I I don't know.
30:08
SPEAKER_00: Like, I know it's going on, but I can't tell you the details.
30:11
SPEAKER_00: Why?
30:12
SPEAKER_00: Because it's gonna happen either way.
30:14
SPEAKER_00: I can't control that.
30:16
SPEAKER_00: Now, if my profession was negotiating tariffs, then I would know all of it.
30:21
SPEAKER_01: But it's not well, I'll tell you for example, so I don't know why in their timing, but that's on them.
30:27
SPEAKER_01: That's the decision.
30:28
SPEAKER_01: But we take responsibility.
30:29
SPEAKER_01: If Ford decided to delete the escape and the edge, uh, they're no more, right?
30:35
SPEAKER_01: The edge, sunset first, and then the escape, um, leaving them in a time where things are more expensive, where fuel prices are more expensive, and people are trying to be mindful of, if they are gonna buy a car, of cost of a car, like compass for 26 grand.
30:51
SPEAKER_01: And so what we've done is just pivoted very heavily into a used car market where we can say, hey, small or mid-size market SUVs are super popular right now, and we need to be at this price point.
31:04
SPEAKER_01: Our, you know, our cost of goods need to be sub$30,000.
31:08
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
31:08
SPEAKER_01: And we're gonna get the least expensive or the best option thing from the manufacturer that we can, but we're not going to continue to send letters to Detroit to say bring the focus back, bring the fusion back, bring the Taurus back, bring the escape back because we can't control that.
31:21
SPEAKER_01: But what we can say is, hey, we have a Lewis guaranteed vehicle that gets up to a five year, 60,000 mile warranty on this pre-on vehicle, and it's only 23.5.
31:30
SPEAKER_00: I think that's such a great point because uh both of our new manufacturers, they don't offer any car, any car.
31:37
SPEAKER_00: But there's customers out there that need that, need that price.
31:40
SPEAKER_00: Still want a car.
31:41
SPEAKER_00: So what can we control?
31:42
SPEAKER_00: We're buying low mileage pre-owned Malibus, Hyundai's, Kias, and then we put, we go, okay, that we can control.
31:52
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
31:52
SPEAKER_00: And some other people would say, Yeah, but you don't get the full warranty on it.
31:55
SPEAKER_00: We can control that.
31:56
SPEAKER_00: We went to our warranty company, designed, we get a five year 60, built it, put it on the vehicle at no additional charge, and said, here you go.
32:04
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and that's one of those things that you know we talked about a little bit uh last podcast, but people might say, Well, you got your own warranty company.
32:11
SPEAKER_01: Well, that must be nice.
32:12
SPEAKER_01: It's like, well, it is really nice.
32:14
SPEAKER_01: It is really nice because we do so much business with them because the amount of vehicles that we sell, that we get to we can pretty much create any style warranty to fill that void.
32:23
SPEAKER_01: That's the nice part about it, is then it is good for the consumer.
32:27
SPEAKER_01: Then it's like, why buy with Lewis?
32:29
SPEAKER_01: Because I can buy a vehicle that is out of warranty.
32:31
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
32:32
SPEAKER_01: And then I get a warranty with Lewis.
32:33
SPEAKER_01: So that is the nice part about that, is that we can design whatever.
32:37
SPEAKER_01: So instead of saying crow is they don't make this, this is out of warranty.
32:42
SPEAKER_01: Why won't you send me more?
32:43
SPEAKER_01: We say opportunity is we'll go get more, we'll design this, and here's what it is.
32:47
SPEAKER_00: And that is the nice part of it, is going, let's just do it better than everybody else.
32:52
SPEAKER_00: Right.
32:53
SPEAKER_00: We we've got our own tool here.
32:54
SPEAKER_00: Let's figure out the pain points.
32:56
SPEAKER_00: And one of the early on pain points that we saw is most powertrain warranties, they weren't covering seals and gaskets.
33:03
SPEAKER_00: We went to the insurance underwriters, it took some time, it wasn't a flip of a switch, and we said, you make sure every one of our powertrains covers the floods, covers the seals, covers the gaskets, just like a customer would expect.
33:16
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, on a brand new car.
33:17
SPEAKER_00: On a brand new car.
33:18
SPEAKER_00: Or on a used car.
33:19
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
33:19
SPEAKER_00: Or on a used car.
33:20
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
33:20
SPEAKER_00: We would cover like a new car.
33:22
SPEAKER_00: Just like a new car.
33:23
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
33:24
SPEAKER_00: So that is the nice part of it.
33:25
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
33:25
SPEAKER_00: You know, and they probably got flipped on the hair because they're probably thinking, well, it must be nice to make the money on that.
33:30
SPEAKER_00: And drawing none.
33:31
SPEAKER_01: And um yeah, I wish I could tell you that it was all that gravy.
33:37
SPEAKER_00: But what really must be nice is that we can actually fill a void in the marketplace and give our customer a better product.
33:43
SPEAKER_01: That's that's the the main idea there.
33:45
SPEAKER_00: So all right, let's go quiz of the week right here.
33:48
SPEAKER_00: Uh, I hadn't had time to delete this, so don't look at it.
33:51
SPEAKER_00: In 2014, what major automaker had to eat crow?
33:55
SPEAKER_00: Oh, I love this.
33:57
SPEAKER_00: By recalling 30 plus million vehicles in a single year for a defective ignition switch.
34:04
SPEAKER_01: Well, uh 2014, uh, if it wasn't um recently, I would have said Ford.
34:10
SPEAKER_01: So I have a lot of recalls with their options.
34:12
SPEAKER_01: Honda.
34:13
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
34:14
SPEAKER_01: General Motors, Toyota, or Ford.
34:17
SPEAKER_01: Uh, I'm gonna throw out Honda and Toyota because they uh they are very simple and basic in how they build their cars to alleviate those issues.
34:26
SPEAKER_01: Uh so that leaves us Ford or General Motors.
34:29
SPEAKER_01: Um, seeing as we've set the records for most recalls here lately, but they weren't this many, I'm gonna say it's General Motors.
34:36
SPEAKER_01: And you're correct, it is General Motors.
34:38
SPEAKER_00: You know, a lot of times General Motors or Ford or CDJR, they will get the most recalls in a year.
34:47
SPEAKER_00: And I'm gonna cover this subject real quick before we go on.
34:50
SPEAKER_00: And you're like, well, why doesn't Toyota or Honda?
34:54
SPEAKER_00: Well, when you look at Toyota and Honda's models, they build great cars.
34:58
SPEAKER_00: I think everybody out there honestly builds a great car.
35:01
SPEAKER_00: Oh, they keep getting better.
35:02
SPEAKER_00: Because the the competitive landscape, whether you buy a Kia or a Subaru or a Ford or a Jeep or a Honda, they all build great cars.
35:11
SPEAKER_00: So why does General Motors and Ford a Jeep, why do they have the majority of the recalls?
35:16
SPEAKER_00: Well, here's why.
35:18
SPEAKER_00: They come out with new technology and new features faster that have never been to the market before all the others.
35:27
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and I think a little bit of that.
35:29
SPEAKER_01: If you think Honda or Toyota, they're known for reliability, and they're known for just being the trusty.
35:37
SPEAKER_01: Here's what it is, here's what you get.
35:39
SPEAKER_01: It's not heavily recalled, it's gonna last forever.
35:42
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
35:42
SPEAKER_01: So then they have a natural draw of a customer wanting to buy it because of that.
35:47
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
35:47
SPEAKER_01: The domestic manufacturers you're talking about have a draw for having a good product, but they've been known for some recalls.
35:54
SPEAKER_01: So they say, hey, we need to continue to bring the new latest and greatest phone, the new latest and greatest technology, the new powertrain.
36:02
SPEAKER_01: And because they're so competitive, the truck market says I can tow this, and the other manufacturer says I can tow that.
36:07
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
36:08
SPEAKER_01: They said I got this much horsepower, they said I can go a little bit more.
36:11
SPEAKER_01: So they are quicker.
36:12
SPEAKER_01: And what does that mean?
36:13
SPEAKER_00: So then that means they're in uncharted territories and they have to recall stuff because they hadn't been able to do all the RD.
36:20
SPEAKER_00: You take a Honda at Toyota, and they don't have the features that you'll find in a Jeep or in a Ford or a GM.
36:29
SPEAKER_00: They still have six-inch screens.
36:32
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we got 23-inch screens.
36:35
SPEAKER_00: They didn't have wireless car play until this past year.
36:39
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
36:39
SPEAKER_00: We've had it for six years.
36:41
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
36:41
SPEAKER_00: Now they still don't have any self-driving.
36:45
SPEAKER_00: Correct.
36:45
SPEAKER_01: In fact, they don't have hardly any electric vehicles.
36:48
SPEAKER_00: Honda had zero.
36:50
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
36:50
SPEAKER_00: You know, they had some hybrids.
36:53
SPEAKER_00: So what in fact, Toyota teamed up with Ford way back in the day to even share technology for the hybrid.
37:01
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
37:01
SPEAKER_00: So I think you're just talking about two different things there.
37:04
SPEAKER_00: It's like saying the iPhone 10 has all the bugs worked out.
37:07
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
37:08
SPEAKER_00: It just won't do what an iPhone 17 will do.
37:10
SPEAKER_00: Correct.
37:11
SPEAKER_00: It you can't go record a movie on an iPhone 10 like you can a 17.
37:16
SPEAKER_00: No.
37:16
SPEAKER_00: But you've got to deal with some of the beta testing and software updates happening every night or glitches happening if you want to pave the road for something new.
37:26
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
37:26
SPEAKER_01: So they had to eat crow with 30 plus million vehicles for a faulty ignition switch.
37:30
SPEAKER_01: They did, whether they wanted to or not, they did kind of love it because they hold them to it.
37:34
SPEAKER_00: Well, and we'll move on.
37:35
SPEAKER_00: One last thing to you though, recalls are a good thing, consumer.
37:39
SPEAKER_00: That means it's getting fixed.
37:42
SPEAKER_00: The worst thing that could happen is a known issue that's not recalled.
37:46
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
37:46
SPEAKER_00: And legislation changed a few years back, reducing the amount of occurrences before recall had to be issued.
37:54
SPEAKER_00: That's a good thing for the customer that there's a recall out there because that means that they're addressing an issue faster.
38:00
SPEAKER_00: Yep, that is exactly.
38:02
SPEAKER_00: All right, eating crow with a customer.
38:05
SPEAKER_00: When the business has to apologize.
38:08
SPEAKER_01: So I almost went into this and I looked further ahead because I was like, let's talk customer here.
38:13
SPEAKER_01: Like it is everything that's the same framework that we talked about, but it is more important because you have a less captive eye watching you.
38:23
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
38:23
SPEAKER_01: It's a consumer that can do business anywhere that has word of mouth.
38:27
SPEAKER_01: I mean, your your employee can do the same thing, but they're a little more committed, right?
38:31
SPEAKER_01: It is so important that if you are wrong, you take the blame.
38:36
SPEAKER_01: Or if there's an issue, you take the blame and eat that crow.
38:39
SPEAKER_01: And you walk them through it.
38:41
SPEAKER_01: Hey, here's what we've done, good or bad.
38:44
SPEAKER_01: Here's what we're going to do moving forward.
38:46
SPEAKER_01: I, we all apologize for the lack of communication, the lack of transparency, the lack of understanding.
38:54
SPEAKER_01: This is not a problem we've seen before, but I take full responsibility and I want to make sure that this is right.
39:01
SPEAKER_00: That's so important, especially with a customer.
39:05
SPEAKER_00: Is there are some people that have listened to this podcast like, no, I'm really good about doing that with my employees.
39:10
SPEAKER_00: But then when it comes to a customer, as soon as a customer brings up a complaint, you are so fast to throw up a wall.
39:16
SPEAKER_00: In fact, you're so fast about it, you're not even hearing what the customer says, and you start responding upon how you did it right, and your guys could have never made a mistake.
39:24
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and then you get their reviews said they wouldn't even listen.
39:27
SPEAKER_00: I I recently in this past year had somebody to come work on an appliance at my house.
39:33
SPEAKER_00: And I called them and there was an issue.
39:35
SPEAKER_00: We're in the customer service business.
39:37
SPEAKER_00: So I'm really easy on people when I call and there's a deal.
39:41
SPEAKER_00: And I'm very calm, I don't threaten.
39:43
SPEAKER_00: And I'm just trying to explain to the guy.
39:45
SPEAKER_00: I hadn't even gotten halfway through, and he ran straight over the top of me and said, That guy that came out there, he's never made a mistake.
39:54
SPEAKER_00: There's no way he could have messed up on that.
39:56
SPEAKER_00: You need to go recheck that.
39:58
SPEAKER_00: It cannot be our fault.
40:01
SPEAKER_00: And I was like, whoa, I'm not making anything up.
40:05
SPEAKER_00: I'm not asking you to pay for anything.
40:07
SPEAKER_00: I just need to know what the fix is here.
40:10
SPEAKER_00: So if that's you, please rethink that.
40:14
SPEAKER_00: And we'll get to why here in a minute.
40:16
SPEAKER_00: But the number one thing with a customer, you need to remember whether you're right or you're wrong, if the customer does not feel heard, you're wrong.
40:26
SPEAKER_00: Even if you were right, you're wrong because you didn't listen, and the way they feel is more important than the solution.
40:34
SPEAKER_01: I think that's a big thing realizing there that you might have done everything right and their car is not covered, or that is not applicable, or any of those things, but you didn't walk them through how they did or how they didn't qualify, uh, or the warranty doesn't cover, or whatever it may be, whatever the issues, you didn't walk them through and allow them to completely voice their opinion, their feels, what they found on this, what they found on that.
41:01
SPEAKER_01: And so then they could be 1,000% wrong, but because you don't let them tell their story and go through it, they're still blaming it on you.
41:09
SPEAKER_00: Hey, I want to talk about this next piece because I haven't always gotten this right.
41:14
SPEAKER_00: And it's called the refund.
41:17
SPEAKER_00: So let's talk about like in service or installing an accessory or whatever you want to talk about, and the refund back to the customer.
41:26
SPEAKER_00: And earlier in my career, when there was a mistake, and it wasn't 100% ours, but maybe it was kind of in the gray and it was 50-50, something like that.
41:35
SPEAKER_00: I I would try to split it with a customer.
41:38
SPEAKER_00: I would try to give them 25% off and go, hey, you pay 50%, I'll pay 50%.
41:44
SPEAKER_00: Or I would drag it on a little bit before I'd make that decision.
41:49
SPEAKER_00: And then I'd make the decision and we would fix it.
41:52
SPEAKER_00: And in my mind, we did right and everything was good.
41:56
SPEAKER_00: I had already ruined that customer experience.
41:59
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
41:59
SPEAKER_00: And even though I paid for it, you let's say I paid for 100% of it after we went back and forth, that customer experience was ruined.
42:07
SPEAKER_01: You know where that came from?
42:09
SPEAKER_01: Is the ability as a manager, as a sales professional, sales manager, finance manager, the ability to negotiate.
42:17
SPEAKER_01: It was not the right time to negotiate.
42:19
SPEAKER_01: Because, you know, that's how you you're taught and trained in the art of sales is to let's find a way where we both win.
42:26
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
42:27
SPEAKER_01: But what happens is that experience is just completely washed away when you try to do that.
42:32
SPEAKER_01: Like, okay, alleviate the pain, alleviate the pain, alleviate the cost.
42:36
SPEAKER_01: Like, you know, it's gonna be a thousand bucks and you don't want to eat it.
42:38
SPEAKER_01: So you're like, what if you pay$250?
42:40
SPEAKER_01: I pay$750.
42:41
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
42:41
SPEAKER_01: You know, or$750,$250.
42:43
SPEAKER_01: And then by the time you end up paying for it, or if you get them 50-50, you feel like you win, it still costs you$500, and now they'll never come back.
42:51
SPEAKER_00: And that is a train of thought that takes maturity in business, and you have to think long term.
42:58
SPEAKER_00: Because one, I was negotiating because that's what I've been taught to do.
43:02
SPEAKER_00: Number two, as a business owner, we always look at expense control.
43:08
SPEAKER_00: So initially at surface level, you're trying to reduce your expenses.
43:13
SPEAKER_00: But what you don't see is the humongous reduction in revenue.
43:18
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
43:20
SPEAKER_00: If you're going to, and I I I wish I could quote this book that it has been years and years ago when I read this part of it.
43:27
SPEAKER_00: And the author said, if you're going to pay for something or fix something, whether it was your fault or not, do it day one.
43:36
SPEAKER_00: Do it hour one, do it the first conversation.
43:40
SPEAKER_00: Because if your goal is to take care of something and have this wow factor to the customer, the longer you wait, the less likely you're gonna achieve that big shining, hey, look what they did for me.
43:56
SPEAKER_00: If you're gonna do it, do it.
43:59
unknown: Yeah.
43:59
SPEAKER_01: So I think that's Super important without going down a tangent that you have your SOPs to say when do you do it?
44:05
SPEAKER_01: And not when do you do it, but what's the circumstance that you do say yes, I'll pay for it.
44:08
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
44:09
SPEAKER_01: So it's not a should we let me get a hold of somebody?
44:12
SPEAKER_01: Let me ask them.
44:13
SPEAKER_01: Okay, did they buy from us?
44:14
SPEAKER_01: Are they local?
44:15
SPEAKER_01: Have they serviced with us to make those decisions?
44:18
SPEAKER_01: You need that SOP.
44:19
SPEAKER_01: You know, it's like some of the high high line um hotels have said you have X amount percent or X amount of dollars that you couldn't spend on a customer and experience to keep the experience good.
44:32
SPEAKER_00: That's so good that they, you know, they can spend X amount.
44:36
SPEAKER_00: We were universal this last year with the kids, and we were riding one of the rides.
44:39
SPEAKER_00: I don't even remember what ride it was, and one of my kids had taken their hat off and had put it at their feet or something.
44:46
SPEAKER_00: And this ride, it was it was an instant Jimmy Fallon ride, and had lost their hat.
44:51
SPEAKER_00: We didn't figure out till we were on the line for the next ride.
44:53
SPEAKER_00: So I went back, waited for it to cycle through, looked in the room, couldn't find it, couldn't find it.
44:59
SPEAKER_00: Well, the lady that was helping me walked me down to the gift store.
45:03
SPEAKER_00: And there was no video, there was no proof whether we actually even had a hat.
45:06
SPEAKER_00: Right.
45:07
SPEAKER_00: Walked me to the gift store and said, Will you please pick out a hat for your son?
45:10
SPEAKER_00: We got a hat.
45:12
SPEAKER_00: I showed back up, didn't charge me for it.
45:15
SPEAKER_00: It was a wow factor to me that they were trying to make a solution, you know, figure out a solution, even though we couldn't find the hat.
45:20
SPEAKER_00: And it wasn't their problem.
45:21
SPEAKER_00: Wasn't their problem.
45:22
SPEAKER_00: I gave it to my son.
45:23
SPEAKER_00: We went on and had a great day.
45:25
SPEAKER_00: Right.
45:26
SPEAKER_00: So just empowering that, and like, if you're gonna do it, do it.
45:29
SPEAKER_00: Because, and let me get your thoughts on this, you know, why how to eat crow with one customer affects 20 customers that you'll never even meet.
45:39
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's just the the the power of the word of like we talk about that referral and where people go to drink the coffee.
45:47
SPEAKER_01: And today's world, most of it's on social media.
45:50
SPEAKER_01: If you have that good experience and you eat crow quickly and how you handle it, really bad situation, like we've had where lug nuts didn't get tightened and the tire falls off or gets wobbly going down the road, you better handle it pretty quickly and you better handle it properly.
46:05
SPEAKER_01: You have a quick in your time and how you handle it.
46:08
SPEAKER_01: You have a quick opportunity of that switch to go really negative or really positive.
46:12
SPEAKER_01: And if you do it positively, those 20 that you think you never meet, you'll get to meet.
46:18
SPEAKER_01: And they'll say, so and so sent me.
46:19
SPEAKER_01: That's right.
46:20
SPEAKER_01: But if you do it negatively to say, no, I'm pretty sure that we tightened the lug knots, I'm pretty sure we did this, I'm pretty sure we put the drain plug in and put all the oil back in it.
46:30
SPEAKER_01: Then they're quickly, quickly turning to and you can't fix them all.
46:34
SPEAKER_01: Like, there's been plenty of scenarios when I've been tagged on Facebook and people are like, Hey, can you help this guy out?
46:38
SPEAKER_01: And so I go back to service.
46:39
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, what's going on?
46:40
SPEAKER_01: What's up with this?
46:40
SPEAKER_01: And they're like, oh my gosh, we tried to prevent that.
46:43
SPEAKER_01: Look, we've done this, this, this, this, this, this.
46:44
SPEAKER_01: Like, you look, you can't prevent them all.
46:46
SPEAKER_01: That's right.
46:47
SPEAKER_01: Uh, but those 20 you'll never meet could be the upset and angry of that you didn't handle that.
46:52
SPEAKER_01: And so then they trust in those people, and um, that's right.
46:55
SPEAKER_01: They'll you'll never get to meet them.
46:57
SPEAKER_00: All right.
46:57
SPEAKER_00: The the next one talks about the mistake that turned a hater into a raving fan.
47:02
SPEAKER_00: So I I've got a quick story here about one of those.
47:05
SPEAKER_00: So earlier on in my career, I had this really large guy, uh, I mean, stature-wise, he was then uh Australian.
47:14
SPEAKER_00: I won't tell you his name, was the Australian.
47:17
SPEAKER_00: And this guy could get wound up at you.
47:21
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
47:21
SPEAKER_00: I mean, the bar fighting Australian guy.
47:24
SPEAKER_00: Jason.
47:26
SPEAKER_00: And and he would just, I mean, he anyways, he could turn, but we walked through all this.
47:33
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and first he had a discrepancy of what was going on, he would just let you have sold and just you're like, whoa.
47:43
SPEAKER_00: But once we won him over and he figured out, hey, we're on his side and we'll walk through issues together, he became a raving fan to the point that he brought his niece in, and his niece needed a car under$5,000.
47:56
SPEAKER_00: Now we all know what a$5,000 car looks like.
48:00
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
48:00
SPEAKER_01: That's head of life.
48:01
SPEAKER_00: So so this this car was$3,500 and it was a focus.
48:05
SPEAKER_00: High mileage, maybe 200,000 miles on it.
48:08
SPEAKER_00: He brings her in and she's seeing part of the front bumpers hanging down.
48:13
SPEAKER_00: All right.
48:14
SPEAKER_00: And and Jason tells me, he's like, Matt, go get me some zip ties.
48:19
SPEAKER_00: And as I go get zip ties, he's explaining to his niece hey, the important part of this car is the powertrain, how the engine is, how the transmission, how it shifts, how it stops.
48:32
SPEAKER_00: These appearance factors, they're not that big of a deal.
48:37
SPEAKER_00: He is selling the car for me to his niece and gets underneath the car with zip ties and zip ties up the broken plastic pieces and tells his niece, you go in and do the paperwork, I'm gonna fix up this cosmetic part for you.
48:52
SPEAKER_00: And that's how you turn a mistake or somebody that's upset into a raving fan.
48:57
SPEAKER_01: Right.
48:58
SPEAKER_01: And I think that the the replays over and over and over again with many customers of just like taking that man, I don't want to deal with that person to really getting them to where they're a raving fan.
49:10
SPEAKER_01: And we've done that time and time over.
49:12
SPEAKER_01: And we've missed on some.
49:13
SPEAKER_01: It's like, how do we how can we win this over?
49:16
SPEAKER_01: And we just can't, but yeah, you gotta at least try.
49:18
SPEAKER_01: You gotta eat that crow.
49:19
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
49:19
SPEAKER_00: No, that's that that's that's really good.
49:22
SPEAKER_01: All right, frequently asked questions here.
49:24
SPEAKER_01: What crow moment taught you a great business lesson?
49:29
SPEAKER_01: Wow.
49:31
SPEAKER_00: I would say the first time, and I'm going back in my memory here to try to figure out the first time it happened, but the first time when I admitted that I was wrong in front of people, yeah, uh, in the middle of a live moment, the lesson it taught me was what we've talked about during this whole thing is it's okay to admit that.
49:53
SPEAKER_00: And the credibility you gain from your team by admitting you were wrong.
49:58
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
49:58
SPEAKER_00: I think that that's the largest lesson, is because you think that you're going to decrease credibility with your team when actually you gain credibility by admitting you're wrong.
50:10
SPEAKER_01: And I I gotta point something out really quick here.
50:13
SPEAKER_01: We've talked about this.
50:14
SPEAKER_01: How we say that 85% of people said they gain more trust because someone admitted they're wrong.
50:19
SPEAKER_01: Sure.
50:20
SPEAKER_01: Let me throw a little caution here.
50:23
SPEAKER_01: Don't continue to be wrong about the same thing.
50:26
SPEAKER_01: That is a great not giving you a hall pass.
50:29
SPEAKER_01: Because we admit and we do it more and more and more.
50:31
SPEAKER_01: Admit that we don't know about that.
50:33
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
50:34
SPEAKER_01: Hey, I don't know about that.
50:35
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna get you some information and I'll get back with you when an employee says, Hey, what about this?
50:40
SPEAKER_01: You know, there's a lot of stuff we don't know from the manufacturer.
50:42
SPEAKER_01: But don't continue to be wrong about the same thing because then you do lose credibility.
50:47
SPEAKER_01: It's like this guy's my boss, he doesn't know about Jack.
50:50
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's a great point.
50:51
SPEAKER_01: Right?
50:51
SPEAKER_01: So you can't constantly say, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know.
50:55
SPEAKER_01: It's like, what do you even know?
50:56
SPEAKER_01: Right.
50:56
SPEAKER_01: So there's that teetering line that you always bring excellence, you always bring value to these people.
51:01
SPEAKER_01: And when you don't know something, it's like, that is a really good question.
51:04
SPEAKER_01: Let's figure that out together because I don't know I have all the answers, and I don't want to make that mistake, but I want to learn about it.
51:10
SPEAKER_01: So next time I know all about it.
51:12
SPEAKER_00: That that's very like that's keeping your word.
51:16
SPEAKER_00: And if you tell somebody you're gonna go look into something, or if you tell somebody you're gonna figure out the solution, or I apologize for making that stake mistake, it's your job and your duty to go figure out the solution or to improve so you don't make the mistake again.
51:29
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, because nothing says you don't care or you're above him, then doing the same thing wrong over and over.
51:35
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, don't do that.
51:37
SPEAKER_00: You bet, for sure.
51:38
SPEAKER_00: All right.
51:38
SPEAKER_00: Hey, it's been a great podcast today talking about eating crow.
51:42
SPEAKER_00: What a fun subject.
51:43
SPEAKER_00: Hey, get any of our podcasts, including this one on Crossroad Conversations Podcast.com and check out over a thousand vehicles in stock at Lewis Superstore.com.
51:53
SPEAKER_00: And don't forget they all come with that Lewis guarantee, where on new ones you get to double the factory warranty, and on pre-owns, you get up to five years, 60,000 mile powertrain.
52:03
SPEAKER_00: Hey, thanks for joining us today, and we hope you enjoyed this episode.
52:06
SPEAKER_00: Make sure to give it a like, share it with your friends and family, visit our website, and send us some questions.
52:12
SPEAKER_00: We want to know what you'd like to hear, who you'd like to hear from, and what you want to see, or maybe even some questions for us to answer about either the automotive industry or just business in general.