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This article is part of the America’s Favorite Mom & Pop Shops series. Read more stories
Key Takeaways
- One routine purchase made me rethink where small businesses shine — and where they don’t.
- I didn’t expect to side with the bigger player, but the experience left little room for nostalgia.
I own a small business. I write about small businesses. My clients are small businesses. And yet, I would never go to a small business to have my car serviced. Small businesses are great — but not for everything.
I’m not saying this without experience. I’ve owned Hondas all my life. I’ve taken my cars to local repair shops countless times. And the experience has been, well, inconsistent at best. I’ve certainly saved money on repairs. But I’ve paid for it elsewhere.
Take, for example, a recent experience I had at a Honda dealership in Philadelphia. I made my maintenance appointment with an AI receptionist, which understood me flawlessly. I received a text confirmation. I then received a call from a human verifying the details. Professional. Courteous. Efficient.
This stood in stark contrast to all the times I’ve waited on hold, reached busy signals or had my call answered by a mechanic in the garage who would say, “yeah, just bring it in” before hanging up.
I arrived at the dealership at my preferred time — 7:30 a.m. — an important detail so I could still get to work on time. And guess what? The dealership was open. I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve waited fifteen, twenty, even thirty minutes for the lone guy at the local repair shop to arrive. At a dealership, that behavior simply wouldn’t be tolerated.
Once checked in — by two smiling attendants — I waited in a heated, clean, spacious waiting room with free Wi-Fi, free coffee and work cubicles. Go ahead — find me a small repair shop that provides this kind of accommodation. Rents are high. Space is at a premium.
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The service took under two hours, which is exactly what they told me. I never get this kind of projection from a small repair shop. Not only that, but the dealership sent me a text message with a link to a live video stream of my car as the work was being done. What is this black magic?
Putting aside the seamless reservation, cheery staff and pleasant waiting area, the most important thing, of course, is the actual service. And here, too, I felt confident. The work was performed by a certified technician, trained and re-certified by the national organization and checked by a supervisor. Once the service was complete, I received a confirming email with my invoice. The next day? A check-in email with a survey.
Sometimes, it’s better to go to a larger business than a small business. Larger companies have processes, checklists, procedures and internal controls. They have layers of supervision. They have structures in place to handle complaints or issues that can be escalated regionally and nationally if needed. They are simply more reliable and more consistent.
Do I pay more for all of this? Absolutely. My service at the Honda dealership probably cost three times what I’d pay at some small repair shops. And any actual repairs are also charged at higher rates.
I get it. That’s because there’s a lot of overhead beyond the free coffee and Wi-Fi. Those smiling employees are being paid far more than what a small business could likely afford. There’s also more time involved, since both technicians and supervisors are part of the process. And the parts aren’t being pulled from a local junkyard. But for me, all of that is worth the extra cost. You get what you pay for.
Does Honda try to upsell me on additional services or even a new car? Of course. But good for them — I’m not averse to being given choices as long as I’m not pressured into anything, which I never am. Do dealerships make mistakes? It has happened. But when it has, they’ve made it right — no haggling. Trust me, the dealership manager doesn’t want complaints affecting their performance evaluation. I have a higher level of confidence that they’ll get it right.
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I love small businesses like anyone else. Small businesses make up roughly half of the country’s economy and employ about half of its workers. I’m a fan of the great local restaurant, the parts supplier, the family-owned plumbing business, the pizza shop and the dry cleaner. And I’m sure there are plenty of amazing local repair shops that can do a better job than the Honda dealership.
Maybe. But am I willing to take that chance — particularly when the downside could be a breakdown on the side of a highway in the middle of the night because some unsupervised technician didn’t do what they said they would? I’m not. Going to a dealership is no guarantee that won’t happen. But there’s a better chance that it won’t.
For some things in life, it’s simply worth relying on a larger organization than a small business.
Key Takeaways
- One routine purchase made me rethink where small businesses shine — and where they don’t.
- I didn’t expect to side with the bigger player, but the experience left little room for nostalgia.
I own a small business. I write about small businesses. My clients are small businesses. And yet, I would never go to a small business to have my car serviced. Small businesses are great — but not for everything.
I’m not saying this without experience. I’ve owned Hondas all my life. I’ve taken my cars to local repair shops countless times. And the experience has been, well, inconsistent at best. I’ve certainly saved money on repairs. But I’ve paid for it elsewhere.
