Auto Repair Technology

There are few relationships that require more trust and honesty than that between you and your mechanic. When you move to a new place or buy a new model of car, you need someone you can rely on and whose business practices are ethical. You can ask your friends, or hope the Yelp reviews are honest, but what if you want something more substantial to base your mechanic choice on?

Queue up RepairPal. This app rates repair shops on more than just customer reviews. It uses its own comprehensive certification for repair shops to demonstrate the high quality and trustworthy service. It also includes industry-standard repair prices for vehicles and a convenient shop-locator.

While it's easy to see how an app like RepairPal can be valuable if you need your car fixed, ther'es also a lesson for entrepreneurs to learn from this type of vetting tool.

Review sites are becoming more sophisticated and packing in far more value for users. Entrepreneurs should understand which review apps exist in their industry and how they can maximize their presence. Review sites shouldn't make business owners feel entitled or defensive, but empowered, knowing that if used properly they can leverage them to favorably shape the public perception of their companies. Like it or not, these sites are here to stay, and it's up to business owners to make  them work for them and not against them.