An easy way to tell how much a repair shop cares about its customers is the time its employees spend getting various certifications. Some of these certifications are more important to me than others. The 'certs' and affiliations that I believe are most important are:

• AAA Approved Repair Shop
• Automotive Service Association Gold medallion shops
• Member of the Automotive Management Institute (AMi)
  and ALWAYS make sure that the shop has
  
• ASE Certified Master Technicians

A good shop will have these certifications on display when you enter the shop.

REALLY good shops will also do their best to TEACH you why your car needs certain repairs. They'll take you into their bays and show you what needs fixing and teach you WHY. I can't stress this enough: You should NEVER feel like you don't know what your money is going towards...you should be able to ask questions and get REAL answers! If you're not getting this from your current shop, it's time to find a new shop with real customer SERVICE!