If you have never seen a baseball coach breakdance mid-game, an umpire dance before making a call, or an all-male cheerleading squad, you have not seen the Savannah Bananas. Jesse Cole built one of the most talked-about brands in sports by putting fans first and treating every game as a show.
Jesse is the founder of Fans First Entertainment, owner of the Savannah Bananas, and author of Fans First, Find Your Yellow Tux, and Banana Ball. In episode 66 of Maximum Octane, he and Kim Hickey talk about creating memorable experiences, keeping them fresh, learning from ideas that flop, and working your “idea muscle” every day. The lessons translate surprisingly well to an auto repair shop.
What You Will Learn
- Fans first, entertainment always. Jesse talks about Fans First Entertainment’s mantra
- About Jesse’s “obsession” with creating unique experiences
- Jesse talks about the importance and benefits of having a clear vision
- How to turn an idea into the fuel for your entire business
- Work your idea muscle every day
Fans First, Entertainment Always
Jesse opens with his company’s mantra: “Fans first, entertainment always.” A simple, memorable mantra gives everyone in the organization a filter for decisions. If an idea does not put fans first or entertain them, it does not fit.
What would a mantra for your shop sound like? Something like “Make every customer’s day easier” or “Leave them better than we found them” can guide decisions from the front counter to the bays.
A mantra works because it simplifies decision-making. When an employee faces a choice, the mantra provides a quick test: does this option put fans first? Does it entertain? For a repair shop, a mantra might focus on trust, convenience, or care. The key is choosing words that are short, memorable, and meaningful to both employees and customers. Repeating the mantra in meetings, training, and marketing reinforces it until it becomes part of how everyone thinks.
Many well-known companies use similar statements to guide behavior. The specific words matter less than the commitment to live by them consistently.
One mistake shops make is writing a mantra that sounds good on a wall but never shows up in daily behavior. Employees learn quickly whether the words matter by watching what gets praised, what gets corrected, and what the owner does when the mantra conflicts with short-term profit. If the mantra promises to make every customer’s day easier, but the shop routinely misses promise times without calling, the words lose credibility. Choosing one or two specific behaviors that bring the mantra to life, and recognizing people who do them, keeps it from becoming decoration.
An Obsession With Unique Experiences
Around the 7 minute mark, Jesse talks about his obsession with creating unique experiences. He treats every Bananas game as a spectacle that is never finished. There is always something to add, improve, or surprise fans with. He also shares the attractions that did not work, a reminder that innovation requires a willingness to fail.
For shops, this mindset means constantly asking how to make the experience better. Former Disney leader Dennis Snow explores similar ideas in Providing Excellence in Customer Service Before It Was Cool, and Charlene Parlett explains how to deliver WOW consistently in The Forever WOW Experience Approach.
The Savannah Bananas have become famous for turning a baseball game into a full entertainment experience, with choreographed dances, player antics, and fan interaction. That obsession with experience has created a fan base that travels to see them and fills stadiums across the country. The lesson for repair shops is not to add dancing technicians, but to think about what would make a visit memorable in a positive way. Small surprises, personal touches, and genuine care can turn routine service into an experience customers talk about.
Testing ideas, keeping the ones that work, and dropping the ones that do not is part of the process. Jesse’s willingness to share failed attractions shows that experimentation is necessary for innovation.
A practical way to start is to walk through the customer journey step by step, from the first search or phone call to the follow-up after pickup, and ask at each stage what the customer sees, hears, and feels. Many shops find their biggest opportunities in the moments nobody thinks about: the hold music, the restroom, the parking lot, how keys are handed back. Improving one moment at a time, and asking customers what stood out, keeps the experience evolving without trying to reinvent everything at once.
The Power of a Clear Vision
Jesse discusses the importance and benefits of having a clear vision. A vision tells your team and your customers what you stand for and where you are going. It helps people make decisions without needing approval for everything, because they know what the business is trying to achieve.
ATI’s How Sharing Your Vision Targets Results explores how vision drives performance.
A clear vision helps attract the right people. Employees who share the vision are more engaged and committed. Customers who connect with it become loyal fans. Partners and vendors who understand it can support the business more effectively. Without a clear vision, a business can drift, chasing every opportunity without building toward anything meaningful.
Writing a vision statement is a good start, but living it is what matters. Leaders should refer to the vision when making decisions, share stories that illustrate it, and recognize employees who embody it.
For a shop, a vision might describe the kind of place the owner wants it to be in five years: the reputation in the community, the team culture, the customer experience, and the owner’s role. Sharing that picture with the team, and connecting daily work to it, helps people see where they fit. A technician who understands that the shop aims to become the most trusted name in town for European vehicles knows why certain training matters. An advisor who knows the shop wants to be known for education explains repairs with extra care.
Turning One Idea Into Fuel for the Whole Business
Around the 16 minute mark, Jesse explains how a single idea can become the fuel for an entire business. For the Bananas, putting fans first led to new game formats, promotions, and media content. For a repair shop, one powerful idea, such as radical transparency, an outstanding warranty, or exceptional convenience, can shape marketing, operations, and culture.
Many successful businesses are built around a single powerful idea that differentiates them. For a repair shop, that idea might be an exceptional warranty, complete transparency through photo and video inspections, a guarantee on promise times, or a commitment to educating customers. When the whole business is designed around that idea, from marketing to hiring to operations, it becomes a defining feature that customers remember and competitors struggle to match.
Common Mistakes When Trying to Create Memorable Experiences
Shops that set out to wow customers sometimes skip the basics. A clever gift bag does not make up for a car that was not ready when promised or an invoice that does not match the estimate. Reliability comes first. The memorable extras work only when they sit on top of a consistent, trustworthy experience.
Another mistake is launching experience ideas without involving the team. When employees do not understand why a new touch matters, they deliver it halfheartedly, and customers notice. Asking the team to help design and own these ideas builds commitment. Finally, some shops try an idea once and then let it fade. Consistency is what turns a pleasant surprise into a reputation. ATI’s piece on creating a first-class customer experience covers the fundamentals.
Applying Fans First Thinking to Auto Repair
What would a “customers first, care always” repair shop look like? It might start with the phone greeting, where every caller is welcomed warmly and helped quickly. It might include a waiting area designed for comfort, with clean restrooms, good coffee, and space for kids. It might feature advisors who explain repairs clearly with photos and videos, technicians who return cars cleaner than they arrived, and follow-up calls that check on the customer days later.
It might also include surprises: a handwritten thank you note, a small gift for a loyal customer’s birthday, or a free service for a first responder. None of these ideas are expensive, but together they create an experience that turns customers into fans.
Fans do more than return. They tell others, defend the shop in online conversations, and feel a sense of loyalty that protects the business from competition. Building fans requires consistent attention to experience, which is exactly what Jesse has done with the Savannah Bananas.
ATI’s Get a Competitive Edge by Creating Attachment explores how shops can build that kind of emotional loyalty.
Work Your Idea Muscle Every Day
Jesse closes with the importance of working your “idea muscle” every day. Creativity is a habit. The more ideas you generate, the more good ones you find. He also talks about his mentors and what fans can expect from the Bananas in the future.
Ways to build your shop’s idea muscle:
- Ask each team member for one idea a week to improve the customer experience.
- Keep an “idea board” where anyone can add suggestions.
- Study businesses outside auto repair for inspiration.
- Test small ideas quickly and keep the ones customers love.
ATI’s How to Increase the WOW Count at Your Shop is a great source of starter ideas. For a shop built around a memorable customer philosophy, listen to Kori and Troy Vaninetti in Give ‘Em the Pickle!
Creativity improves with practice. Setting aside a few minutes each day to brainstorm ideas, even small ones, builds the habit. Some leaders keep a notebook for ideas, while others ask their teams for suggestions regularly. Not every idea will be good, but generating many ideas increases the chance of finding great ones. Encouraging the whole team to contribute ideas also builds engagement and ownership.
Inspiration often comes from outside the industry. Observing how restaurants, hotels, retailers, and entertainment businesses delight customers can spark ideas that work in a repair shop.
One way to keep ideas from piling up unused is to set a regular rhythm for testing them. Some teams review the idea board in a weekly meeting, pick one small idea to try, and check back the following week on how customers responded. Ideas that land become part of the standard process. Ideas that flop get dropped without blame. That rhythm builds a culture where trying new things is normal, and it keeps the customer experience improving in small steps rather than waiting for a big overhaul.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can auto repair shops learn from the Savannah Bananas?
The main lesson is to design every part of the business around the customer experience. The Savannah Bananas built a loyal fan base by treating each game as a show and constantly looking for ways to surprise and delight people. A repair shop does not need theatrics, but it can apply the same mindset by improving every customer touchpoint, testing new ideas, keeping what works, and building a culture where the whole team cares about how customers feel.
How can a repair shop create a memorable customer experience?
Start with reliability: accurate estimates, clear communication, and cars ready when promised. Then add personal touches that fit the shop, such as a warm phone greeting, a clean and comfortable waiting area, digital inspections that explain findings clearly, a thank you note, or a follow-up call a few days after service. Map the customer journey from first contact to follow-up, and look for small improvements at each step. Consistency turns these touches into a reputation.
Why does a business need a clear vision?
A clear vision tells employees, customers, and partners what the business stands for and where it is going. It helps employees make decisions without asking permission for everything, because they understand the goal. It also attracts people who share the same values and helps the owner decide which opportunities to pursue and which to pass on. Without a vision, a shop can stay busy while drifting, never building toward anything specific.
How can a shop team come up with better ideas?
Make idea generation a habit rather than an occasional event. Ask each team member for one suggestion a week, keep a visible idea board, and review ideas at regular meetings. Look at businesses outside auto repair, such as restaurants and hotels, for inspiration. Test ideas quickly and on a small scale, keep the ones customers respond to, and drop the rest without blame. Recognizing people whose ideas get adopted encourages more participation.
