johnschindel
Forum Replies Created
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Morning Tom:
Sorry to hear you’re being put through the wringer with the extended warranty company, it seems to be a recurring theme in our industry.
When I first started writing service in California, my service manager instructed us to always have an authorization for the entire job at our rates from the customer prior to any work or diagnosis being performed on the car.
As the owner of the car, and the person ultimately responsible for paying the bill, we had to have their permission to begin repairs. This took care of any unpleasant conversations up front as opposed to at the end of the visit when the repairs had already been performed, and kept us in good standing with the BAR, as the customer could not claim he/she hadn’t authorized the repairs.
Best of luck!
John Schindel
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I’d have to agree with Eric Davis; when describing your two novices you didn’t indicate that either was making the progress that would lead you to believe they’re going to turn things around. Regardless of which way you go, I’d still have the very frank talk with the journeyman so he’s not blindsided by your bringing in another technician.
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Morning vdepot:
I live in a world where my suggestions come from 20 years of being a service advisor and service manager. I’ve developed my opinions from seeing what worked from those positions and what didn’t.
I’m curious where your shop is located and what methods you’re using to find a new service advisor. If you’d like to give me a ring later in the day I’d be happy to speak to you on the phone and dig a little deeper into why you’re having the challenges in your shop.
John Schindel
(971) 255.3678
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Hi everyone:
I’d agree with everything that’s been said so far, particularly the training aspect. I’ve just returned from a two day training seminar in Florida where we worked on presenting the menus offered almost all day, getting the word tracks right and making sure the advisors are comfortable presenting everything the shop has to offer, and not merely be order takers.
One thing the store could do if there’s a new advisor and he’s trying to build his clientele is to run a report for lost souls and allow that advisor to start calling those customers and invite them to return to the shop. It’s definitely a numbers game, but if the advisor is that far behind the curve, they’ll have the time to make a couple of calls a day, at least. I was speaking to a client today at a German franchise shop back east, and recommended they go as far back as ten years and just start making calls.
Thanks for the great conversation, I always feel like I learn something reading the posts on this site!
John Schindel
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I’ve had good success with an approach similar to Tom’s. If it’s just one or two employees I’ll usually have a private conversation with them. I’d also bring up punctuality in the weekly meetings with technicians and writers, to try and stay ahead of it, by putting a reminder in my outlook calendar every 3-6 months or so.
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Hi Ollie:
While I’d agree that a technician would have to be something special to flag 50 hours a week, I’d also say that the rest of the organization and support needs to be in place to ensure that he can do it. Service advisors who know how to do their job properly, good appointments, parts availability, and dispatching are a couple of things that must be in place as well to give that technician every opportunity to succeed.
Great conversation and I’ll look forward to seeing what other people have to say.
John
