Larry Moore
Forum Replies Created
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I should add that the easiest way to track service advisor and technician performance numbers is QuickTrac Software.
What numbers is QuickTrac giving you that you feel are an accurate reflection of your Service Advisors performance?
displayed in real time are the average RO, car count, average upsell, total $ sold, hours dispatched, and completed work. Analytics can also give you these same numbers by customer code (ie new customer by source, returning customer by source). It also displays in real time the progress toward weekly goals.
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I should add that the easiest way to track service advisor and technician performance numbers is QuickTrac Software.
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I believe one of the most important indicators is % or number of returning 1st time customers. If people are not comlng back we are wasting our marketing dollars, the S.A. is a major (but not the only) component of getting them back.
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QuickTrac Software is a patented product designed specifically to resolve your issues. It is a quick and easy way to know the status of every job in the shop in real time. It automatically deducts work as the tech finishes it with a simple click. It updates and shows the progress of every job that is sold, what is dispatched, what is completed and how the shop and each employee is doing towards reaching their goals on an easy to understand dashboard. Users report an immediate improvement in productivity and shop moral.
Got to http://www.quicktracsw.com to learn more. I would be happy to do an online demo for you. larry@quicktracsw.com
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10%
eliminated paper survey cards to customers -
I totally agree with Russel. Only the technician has actually looked at the car and knows what is involved. We are not working on new cars so many times we need to be aware of things that have occurred or been done to the vehicle which will require more time.
I recommend to my QuickTrac users that the technicians do the estimating of time, we have found that the bottom line usually increases about 10% when that happens. The technician will always want to be sure they get enough time for the job, especially if they are on sometime of incentive pay based on production. For new technicians we ask them to print out the labor times and attach them to the estimate for the first week, that way the SA, who is usually the bottleneck in the shop, does not need to waste time doing that. We don’t require they use the “book time” but if it is different we want to know why.
We tell our techs that if we come and question them about a time, which we do on occasion, it is because we need to be sold so that we can sell the customer. If the SA is sold they will sell it to the customer! -
___4__ Activant
__8___ Car Quest
__6___ NAPA
__10___ WorldPac
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Much more but it must be Mandatory Professional Certification and Licensure. Not just registration or licensing, all that does it add money to government coffers with no real benefit for the industry.
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Multiple fleet studies have shown that predictive maintenance can save 30-50% in the cost of vehicle ownership over the life of the vehicle. I don’t think the term preventive is subconsciously believable by most people, they know their car will break, they just hope it won’t.
“Predictive” maintenance is based on regularly checking predetermined items on a basis of catching them before they break on the road (if at all possible) but more importantly letting the owner know as early as possible that it is coming up. They subconsciously believe we know everything about their car and can predict what is going to break. (don’t I wish) It only takes one time of telling a customer that something is ready to fail, and having it fail as predicted to turn them in believers.A predictive approach is what is used by major fleets and airlines to keep their fleet moving and the cost as low as possible with the highest reliability.
When I interview a SA or Tech I want to see what they drive and how it has been taken care of, it it looks and sounds good for its age I know I have a better chance of having someone who believes in predictive maintenance already.
Roughly 1/3 of our customers book their next 6 month visit before they leave this visit, all but about 10% agree to have us notify them when they are due in 6 months. It really smooths out the ups and downs of the business, and makes for local customers.
The bad news is my regular long time customers don’t need much work that we have not already done or predicted, so their average ticket is less than new customers. But I will accept that for the more stable work load this provides. Learned it all from my dentist. 🙂
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__2___ Caller ID for customers in database
__2___ Email customer from the RO
__1___ Integrated paperless inspections
__1___ Instant view of all maintenance service history and services due
___1__ Job pricing (invoices display total prices only for individual jobs)
___1__ License plate to VIN decoding
___2__ Labor matrix
__2__ Oil sticker printing
__1___ Service advisor event reminders (call customer, check parts arrival, etc.)
___3__ Signature capture
___3__ Technician time clocking
___3__ Text customer from the RO
___2__ Works on tablet and smart phones
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I believe this is a hugely misunderstood subject and therefore most discussions are based on some idea of what a shop licensing program is all about. Strictly speaking a shop licensing program is only a way to collect money for keeping a list of people who have paid the money and is usually done by government to pay for more government employees to push paper.
Years ago, when I had the time and energy to study such things I researched Mandatory Professional Certification and Licensing (MPC&L). In order to have a successful program, ie one that improves the quality of work for the consumer, improves working conditions for the industry employee, and provides a level playing field for the shop owner – all of the above elements must be present and complete. NO automotive program in the US or Canada has ever had ALL or even most of these elements. Most good examples of MPC&L programs are done in professions such as doctors, lawyers, architects, etc.. Even so no program is ever a cure all, someone will find a way to mess with it. The goal is build a program that is flexible enough to adjust over time and continue to be effective at accomplishing the goals.
The data collected on programs that meet this criteria fill a notebook but let me summarize:
– Mandatory, all participants in the industry must participate fully. What ever rules apply to one apply to all, without meeting the rules of the program the business or individual cannot be legally employed or participate in the benefits of the program.
Professional – as set of base standards and best practices is established by an oversight board made up of industry professionals that are elected and or appointed for a set period of time. These standards are constantly scrutinized and modified as appropriate to accomplish the goals of the program.
Certification – requires knowledge in specified subject areas which are trained and tested. The best programs require a period of understudy or apprenticeship with the “master” being accountable for their apprentice for some period of time after they are certified to meet all requirements. A new program allows grandfathering based on any number of criteria
Licensing – a license to operate is issued based on meeting the above criteria the license is subject to withdrawal for specific behaviors which can be confirmed by an oversight board made up of peer’s in the industry.Notice that the word government does not appear in the above description. Instead the governing board for this type of program is accountable to some element of government to assure the program meets the goals. As long as the program works the government stays out of the picture. It is meant to be established, operated and adjusted BY THE INDUSTRY OR PROFESSION. It is sanctioned by a government body, usually state or federal.
Okay now my two cents, which I have no doubt will bring me some flaming comments – our industry historically has been composed primarily of anarchists – by that I mean people who have gone out of their way to make sure no one can tell them what or how to do something. I know because I was one, but that also means that this is an almost impossible group to organize, even if it can be shown that it probably would be to everyone’s advantage.
True professionals understand the value of standardized processes and procedures that are designed to assure the best possible odds for a desired outcome. This applies to mechanical processes but also is true for business and professional practices. Our industry participants have a huge fear of “government” even if that governing body is their own peers! They believe that only they know the “true answer” and therefore working with others to find a solution will never work. In other words they don’t play well with each other!
There are many excellent examples of good MPC&L programs, both in the US and the rest of the world, but it requires the participants in the industry coming together to make it work. Based on that I don’t know that it could ever happen in my lifetime. 🙁
Just my two cents.
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If the misfire was on #2 why is the leakage from #1? Something does not add up. Did either cylinder show “cleaning” on the top of the piston? Is there excessive pressure in the radiator with the engine running? I always look for at least two “arrows” that point to exactly the same place. I am not seeing that in the information you have given. Is there more we should know about the problem?
I agree with what others have said regarding you must know exactly what is wrong before you can even begin to decide how to handle the customer.
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Our pay system is set up to pay maximum at 45hours per week. Any week we have the work the number is hit. Nobody wants to leave money on the table.
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I used Demand Force for several months and then switched to AutoVitals. Same price, same idea but AutoVitals is specifically designed for automotive so it has a lot of extra features. It also has a contest every month that the SA’s are part, they post who has the best scores in getting e-mails, booking advance appointments, the highest ratings, etc. My guys really got on board when we started using it. http://www.autovitals.com
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first time – 21-30%
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