The service drive

Money is tight and customers are being even more frugel than ever. The question that I would like to pose for dicussion is in regards to the service drive.

1. Has you dollars per RO gone down in recent months? If yes, why do you think? If no, what have you done to prevent that from happening?

2. What are you doing to track the customers who have declined services? Are you marketing to those customers like you would a lost sale?

3. Are you utlizing a menu system in your service drive? if so, is it working? If not, do you think there is a benefit to using a menu?

4. Is anyone doing daily training with your advisors? Have your advisors sat in on the last sales training meeting you had?

5. Are you service advisors acing as their own cashier at the end of the day? If so, why? If not, should they be?

I'm posing these in the format of questions so we can open the dialogue from our members. Please feel free to post your ideas and suggestions. If there is anything you would like to tout, please post that as well. Thanks for your feedback. Hopefully, we will all gain something from this post.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Michael Baker on March 16, 2011 at 6:50pm

$/R.O. has diminished in group approximately .5 hours/R O. Yes, follow up of recommended but unsold work is essential answering 1 and 2 above. X time provides one of the best follow up processes, so long as the information is accurate going into the DMS. Menu system is commensurate to factory guidelines here in SW, but may vary to driving conditions that are more tempermental in other areas of the USA. Training is paramount with Service Manager weekly before start of work or post hours at least 1.5 hours in a group of three maximum consultants together.

Consideration at hand for advisor cashiering. Most of us, hang on to past practices that do not provide better explained performed service(s) to our customers, that may have inquiries about the work performed, at pick up. R O s /advisor/day should be at 15 or less to properly follow up and service their vehicle needs to the end of repair..

Permalink Reply by Joe Clementi on March 16, 2011 at 7:01pm

Michael

Thank you for your frank answer to the questions posed and for your feedback. We too have been investigating the Advisors being their own cashiers and the pitfalls/benefits associated with it.

Permalink Reply by Bert Martin on September 11, 2011 at 4:08pm

Just another "cost cutting measure" by uninformed G.M's and Dealers.

Properly trained cashiers with great customer relationship building skills can effectively help the organizations.

Unfortunately, we do not hire that person in the dealership.

The service advisor needs all the time necessary during the day to build trust, sell, sell some more, sell more again,

follow up, communicate with techs, email customers, telephone customers, help the parts department with their issues,

coordinate the service transportation issues, take care of the "heat" for the service manager/director, answer the questions of the green pea salesman that got broomed by his sales manager, take care of insurance companies that cannot understand how a vehicle operates and is maintained, all other processes that may be necessary to satisfy the ego of the dealer or GM and NOW you want he/she to account for the cash?

Permalink Reply by Robert (Bob) Louis Silcox on September 12, 2011 at 12:38pm

We as a Team run a fairly large Mercedes Benz Service Operations Center. Money is tight even with the customer. They are watching what they spend on their vehicles. However our average Customer Paid Repair Order has not gone down. It has not gone up either it's flat. We have a T/O process in place just like the Vehicle Sales Floor. I want to have my Drive Manager and or myself take a look at the repair order and quote to see If there is anything we can do to save the deal while the customer's vehicle is in the drive.

Yes we do track unsold work and yes we do a follow yp call through our Service Operations BDC within 72 hours of the customer leaving the Dealership.

We utilize the Manufacture Menu System built into their website. We offer a Manufacture's menu and nothing else. Everything we do over and above is Ala-Carte.

We do not do daily training but I would say with the T/O system we have they get counciled on a daily basis.

Yes my Service Advisors are their own cashier. They are cradle to grave with the customer. They take care of the Customer coming in by appoinment and leaving by appointment. It works great. I also had this in please at another large Domestic Store I managed.

The whole story about retention with the Customer's is Relationship Selling and Building.

Permalink Reply by Michael Baker on February 17, 2013 at 7:39pm

Great to hear that follow up is conducted by the BDC. What about the recommended unsold work conveyed by a service advisor and consumer did not have time or... 30 days, 60 day, 90 day automated reminders. Anyone conducting follow up via automation, w consumers preference of:-i.e. text, e, or telephonically?