We hear many things in Service.

Stand on any Service Drive on any given day and you will hear Customers describe all kinds of noises related their vehicles. The variety of sounds people make describing their vehicle and situation is utterly amazing at times.

And no doubt you will hear conversations between Service Department personnel as they conduct their daily business.  Everything from “When will that part be here?” to discussions about lunch and everything else in between. In Service more words are exchanged on an hourly basis than nearly anyplace else on earth.

But there are things that you will never hear in the Service Department or even in the Dealership.  Here are a few of them.

1. “Don’t take care of the Customer.” Is there ever a situation when you would not take care of your Customer? Maybe…I can’t think of one.  The chances are that 99.9% of the time you will be doing something.  Whether that is driving to their home to deliver a car to making sure that the waiting room coffee pot is full. The first word in your Department’s name is “Service.”
2. “You are doing way too much maintenance work.” We recommend Service and Maintenance because that’s what we are supposed to do. The person doing that job is called the “Service Advisor” not the “Service Guy” or “Service Man/Service Lady” or even “Service Writer.”  The Service Advisor needs to be the most Professionally Trained and Knowledgeable person in the Dealership.  You can’t talk to a Customer intelligently about the vehicle and the maintenance required to keep it functioning as it is designed if all you know how to do is punch letters on a keyboard and say “Have a seat in our waiting room.”
3. “You don’t need to be profitable this month/this year.” Just not going to happen. The Service Department is the heartbeat of the Dealership. Have you ever been to a Dealership where the Service Department was on its last wheezing gasps? That’s a Dealership in trouble because just like a human, you can’t live without a heart.
4. “You can close early every day this week.” Nope, not going to happen either. Service stays open because vehicles break and more importantly Customers need us at to be open. For some people the family car is the one and only thing they have to get them around. For others it is the difference between making it to the doctor’s appointment or not. Service stays open because there isn’t a crystal ball made that can predict when it can be closed.
5. “You don’t need to Train anymore.” There is not one single Successful business, military branch, professional sport, popular band or orchestra that does not Train on a regular and continuous basis. Not one. It’s impossible to put a marketable product, military presence, winning team or great sounding band into the world’s eye without it. Training is the beginning of Profit and the basis of Professionalism. You can’t have one without the other.

Take a listen the next time you walk through the Service Department. You will hear many things. Some of them might even be humorous. But chances are, you won’t hear these 5 things anytime soon.