What the…

Me: “Hi, this is Ed in Room 521. I checked in a while ago today, and now I’m hearing a persistent loud banging noise. It’s quite annoying and I would like to change rooms please.”

Cold Front Desk Attendant with absolutely no smile in her voice: “Won’t do no good (sir). The bathrooms are being remodeled on every floor so the noise is everywhere.”

Me: “Well, how long is this noise going to continue?”

Front Desk Attendant with still absolutely no smile in her voice: “Till 10 p.m. (Pause and another ill-disposed background voice) No, I have been corrected, only till 9 tonight, so that is better.”

Me: “Are you kidding?” I am conducting training in this hotel the next day, staying here for three nights. What the… !

As it turns out, the banging stopped around 5 p.m. or so, and I was able to deal with it. What happened here from a customer-handling standpoint? No apology, no sympathy, no empathy and no love at all. It was more of a frozen take it or leave it transaction, and it made me wonder if this woman had ever been to any kind of a customer service school, or a wedding.

Reputation is your daddy

Considering that the front line people are the greatest influencers of customer retention (or not), and the molders of the company’s reputation, the selection, expectation and subsequent training of these individuals is essential to ongoing profitability. Especially in today’s consumer-driven society of ultra-high expectations (say do me and do me good).

Who are the front line people of any dealership? Service advisors transact with more customers in one day than the rest of the dealership does in a week. As the clock turns, these people also experience more stress in one day than the entire dealership does in a week too. If you question my proposition, I dare you to try out this heady position for yourself – come on don’t be a wimp. No wonder one guy called himself a “circus” advisor in my class.

So, who to hire? How about Happy Joe Smiley, my favorite candidate? (Note: Don’t hire his cousin, Snappy Jo Snarky, she works for the aforementioned hotel anyway.) Happy Joe is the kind of front line person I prefer – someone who inherited a constant smile, happy attitude and positive approach to common negative issues, probably inherited from a combo of Mommy and Daddy’s tiny genes and the precious childhood environment.   

Teach me tacky

I often wondered how effective the mostly manufacturer-sponsored “Interpersonal Skills” classes were. Did Bernie actually stop spitting on other employees (to be fair, he had a big split between his two front teeth), and did Martha stop biting her lower, then upper, lip every time a customer asked a question – just before she snapped-ho the answer? Probably not has been my experience, but a nice try nevertheless. My friend who manages hotels says that his group hires the “service” within employees, they don’t teach them the concept, and they don’t beat it in to them either. “Either they have it or they don’t. The key for us is to determine that when we interview and verbally test. If we can’t make ‘em cry, then we feel we might have a keeper.” Tough crowd.

I did run across some noteworthy customer-service related material on the Internet. A Ms. JoAnna Brandi, who states she is a “happiness” (good start) coach (www.CustomerCareCoach.com), outlined some solid fundamentals, which you can use to maybe sway forward your current herd of reputation makers.

1. You chose this job (don’t say dumb…here)

She has a good point here. If you don’t truly enjoy being a service advisor, another name for a professional car caregiver, then do something else. Employees who relish in what they are doing are very apparent, and they make a powerful statement about the company overall. Do you want to be best known for hiring unhappy employees?

2. Be proud of what you do

I feel this is the largest slice of the customer service pastry. Like the Marines, dealers need a few good men and women who are proud to wear the uniform – once a service advisor, always a service advisor. Semper something …. (well, I was in the Army ROTC).

3. You have emotional genius

This revolves the emotional intelligence to make good emotional decisions. My take is to hire people who manage their emotions, not visa versa. I would never hire someone who brought a claw hammer and/or a box of tissue to an interview for example.

4. The customer is not always right

Please don’t tell this secret to the general manager. Frankly, this is a great point, missed by those who cannot manage the many emotions that get dumped on them every day. As Ms. Brandi points out, sometimes they are wrong, mean, nasty or angry. An innate ability to deal effectively with each “patient,” (my approach) is who I want on my team. Some just need meds.

5. You work in the performing Arts

My teachings here have revolved around sports. As a paying spectator (the customer), they expect to see professionals at work. If they call the first baseman an idiot, they don’t expect him to jump into the stands and beat them to a pulp (which most first baseman could do single handily). They expect them to not react, but rather to get motivated to do a better job. I guess it’s a kind of negative reinforcement mojo.

6. You have a stressful job but the amount of stress you take home is up to you

This reminds me of the answer I got from a Dallas, Texas service manager when I asked him how far he lived from his dealership. “Four beers,” he casually replied. Most managers don’t coach service advisors about the toll of stress, if they even notice it at all. Interestingly, listening is the primary skill needed to help fix stress, not that difficult to master for most.

7. You have the opportunity to make the world a better place everyday

Ms. Brandi makes the point that emotions are contagious, but then again so is malaria. The point is that positive people create more positive customers, influenced by the positive spirit of the employee. To my thinking, aggressively positive service advisors also influence technicians, many of whom are as emotional as a Disney cartoon on steroids, over to the plus side.

Clean the surface

Automotive service advisors who merely go through the motions of managing transactions are a form of quiet poison to the business – let’s call them “surface advisors.” I thought “the devil” was just too strong. Professional advisors help glue the customer to the business, both in service and sales – yes they are that important! Perhaps it’s time to take a microscopic look at your staff. Some may be better off in a different position in the organization where they would wield less effect on customer retention. They would be happier, as they can be, and best of all, so would you – and you know what they say about a happy service manager – four beers.

As the weather heats up, more transmissions go belly up. Heat trashes automatic transmission fluid, not because of an increase in ambient temperature, but rather it’s due to pulling boat trailers, RVs and utility trailers. Taking the family minivan up Pike’s Peak or through the streets of San Francisco is another good way to heat up the fluid.

Furthermore, 90% of transmission failures occur due to fluid breakdown, according to Lance Wiggins, Technical Director for the Automatic Transmission Rebuilders Association (ATRA).

In other words, the beginning of transmission failure is transmission fluid failure. Therefore, the best way to protect your customers’ transmissions is by offering them a transmission fluid exchange service as a part of their regularly scheduled maintenance.

Most transmission failures occur between 73,000 and 100,000 miles. While ATRA says the mileage at which failure occurs is trending upward, it is still a sobering statistic. Since most people are holding on to their vehicles longer than they used to, it’s easy to understand that they may have a transmission issue in the future…unless they change the fluid.

In their 2012 Automotive Aftermarket Status Report, the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association says 3.4 million transmissions were overhauled and another 4.5 million were replaced last year. That’s a total of 7.9 million people that had to shell out several thousand dollars to fix a failed transmission.

I bet they wished their service center had offered them a transmission service, don’t you? Do the math: $200 for a fluid exchange, or $4,200 for a transmission!

My point is simply this: offering transmission services to your customers is the right thing to do. It’s good for the vehicle, it’s good for the vehicle owner, it’s good for the tech, it’s good for the advisor, it’s good for the parts department and it’s good for the shop. Everyone wins!

When selling a transmission fluid exchange, two pieces of data are critical in order to make an informed recommendation to your customers. First, you have to know the current odometer reading. Second, you have to know the vehicle’s history—specifically, the time interval since the last transmission service was performed. If your advisors or techs have the opportunity to show a customer what their fluid looks like, then it becomes a dynamic visual aid that will increase their selling success. Let me be clear: fluid color is not scientific, therefore it is not the basis on which to sell service. Service should be sold based on the mileage and time interval since the last fluid exchange. Period.

Once your advisors have determined that it’s time to do the service, it is in everyone’s best interest to show the customer the difference between their fluid and new fluid. A picture is worth 1,000 words, and comparing their fluid to new fluid is the best way to get the customer to understand the value of the service.

I have written before about the most successful sales process I’ve ever seen: The Educate, Offer and Ask Method.

• Educate the customer:
  “Mrs. Jones, you have 62,000 miles on your Tahoe, and our service records indicate you’ve never had the transmission serviced. While doing a multi-point inspection on your SUV, the technician has recommended a transmission fluid exchange.”
• Offer the maintenance solution:
  “We offer a transmission service that includes fluid specifically formulated to meet the requirements of your Tahoe. When we perform this service, our technicians clean up the internal components of your transmission, flush out the old contaminated fluid, and refill it with fresh, new, fortified fluid.”
• Ask them to buy:
  “If we go ahead and do the service today, while your vehicle is here, then we can save you a trip back… does that sound reasonable?”

Most dealerships are recommending a transmission service every 30,000 miles. The goal is to change the fluid while it is still red, before it gets contaminated and turns reddish brown or black. Transmission fluid is the lifeblood of the transmission. Most vehicle owners expect their transmissions to last as long as their vehicle. That is simply not going to happen if the fluid isn’t changed regularly.

By the way, don’t forget about the benefit this service brings to your customer retention numbers. Your goal is to keep your customers loyal to your dealership and coming in for service until they are ready to buy another vehicle. Fluid maintenance services are a major defection point for customers. The best way to prevent your customers from drifting away to your competitors in the aftermarket is to proactively sell fluid maintenance services. Customer loyalty to your dealership is in direct proportion to your ability to sell fluid maintenance services.

A) First let me say thanks for setting up this interview. It’s fun to talk Social Media, especially with car peeps just like me!

The first thing I do when a client has no Social Media presence is I ask them what their goals are for Social Media. Many times, the thought hasn’t crossed their mind because they’ve been so wrapped up in the idea that they have to be there.  Social Media is like any other marketing platform.  You always want to have a clear strategy before you spend your budget.

The very next thing you need to do is designate someone in the store who can be your “Community Manager”. You need someone who has marketing ability and knows (or can be trained to know) the Social space.  You can set up all the platforms you want but the real work is in what to post!  Great content is what drives engagement with your fans/followers and that takes time, effort and a budget. There is no magic bullet.

Successful Social Media also takes grassroots participation from the staff, especially the front-line personnel (sales people and service advisors).  They’re the ones who know your customer and you need an internal process for employees to follow to create relevant content (blog posts, Facebook updates, Tweets, Videos) and to capture those always-important online reviews.

Start with a solid foundation and you will not fail.

2. Q) Are there sites you think are better to get involved with than others? Facebook, Twitter, Four Square….

A)  For the answer to this, ask yourself where your customer is?  It used to be that everyone watched TV, listened to the radio or read the newspaper, so marketing and advertising dollars were spent there. Now, people are on Facebook more than they watch TV so Facebook is where dealers should be.

There are very specific strategies for each platform.  Twitter is a conversation-based medium: you can listen, engage, converse and network with current customers and potential buyers.  There’s lots of opportunity to learn new things there too!

Foursquare allows you to reward loyal customers who check in to your store. This is great for Fixed Ops.

Google Plus is a place to be, simply because Google is building an empire around search and social.  I’ve seen a lot of movement here in the past few months. It’s very different from Facebook, not as “Social”.  However, you should create a brand page and interact.  It will increase your online influence.

Depending on your goals, there are many strategic opportunities on all of these platforms.  If you’re new to Social Media, start slow and master one – Facebook.  Your participation will show you how today’s customer likes to interact with your business and that will help you to roll out to those other platforms.

Content is what drives all of these so once you’ve developed a winning process for content curation, you can apply that on each platform.

3. Q) Can you describe the services that your team can provide for clients?

A) Kruse Control does Social Media coaching and training.  Having managed stores all of my life, my experience in daily operations gives me a unique opportunity to give back to my industry.

I coach the Community Managers in dealerships on content strategy and blogging. I train dealership personnel on Social Media and Online Reputation Management either through Webinars or in-store.  I also speak and present to dealer associations around the US and Canada.

4. Q) What direction do you see the car business moving in the future in regards to social media?

A) I see the car business moving the way the customer demands.  People just don’t want to buy cars the way they used to.  They spend 11+ hours online researching their next purchase.  They talk to their friends and family to see where they bought or where they get their car serviced.  They look at online reviews.  Social Media facilitates those conversations—it’s word-of-mouth digitized.

I see dealership daily operations becoming much more cohesive.  At successful stores, each department will work in tandem with the other to communicate the store’s brand.  The new term or “buzz word” is Social Business.

Thanks to technology, the customer is connected now in ways they never were before.  It’s a full-circle shift! Before devices like the telephone, community members knew each other by name.  Merchants had long-term sales relationships with their customers because they had built up a trust inside that community.  Then, mass marketing entered the picture and it changed everything.  Social Media has brought us back to that time where community members prefer to buy from one another.  Trusted relationships mean more sales.  Dealers can develop those trusted relationships and build a Social community using platforms like Facebook.

Customers want to feel like they have shared values and perspectives with the businesses they buy from. If you can identify how you want your store to be perceived and send that message out through Social Media, you can capture visitors, build fans and generate leads.

So the young man heads out on his first call and all his co-workers begin laughing once the young man was out of earshot. The truth was, this old timer never buys anything and is really just a right of passage practical joke that gets played on all the rookies.

After about two hours, the co-workers and manager began to worry.  The first hour they heard the old timer shouting every four letter word they had ever heard, and some they haven’t heard. But now they weren’t hearing anything coming from the store and they began to wonder if everything was ok.

After three hours, the rookie salesperson came out of the store with a big smile and even a bigger order from the old timer.

He hands the order to his manager and states “You’re right, he was a tough one, but like you said, the more he yelled and cursed, the more I kept at him, and finally he placed the order.”

After reviewing the paperwork, the manager found out this was the biggest order the company ever had.

Like the famous icon G.I. Joe once said: “Knowing is half the battle.”

Well, it appears not knowing is the other half.

So, before you spend too much time pre-judging people or reviewing conversations that you think didn’t go that well, forget about it and go for the sale.

As President F.D. Roosevelt once said: “the only thing to fear, is fear itself.”

In Zen Buddhism there is something called the Beginner’s Mind. When you first begin to do anything there can be a lot of reckless abandon and a lot of fun. There can also be a great joy of learning and a lot of action. You may also have not a lot of thinking, but then not a lot of hesitation either.

The reason there maybe not a lot of thinking is because there may not be a lot to think about. You’re just trying to sell. You’re not thinking of closes, you’re not thinking of the next client and you’re certainly not thinking that you sound like you don’t know what the heck you’re talking about……you’re just selling…pure and simple and unafraid.

As time goes by and you learn more about closing techniques and more about the business, some of the initial zeal may slip away. Maybe that enthusiasm that you first had has been tainted by the processes.

This is where the search for the Beginner’s Mind comes in.

You are the perfect combination of training and experience and the simple fresh outlook of the rookie. Now your mind doesn’t get in the way of doing your original love……selling.

You don’t have to think about what technique or close to use, it just happens. The same reckless abandon comes back, but now with the hitter’s edge.

And the most important part that comes back is the joy. Don’t spend time getting in your own way and embrace the Beginner’s Mind and you’ll sell more service.

Probably not…

And the reason it’s not is because we’ve gotten into the “race to bottom” with the aftermarkets. “If so and so does oil changes for $12.95, why are we doing them for $39.95?”

So, instead of building value in yours, you remove services and lower the price.

One of the pricing strategies we spoke about was using relativity or anchoring. Here’s a very successful anchoring example by William Poundstone from his book Priceless:

“A few years ago, Williams-Sonoma, the high-end American retail company, offered a home bread maker priced at $279.00. After a period of mediocre sales, they decided to add a second model-similar features as the first, but slightly larger. This new item was priced at $429.00, more than 50% higher than the original bread maker. So what do you think happened?

Sales of the newer, higher priced model were a flop, sales of the original, less expensive bread maker almost doubled. Clearly there were people charmed by the idea of the quality bread maker. The only thing that stopped them from buying was the price. Once the store added the $429.00 model, the $279.00 machine was no longer seen as such as extravagance.”

The application to your service business by relativity and anchoring is through a “good, better and best” scenario.

The best way to survive a price war is to not initiate one. We need to begin to be innovative with our pricing, not racing to the bottom. The cheapest price doesn’t always win.

According to a new study from Polk, new vehicle owners now keep their vehicles an average of six years, which is nearly two years longer than the average life of ownership in 2003. Similarly, used car buyers are keeping their vehicles for more than four years, compared with less than three years in 2003.

By keeping vehicles longer, consumers are now focusing more heavily on parts and accessories to maintain and enhance their existing vehicles. With the improvements of product merchandising online, shoppers can easily find the right part, model number or custom product that matches their make and model exactly.

Many dealerships have not branched out beyond using online channels for scheduling purposes into selling services online. Going beyond simply selling services, bundling service with parts and accessories provides a larger opportunity to meet the demands of the customer, and the changing way in which they expect those demands to be met. As consumers continue to search online before making purchases of any size, online offerings of services and parts together are an avenue to gain additional exposure and sales with minimal investment.

To keep customers coming back for additional service and maintenance, dealers can build the customer relationship online in addition to increasing parts and accessories sales. The online relationship also aids dealers in developing the awareness they need to drive customers back to the lot when they are in the market for a vehicle purchase.

To make research, travel and shopping for these upgrades convenient, many people are buying more parts online that they previously bought at retail automotive stores or from their local mechanic. While online automotive marketplaces have been known as a source for do-it-yourselfers, more shoppers are researching and selecting the product they need online and then are looking for someone to install it for them. This growing “do it for me” crowd is looking for the convenience of bundled services and installation included with the benefits of online purchasing.

Parts and accessories sales are the most underutilized source of incremental sales for dealerships. Missing these opportunities, in addition to bundling them with the related services and maintenance, is leaving money on the table for dealerships.

A part sells every second on eBay Motors, and more than 236 million parts and accessories transactions have taken place to date on the site. Considering that some of those are purchased by the DIY crowd, there are still more than enough that need to be serviced by a mechanic or dealership.

The top three performing parts and accessories categories on eBay Motors are replacement parts, tires and wheels and racing and performance. Each of these categories relate to services and maintenance that a dealership’s service center offers. Dealers should capitalize on the popularity of these categories to uncover new sales and service opportunities.

When a customer comes directly to the dealership lot, parts and services are made and sold to complement each other, and the same scenario should play out online, providing value to consumers while at the same time boosting profits and loyalty for the dealership.

Consumers are looking for ease of use, convenience and seamless offerings in an effort to streamline the maintenance or updates they need. If a dealer can provide a simple way to purchase parts and maintenance and schedule those services, the transaction process will impact the consumer’s sentiment when it comes to making his or her next vehicle purchase.

Since customers cannot touch and feel the products they purchase online and can sometimes rely on e-mail or phone to complete the transaction, trust is essential to completing a sale. By building a solid website and multiple contact points online, dealerships can communicate frequently with customers, providing upsells and becoming the go-to resource for automotive needs. Once trust is developed, customers will be more likely to purchase even more services, parts and accessories — and perhaps their next vehicle when the time comes.

Incorporating service sales into parts and accessories sales that are already being purchased online can be a necessary trigger to gaining additional foot traffic in a dealership. It also can alleviate the fear of talking to someone that some consumers have, when they agonize over calling and scheduling appointments. Paying online in advance for services can make maintenance and upgrades easier for consumers, resulting in an increase in sales for the dealership.

As the concept of parts and accessories plus service becomes more prevalent online, consumers will grow accustomed to and expect services and parts to be paired together. By beginning to bundle these offerings to their customers now, dealers can get ahead of the curve.

For example, dealerships that have a quick lube rack might have a process like this: get ‘em in, write ‘em up, entertain ‘em with free Wi-Fi and get ‘em out the door. The process includes factory-trained techs, OEM parts, articulate service advisors…and all this in less than an hour. Process followed. Transaction completed.

However, there is more to the automotive service business than simply executing a flawless transaction process. The best way to illustrate this point is to tell you a true story:

I bought a pre-owned, late-model import crossover for my daughter so she’d have reliable transportation as she headed off to college. I took it to an import dealership when it was time for the first service. (By the way, this was not the same dealership where I purchased the vehicle. Why? The original dealership never asked for my service business. They were focused on the used car sales transaction. Period. But that’s a story for another article.)

I arrived at the service drive at 10:20 a.m. and was greeted by a service advisor who met me at the car at 10:22 a.m. I asked for an oil change and he gave me a “write up sheet” to sign. It was not a busy day, in fact there was only one other car on their spacious drive.

He didn’t do a walk-around, didn’t give me a menu, didn’t raise the hood, didn’t discuss a free maintenance inspection, didn’t introduce himself, didn’t ask for my name and didn’t point me to the customer lounge.

Since I hadn’t been shown where to wait, I decided to just sit in the first chair I saw, which was in the corner of the service drive.

At 10:30 a.m., the advisor approached me and suggested I’d be more comfortable in the customer waiting area, and he escorted me there. He still didn’t introduce himself, ask my name or thank me for being there.

The customer lounge was very modern, clean and bright, complete with a flat screen TV and a children’s play area. They had a state-of-the-art coffee station, but the pot was almost empty. There were no cups and the condiment area needed to be replenished. I was really impressed with the men’s room, the granite and tile were first class, but there was no soap.

The advisor approached me again at 11:25 a.m. stating the car was ready and asked if I wanted a free car wash. It was one of those snow-turned-to-slush-on-the-road days, so I said no thanks… but I was impressed with the gesture.

He walked me about 25 feet over to the cashier’s window where he went over the multi-point inspection form. The technician had recommended a mileage service bundle, an air filter and a throttle plate cleaning…but the advisor did not ask me to have the services performed while I was there, nor did he offer to set a future service appointment. I knew the vehicle was due for a tire rotation, but neither the tech nor the advisor recommended it.

The cashier had me sign the invoice, ran my credit card and gave me the keys. The car was parked right by the service door and I drove off the lot at 11:35 a.m.

Here’s how I rated the dealership:

Oil change transaction: B-

Additional revenue opportunities: F

They lost 1.7 hours of labor and $200 revenue for one simple reason: the service advisor didn’t ask for the sale! Incredible! This dealership sees about 40 cars per day, so when you project the missed opportunities over a year, it looks like this:

$200 x 40 cars per day x 21 days a month x 12 months = $2,016,000.

To be fair, let’s say only 50% of the people who are asked will actually say yes, so that’s $1,008,000 in lost revenue for the dealership…just because they won’t ask for the sale!

Let me come back to the central issue: the advisor was focused on an oil change transaction, get the job done right in about an hour. Mission accomplished. What he missed…well, I think I’ve made my point.

By the way, one of the best ways to alienate your techs is by requiring them to thoroughly inspect vehicles and then your advisors never selling (or even offering) any of the services they recommend.

To recap, this dealership has spent millions of dollars to create a beautiful, inviting facility for its customers. They go the extra mile by washing each car that comes in for service. Yet, a top notch facility and first class amenities will not generate increased revenue, although both are vitally important. The only way to increase revenue is to sell service by asking the customer to buy!

So here’s a question for you to ponder: do you suppose my experience has ever been repeated at your dealership? If so, the way to turn it around is training.

Action point: Each month I conduct a 45-minute webinar on selling maintenance services. If you want your service advisors and management team enrolled in the webinar series, just send me an e-mail at cpolston@dealer-communications.com.

I look forward to seeing you and your staff online each month in 2012.

The easiest thing for us to think is that this teammate is deliberately not doing it. But the reality of the situation maybe that they don’t understand the duty you described.

Now we aren’t talking about being on time or wearing safety equipment. Those are things that should be understood without a lot of explanation. For some of you, the duty you’re talking about may make perfect sense to you, but perhaps not to someone else.

This thought process may pertain to a lot of things at your store. This may include signage; pick up processes and even the flow of traffic at your store.

On a recent visit to my own store, my wife and I switched seat and I had her drive to the dealership. As we pulled up I stated to het to drive in as if she was coming for service the first time. Traditionally she doesn’t bring the vehicle in for service because she has a live in valet who brings the vehicle in for service (that would be me.).

As she pulled on to the campus and we drove around for the next 10 minutes, I began to get frustrated. I told her to “read the signs!!!”

She of course stated back “what signs?”

The more we looked at the signage, the more I realized that it became part of everyday, because certainly wasn’t everyone else’s.

As I expanded that model further out, I looked closer at all my interactions with people and realized that the mind has an amazing ability to assume.

If it makes sense to me, how can’t it make sense to you?

Another amazing gift the mind has is the self protective ability to not want to look stupid. So if someone gives someone instruction and even though the person clearly doesn’t understand, they won’t ask.

Ask any wife that has given directions to her husband.

One of the easiest ways to make sure someone understands is to ask. It’s as simple as saying “do you understand?”

The other thing you want to do is create an environment that is open to questions.

Let your team know that you expect questions.

As a matter of fact, put your team to the test by actually telling them something without giving them all the facts and see if they feel comfortable about asking you.

If they don’t, then maybe you’re the one who needs work.

The old saying “I can explain it to you, but I can’t understand it for you.” goes both ways. And if you’re not communicating your vision to your team you’re wasting time. And if you’re wasting time, you’re not making money.

Have a vision that can clearly be communicated to your team and have an open environment for questions and you’ll sell more service.

Whoa, Nellie

It wasn’t that long ago that a dealer service writer could make a nice living managing 15 repair orders per day, while a technician needed four max to produce over 100% output. Now, in many franchises that number is 25 to 30 for the writer and nine for the tech. At the same time, many new facility designs are, well, non-functional to the flow (somebody please tell snooty architects to ask dealer personnel how they discharge business before they design – I beg you), placing even more strain on the high-pressure service process. The icing on this pathetic cake is the quickly disappearing vehicle maintenance requirements, crashing warranty needs and shrinking internal work. What’s a boy to do?

Oh, I left out the fact that the gross profit margin on new vehicles has never been smaller, leaving many, if not most, new car departments bleeding monthly losses like a March downpour. Used car, service and parts departments are left with the heady challenge of overcoming this tempest of red every month. Since “personnel” is the number one category of expenses (by a mile), more and more needed support personnel (say: non-productive, meaning they ain’t creatin’ greenbacks) is tossing more water on this proverbial deluge.

Panacea?

So far, the prime answer to this growing financial fiasco from professional soothsayers has been to establish some type of even faster uncontrolled service offerings, needing additional costly support people, lowering hours per RO and at an even more pathetic effective labor rate. Yikes! Oh, I forgot that creating a gross profit killing coupon-dependent society of penny-pinching service purchasers is a vital part of this answer too. What am I missing?

It’s easy to whine and point out problems, but it does relieve some overt stress. What most franchise service and parts managers need is more meaty repair orders, and satisfied customers, conditioned to continually purchase maintenance services and needed repairs at the dealership, and for the same reasons they choose to use independent shops after the warranty ends and a few more miles are clicked off.

Nope

Let’s identify what most successful independent shops don’t provide: shuttle service, free coffee, Saturday hours, WiFi, sexy maintenance menus, dirt cheap oil changes, quick service, tires, car washes (unless it’s raining), loaners, cute cashiers, main street locations or lifetime warranties. Is this stuff working as planned?

What they do provide is aggressive coaching, leadership, in-depth skills, multiple pricing options and fixes, combined with a commitment to top-shelf quality even if a couple teeth are missing. They do stay until the job is done, and they do treat each customer like a family member. No fluff, no energy expended on gratuitous add-ons, and no beating around the bush in any conversation. They don’t refer to an unknown (hidden in the bowels of the facility) tech’s opinion and they don’t refer to anyone else when discussing various parts options. If they don’t know something they admit it, find the correct information, and move on. The only person or entity they have to please is the customer, so that is the 100% focus of their effort.

Can we?    

Here’s some sage advice to your assistant manager staff (ok, service advisor to some), which will in time create substantial customer retention (without cheapening the relationship with giveaways), and even excited referrals (the very best type of new customer).

Rule one: Never, ever contact a customer with an additional purchase option before viewing the need(s) yourself, then receiving three distinct pieces of information from the performing tech. What it is, why it needs to be done and the BENEFITS the customer will receive from the purchase. The benefits (you know, what they are buying) will make them love you.

Rule two: When available, always (not sometimes) investigate the purchase options available to complete the service or repair before the customer contact. Always shop on behalf of the customer – give them all the options and a well thought out recommendation– they will love you even more.

Rule three: If the customer is on the premises, escort them to their vehicle and together with the tech (yes they should meet their tech dude), review the needs and options thoroughly. Always make a reliable recommendation regarding the selection, along with the reason(s). Act like the expert – they will love you forever and you may get a hug.

Rule four: Always save the parts removed from the vehicle – don’t ask, just do it. Make it point to show them to the customer during your active delivery and offer to give them such (they won’t want them, don’t worry). They will love you for the thoughtfulness. Oh, and schedule the next visit now – at least the month.

Rule five: In a couple days call the customer’s home and leave a message checking up on how the vehicle is performing. Tell them you appreciate them and that you look forward to seeing them at the next required service visit – this love will extend to a free adult beverage at Christmas from them.

Rule six: There is no crying in service, so stop it.

Staffing worksheet
I have developed an easy to read and use matrix identifying service support staffing and the related budget for various size service operations. If you want a copy send me an e-mail at ekovalchick@dealer-communications.com. Put on the subject line: Support Staffing: Dead Weight. I’ll send it on quickly before the next storm.

And waited…….

As some of the people shared stories about their lives and how this was the last possible place they wanted to be at this moment, I began thinking about our line of work.

Every morning we have people coming in for service and for some (or most) this is one of the last places they want to be right now.

When I was at the court house, minutes felt like hours. We all waited as the clerk would stop in for an update, which happened way to infrequently, or at least it appeared to be way too infrequently.

She was actually stopping every 15 minutes or so, but to us, those intervals seemed like hours.

After spending seven hours at the courthouse, we were told the case was closed and our services were no longer needed. They thanked us and sent us on our way.

The following day at work, I looked at the clients we had sitting in the lounge. We had some that within five minutes of the write up process, the vehicle was in the shop being repaired. Within another five minutes there was a status report and we were discussing additional repairs that were needed.

One client stated that after that 15 minute process of the write up, dispatch and status report, that they “couldn’t spend all day here” and couldn’t believe how long this process was taking.

Normally, I could have very easily looked at the actual time of the process and considered it to be very reasonable, but after my courtroom experience, I understood the clients feelings completely.

Never was it clearer of the relativity of time.

There were other clients in the same lounge that seemed to have all the time in the world and just like at the courthouse, there were people who would have been more than happy to spend the day.

Now when I mention that time is relative, it’s our job as the service provider to provide a realistic time table to a client, but it’s also our job to establish the relativity of that time table.

To some people, five minutes is an eternity and it’s your job to make it go faster or slower.

We’ve already seen the numbers that clients are 65% more likely to purchase additional service if the recommendations come within the first 15 minutes of their service experience. But to some, even that 15 minutes is to long.

The way to effectively overcome that is to share a sense of urgency with your clients.

If they are in a hurry, move!!

Don’t walk around like you have all the time in the world when you know they don’t!!

If you share a sense of urgency with your clients and if you understand how they are seeing time, you’ll sell more service.

Modeling muddle

Many of you have been exposed to the subliminal management concept of “modeling,” which is simply demonstrating the behavior you expect of a subordinate. So, for example, if you want a service customer greeted with the expression “Welcome, we are delighted that you have chosen to use our service center,” you would state that to all the customers you personally greet – hence, modeling the behavior you desire – just makes sense.

As always, there is a different school of thinking and I thought you might want to be exposed to it. I had the occasion to meet Mr. Hurley Bo Doolittle, a long-time service manager and former circus advisor at a multi-line Plymouth-Desoto-Studebaker-Olds-Hummer operation in Bassackerds, SC, who has taken the exact opposite approach to the positive modeling concept.

Modeling mania

Doolittle, whose background includes a stint managing a Saturn-Rambler service operation, says the definition of modeling is all wrong. His philosophy is that modeling the positive behavior puts the manager in an awkward position since the manager would have to be perfect every time. “I don’t care who yar,” he noted, “Taint no one zactly perfect, so why would you set urself for garonteed failure up like that – that’s stupid dumb?” I have to admit he had a point.

Doolittle, who thrice won the annual Bassackerds Checkers Tourney, which featured a free ride in a Freightliner to the winner, says the smart manager will model negative behavior so that he or she will never model the incorrect behavior. “How can you screw up bad behavior,” he claimed? Doolittle says he regularly comes to work 10 minutes late, wears shorts with no underwear, and he even yells at customers (calls them yellow Yankees when he really wants to make an impact), to show his employees exactly what he doesn’t want them to do. “I don’t want no mistakes out there, so I do all the bad stuff myself” he told me.

Doolittle says that modeling bad behavior really impacts the employees. “I regularly hear comments like, ‘Dang, you look stupid Doo,’ and that shows me that what I’m doing is really working. When they see me they think, ‘Shoot he’s never here when I need ‘em’, and it helps me get the point across bout attendance for example. Since we ain’t got no overtime, I like the idea of showing off under-time as a bad example. Cool huh, and I ain’t really that smart ya know.”

Doolittle says his negative modeling concept is not his invention. “Naw, I got this idea from my old man. He always said to me, ‘Do as I say, not as I do.’ He used to do all this stuff that ticked my mother off, then he told me I couldn’t do none of it. I really got the point when my mother whacked his bald head with a frying pan – left a mark I tell ya. I love my old man for showing me what not to do – it was effective modeling and I only got the frying pan once when I burned the house down by smoking corn silk in the loaded laundry room.”

Modeling impact

Doolittle got me thinking that management modeling of behavior is a significant part of successful or unsuccessful management. My experience is that individuals naturally emulate the behavior of those in charge unconsciously, without a calculated plan of doing so. Modeling is weighty influence, negative or positive. The bottom line is that managers have to monitor and manage their own behaviors as much their subordinates, in fact, maybe more. That darn Doolittle may have a point …. even though it is bassackerds.

Walkarounds

There is probably no greater cost effective activity that a service salesperson can do then to inspect a vehicle, with the customer present, before the unit goes into the shop. Think about it, what a golden opportunity to establish a business relationship with a customer while at the same time discussing the needs of their major investment. Instead we allow our salespeople to hide behind a counter and their computer. This effectively distances themselves from the source of their livelihood. Here’s what could be happening:

• Establishing a personal relationship with the customer.
• Introducing the Multi Point Inspection (MPI) process to the customer.
• Protecting the dealership from prior damage complaints.
• Identifying immediate service and repair needs.
• Eliminating unnecessary follow-up calls.
• Verifying repair issues before the technician gets the vehicle.
• Prepping the customer for a good survey score.

Instead we usually get the following:

• Establishing a cold impersonal relationship with the customer with a “Who’s next?” environment.
• Negating the value of an MPI inspection.
• Exposing the dealership to probable situations of exiting damage claims.
• Loss of revenue on obvious service/repair needs.
• Excessive loss of ASM and Technician productivity spent making multiple calls to customers for work approvals that could have been obtained in the drive.
• Loss of technician productivity in wasted diagnostic time due to poorly written ROs (i.e. “Check for rattle.”
• Poor to mediocre scores when asked about courtesy, timeliness and fixed right the first time on surveys.

So what’s the solution? I know, you’ve “been down this road before and nothing works.” I submit to you that this is a process and management issue. The only way to change behavior in people is to:

• Establish the process and clearly document it.
• Train on the process. You can’t expect people to learn by guessing what you want.
• Measure the process. Daily, weekly, monthly and constantly.
• Reward the process. Make it part of the pay plan.

Lost sales

Much like walkarounds, lost sales have been around for a long time. Countless epistles have been written about them, but just like their Biblical equivalents, they are doomed to be repeated every time the faithful gather.

What is a lost sale? Lost sales to parts is the same as traffic control to sales. It is the means of identifying what a customer needed from our inventory that we could not provide from stock.

Why is this important? Without the posting of quality lost sales our DMS’ capability of developing a proper inventory is compromised. It has to rely solely on real sales and misses the ones we could, and should have had if we only had the part on hand.

Why do most dealerships not do good lost sales?

• Management doesn’t see the need.
• Management doesn’t understand the importance.
• Employees don’t understand the value.
• Management doesn’t manage the process.
• No one measures the process.

How do ‘enlightened’ dealerships do good lost sales?

• Management is trained on the importance and value that quality Lost Sales provide to a high performing parts inventory.
• Employees are informed of the values to them, not just to the dealership.
• Management states the policies and objectives of the dealership clearly.
• Management measures the performance of all employees and coaches to success.
• Management maintains a culture that says it’s important to them and the dealership.