As with any compensation program, the first thing you’ll need to do is conclude what you want to accomplish with any change in employee behavior. Where most shop owners get into trouble is they’ll immediately say they want to see higher sales when it comes to their service advisors. So they’ll put their advisors on a commission program that’s based on sales, and as you can imagine, their sales typically go up. Unfortunately, so do their expenses and customer complaints.
When you are giving any service recommendation, it’s important to repeat any concerns that your customers have shared back to them. This will not only let your customers know that you were paying attention when they were speaking to you, but will communicate that you truly understand the positions that they are in.
For decades management trainers have told shop owners that it’s good to have some “healthy competition” between their employees. Here at Elite, we agree. Competition can drive personal development, it can drive productivity, and there is no doubt that it can drive profits. Ironically, it can also take all three in the wrong direction.
We do a lot of coaching and training in the auto repair industry and have had the privilege of working with some really amazing people and businesses. Often, we will ask folks we are working with, “Why does a first time caller decide to bring their car into your shop?” Inevitably, we will get a chorus of voices saying, “Price!”
Over the years, I have had the opportunity to employ some of the best service advisors in the industry, and our company has trained thousands of industry superstars. So, I can tell you from first-hand experience, one of the best tools you can provide your service advisors with is a digital voice recorder.
When your techs come to you and tell you they’re stumped, if you give them a recommendation, you’ll lose regardless of the outcome. If you solve the problem, you’ve sent a message to your techs that you’re more knowledgeable than they are, which is not going to build confidence in your employees. But then it gets worse; you’ve also taught them to come to you when they’re up against a wall. This is a lose-lose situation, in that if your recommendation doesn’t solve the problem, the tech will come back to you looking for your next recommendation because you now own the problem.
Let’s talk about cleanliness. And, I mean more than just surface cleaning. Ever walk into a business that looked clean initially, but really wasn’t? You could just tell. The next thing you know, you’re looking more closely under the tables and chairs, and then it’s pretty obvious that it’s not very clean at all.
Offering a shuttle service for your customers provides some great opportunities. Many times, customers drop by with an unexpected issue and have not planned for a ride back home or to work. By providing a shuttle service, you give your customer added value that may help them decide to leave the vehicle for repair and, hence, provides you with the opportunity for revenue.
The great thing about a strong brand is that it works very hard in portraying exactly who you are and what your unique offer is. Ideally, when customers quickly see your logo, they should get a quick take on who you are as a business. So, yes, a logo is a real workhorse. But it does not work by itself. Designed well into your marketing materials, it should complement your message.