Shop Operations

The other day, a colleague and I were discussing business strategies for the coming year. He asked me what was my number one priority for the coming year as it related to my business. Without hesitation I responded, “taking care of the financial future of my family.”

If you are falling short of your sales goals, before you start blaming your service advisors, you need to make sure that your technicians are providing them with the adequate recommendations.

Equipment, training and information costs are rising dramatically for any shop wishing to remain at the leading edge of automotive technology.

Imagine choosing a car repair shop. The shop’s ad caught your eye in the newspaper by the clean, attractive look. You checked it out on the shop website, and not only found easy directions to its location, but also saw pictures of the people who worked there, along with a sparkling clean shop.

You’ve just repaired a vehicle and your female customer seems pleased with the quality of the repair and the service you provided. You deliver the vehicle, hand her the keys and send her on her way. But does that customer really belong to you? Is she really yours?

Customers demand much more today of their vehicle repair experience, but “great customer service” is not as easily defined as, say, having clean restrooms. Truth is: Customer service is a tangible, measurable attribute. Time and again we hear the phrase “great customer service,” but what is it in real terms?

We work with many world-class shop owners throughout North America, and, over the years, we’ve discovered that the majority of them have a number of things in common. Beyond the fact that they are owned and operated by people who have clearly defined goals, the right ethics and a commitment to customer satisfaction, there are a number of other things we’ve discovered about both their facilities and their employees.

As I began to review the profit and loss statements from last month, I was reminded of something I learned long ago. Financial data, although very useful, is just a snapshot of the past or history. Whether applied to our business or our daily lives, we can either use this data to improve or make corrections that will change our financial future, or repeat history and continue with the same results.

Admiral Richard E. Byrd, one of the world’s greatest explorers, once said, “Few men during their lifetime come anywhere near exhausting the resources dwelling within them. There are deep wells of strength that are never used.”

How many of you have walked around your shop wondering how much better it would be if it just had more space? But the “ideal shop” isn’t always feasible. All shops are unique in certain ways, such as business influx, location, ordinances, etc. What you really need to ask yourself is, “Am I making the most of what I have?” Don’t believe the old saying, “If you build it, they will come.” Build the business and then build the shop.

Generally speaking, as long as we don’t feel uncomfortable or unwelcome, we adults don’t mind waiting a little bit for good work. Plush furniture, a flat-screen television, relevant reading material and a cozy atmosphere will keep parents pleasant while they’re waiting, but their children require a different sort of comfort.

Most service advisors go over their technicians’ recommendations and categorize the repairs. They’ll put all the brake-related recommendations into one group, all the drivetrain recommendations into another group, etc. Sound familiar? There’s nothing wrong with this approach, but where they’re missing the mark, especially during these tough economic times, is by not understanding how to properly prioritize their service recommendations.