In my current work capacity, I have the opportunity to interact with multiple vendor partners that service the automotive industry. We are continuously discussing activities that would promote the engagement from service managers to use the innovative tools that would help solve current industry deficiencies. The feedback from the vendor partners to me is typically that the service manager is extremely busy and has a lot going on. This causes the commitment to using the performance-enhancing tool more of an obligation. After many years in the service manager’s seat, I understand how busy and hectic the day-to-day business is and it takes exceptional skill to structure your day to work on the business instead of within the business. Great leaders do this at an exceptional level and it allows them to visualize, plan and execute their strategy. Recently, I came across a great article that made several great points on what productive people do within the first fifteen minutes of their day to be successful. I will review a few of these that I feel directly applies to the position. The article in its entirety can be read on the following link on Lifehack.org http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/14-things-productive-people-the-first-15-minutes-the-workday.html

On time is 15 minutes early – Be early to work and use this time to collect yourself for the day.  Instead of rushing to work anxiously and hoping to be on time, they plan ahead and stroll into work calmly. This sets the tone for the day.

Review your to-do list and deadlines – By reviewing your to-do list at the beginning of the day allows you to strategize and plan ahead. This will allow you to prioritize deadlines, meetings and future commitments.

Identify no more than 3 important tasks for the day – Leo Babauta, founder of the productivity blog Zen Habits, also sets himself 3 most important tasks (MIT’s) each morning to move himself forward. This is very critical in the service manager’s role as your task list can grow faster than you can finish them. The point is to work on it and cross 3 off the list every day to make progress.

Reduce or remove the distractions – By putting your phone on silent, not checking your personal email first thing in the morning will allow you focus and not have your schedule dictated by the chime of incoming messages.

The service manager/service director job can be very demanding and using a few known tricks to coordinate your thoughts and activities will allow you to execute a flawless gameplan.

In my current work capacity, I have the opportunity to interact with multiple vendor partners that service the automotive industry. We are continuously discussing activities that would promote the engagement from service managers to use the innovative tools that would help solve current industry deficiencies. The feedback from the vendor partners to me is typically that the service manager is extremely busy and has a lot going on. This causes the commitment to using the performance-enhancing tool more of an obligation. After many years in the service manager’s seat, I understand how busy and hectic the day-to-day business is and it takes exceptional skill to structure your day to work on the business instead of within the business. Great leaders do this at an exceptional level and it allows them to visualize, plan and execute their strategy. Recently, I came across a great article that made several great points on what productive people do within the first fifteen minutes of their day to be successful. I will review a few of these that I feel directly applies to the position. The article in its entirety can be read on the following link on Lifehack.org http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/14-things-productive-people-the-first-15-minutes-the-workday.html

On time is 15 minutes early – Be early to work and use this time to collect yourself for the day.  Instead of rushing to work anxiously and hoping to be on time, they plan ahead and stroll into work calmly. This sets the tone for the day.

Review your to-do list and deadlines – By reviewing your to-do list at the beginning of the day allows you to strategize and plan ahead. This will allow you to prioritize deadlines, meetings and future commitments.

Identify no more than 3 important tasks for the day – Leo Babauta, founder of the productivity blog Zen Habits, also sets himself 3 most important tasks (MIT’s) each morning to move himself forward. This is very critical in the service manager’s role as your task list can grow faster than you can finish them. The point is to work on it and cross 3 off the list every day to make progress.

Reduce or remove the distractions – By putting your phone on silent, not checking your personal email first thing in the morning will allow you focus and not have your schedule dictated by the chime of incoming messages.

The service manager/service director job can be very demanding and using a few known tricks to coordinate your thoughts and activities will allow you to execute a flawless gameplan.

Customer retention is much more than just a “buzzword” in the car business today. It should be what governs your day to day decisions when handling customers and training your staff. One of my favorite authors that I like to quote in sales meetings and re-read regularly is Jeffrey Gitomer. I have carried Customer Satisfaction Is Worthless, Customer Loyalty Is Priceless: How to Make Customers Love You, Keep Them Coming Back and Tell Everyone They Know around now for the last 10 plus years because his common sense approach to customer centered ideas are easy to implement for anyone who talks to a customer, especially anyone on your service drive. Providing excellent customer service should be common sense, then how come I am constantly reminded about the phrase “common sense in this business is just not so common.” Here are a few quick tips to help those provide exceptional customer service.
 

RELATED: 5 No-Fail Ways to Increase Service Customer Retention
 

Show genuine interest

Customers like to have their concern acknowledged and want someone to have an active interest in fixing their concern. Some easy ways to accomplish this would be acting with urgency or maybe anticipating their needs.

Make it personnel

Offer a personalized greeting or use their name regularly. This is a simple and common skill that has a huge pay off...the customer may remember your name.

Never quote policy

When a customer is upset the last thing they want to hear is your policy because quite frankly I’m sure your policy is what created this upset customer. Try telling them what you can do for them and figure a way you can help with the situation.

Make a commitment and keep it

This is really important in a couple of areas. Follow up communication – If you tell someone you will call him or her with an update, you better call them ten minutes before that time. Appointment reservation – if a customer is taking the time to set an appointment you better do everything possible to follow through. For a good laugh look up Seinfeld episode rental car reservation.

Invite the customer back

Just like it says in the classic customer service training video, “The Guest.” Invite your customer back just as if your best friend was leaving your house and you wanted to watch next weeks football game with them as well. In this case your really setting the expectation to the customer that you “want” to help them next time them come in for service.

In your next training do a little role-play in these areas and watch your team become comfortable with these skills. When everyone in your organization is on the same page you win. Customer retention will soar and customers will become loyal.

Customer retention is much more than just a “buzzword” in the car business today. It should be what governs your day to day decisions when handling customers and training your staff. One of my favorite authors that I like to quote in sales meetings and re-read regularly is Jeffrey Gitomer. I have carried Customer Satisfaction Is Worthless, Customer Loyalty Is Priceless: How to Make Customers Love You, Keep Them Coming Back and Tell Everyone They Know around now for the last 10 plus years because his common sense approach to customer centered ideas are easy to implement for anyone who talks to a customer, especially anyone on your service drive. Providing excellent customer service should be common sense, then how come I am constantly reminded about the phrase “common sense in this business is just not so common.” Here are a few quick tips to help those provide exceptional customer service.
 

RELATED: 5 No-Fail Ways to Increase Service Customer Retention
 

Show genuine interest

Customers like to have their concern acknowledged and want someone to have an active interest in fixing their concern. Some easy ways to accomplish this would be acting with urgency or maybe anticipating their needs.

Make it personnel

Offer a personalized greeting or use their name regularly. This is a simple and common skill that has a huge pay off...the customer may remember your name.

Never quote policy

When a customer is upset the last thing they want to hear is your policy because quite frankly I’m sure your policy is what created this upset customer. Try telling them what you can do for them and figure a way you can help with the situation.

Make a commitment and keep it

This is really important in a couple of areas. Follow up communication – If you tell someone you will call him or her with an update, you better call them ten minutes before that time. Appointment reservation – if a customer is taking the time to set an appointment you better do everything possible to follow through. For a good laugh look up Seinfeld episode rental car reservation.

Invite the customer back

Just like it says in the classic customer service training video, “The Guest.” Invite your customer back just as if your best friend was leaving your house and you wanted to watch next weeks football game with them as well. In this case your really setting the expectation to the customer that you “want” to help them next time them come in for service.

In your next training do a little role-play in these areas and watch your team become comfortable with these skills. When everyone in your organization is on the same page you win. Customer retention will soar and customers will become loyal.

The average new car customer keeps their vehicle for 6.5 years reported by Rian Bosse of BusinessJournalism.org and according to IHS consulting firm the average age of a vehicle on the road is 11.5 years. Where are these customers going for their service and repair needs?  NADA reports that the franchised dealer is capturing less than 23% of the “total” revenue potential for labor and parts sales. Here is my point, customers are keeping their vehicles longer so its time to develop a well funded, perfectly executed customer retention strategy and start to earn your customer back. There are two basic fundamentals in service that your team should practice everyday to win in the game of market share.

Previous service experience

This measure is still king of the jungle when a customer is choosing a service facility. When Google teamed up with CriticalMix and performed a market study this spring of 1500 drivers who had their vehicle serviced or repaired in the last six months it showed that a positive past experience is the number one feature for a customer when they are choosing a future service facility. In the same study fifty five percent of your customers are likely to post a review online and a staggering eighty one percent will tell their family and friends about the previous service experience. The importance of delivering a world-class service experience is second to none and you simply can’t have a customer leave your facility with the feeling of inadequate service. More than ever, the time is now, dust of the processes, hold a shop meeting and tune up your department. Make sure your processes are customer centric and discuss any updates that need to be implemented. Get buy in from your team and hold them accountable to deliver a service experience to the level you would expect delivered to one of your family members.

How well do you know your customer?

My wife said to me in passing one day. “I’m a soccer mom, a regional VP of a growing business, room parent and volunteer at our kid’s school, when do they think I will come in for service on my vehicle?” The point is most of your customers fall into this bucket; everyone is extremely busy these days. We better respect their time and not waist it when they come in for service if you want them to come back. In addition a general service reminder will not engage todays customer. All offerings need to be timely and relevant or they will be discarded and ignored. Your marketing strategy needs to be engaging and well rounded. A multi level campaign that not only is a reminder of the needed service but also provides value to the customer or they will breach their contract with you and simply move on.

In reality our customers have many choices and we need to be more convenient to earn their business. Have your team start building a relationship with the customer that can survive the constant noise of every other business trying to lure them in their front door. I believe more than ever that providing a “personal touch” approach will give you the upper hand in keeping your customers coming back.

The average new car customer keeps their vehicle for 6.5 years reported by Rian Bosse of BusinessJournalism.org and according to IHS consulting firm the average age of a vehicle on the road is 11.5 years. Where are these customers going for their service and repair needs?  NADA reports that the franchised dealer is capturing less than 23% of the “total” revenue potential for labor and parts sales. Here is my point, customers are keeping their vehicles longer so its time to develop a well funded, perfectly executed customer retention strategy and start to earn your customer back. There are two basic fundamentals in service that your team should practice everyday to win in the game of market share.

Previous service experience

This measure is still king of the jungle when a customer is choosing a service facility. When Google teamed up with CriticalMix and performed a market study this spring of 1500 drivers who had their vehicle serviced or repaired in the last six months it showed that a positive past experience is the number one feature for a customer when they are choosing a future service facility. In the same study fifty five percent of your customers are likely to post a review online and a staggering eighty one percent will tell their family and friends about the previous service experience. The importance of delivering a world-class service experience is second to none and you simply can’t have a customer leave your facility with the feeling of inadequate service. More than ever, the time is now, dust of the processes, hold a shop meeting and tune up your department. Make sure your processes are customer centric and discuss any updates that need to be implemented. Get buy in from your team and hold them accountable to deliver a service experience to the level you would expect delivered to one of your family members.

How well do you know your customer?

My wife said to me in passing one day. “I’m a soccer mom, a regional VP of a growing business, room parent and volunteer at our kid’s school, when do they think I will come in for service on my vehicle?” The point is most of your customers fall into this bucket; everyone is extremely busy these days. We better respect their time and not waist it when they come in for service if you want them to come back. In addition a general service reminder will not engage todays customer. All offerings need to be timely and relevant or they will be discarded and ignored. Your marketing strategy needs to be engaging and well rounded. A multi level campaign that not only is a reminder of the needed service but also provides value to the customer or they will breach their contract with you and simply move on.

In reality our customers have many choices and we need to be more convenient to earn their business. Have your team start building a relationship with the customer that can survive the constant noise of every other business trying to lure them in their front door. I believe more than ever that providing a “personal touch” approach will give you the upper hand in keeping your customers coming back.

Recently I was called by a dealership about a previous employee who was being considered for a service advisor position. Of course we were able to discuss how well he preformed for me in a lot of the standard service advisor performance metrics along with some of the areas that needed some improvement. Overall this was a young service advisor that has a great head on his shoulders and does really well with the customer. Typically he was the top producing service advisor on our Honda service drive among four other talented service advisors. I wanted to share with you why I was not able to give my previous employee a “go ahead” nod to his future employer and why I explained to the service director on the other line a glairing cause for concern.

It all boiled around his willingness to train and continue his growth early on in his career. Right now you may be questioning the head on my shoulders, but I wanted to explain the reason “why” a good training program can teach you so much about how a potential employee will fair in todays service drive. We know that an advisor will talk to more customers than any other position within the dealership, so why are they typically the least trained?

#1 our customers want to speak to the expert

There is constant change in our industry that is only accelorating. With change comes continuous improvements and enhancements from our manufactures. Our customers want to talk to the subject matter expert in all areas of the vehicle. A service advisor today has to know everything mechanically on the vehicle along with all the electronics and new features and then convey with confidence their knowledge to the customer.

#2 a good training program will keep the employee engaged

A recent study highlighted that a training session based on the “big picture” or showing the future direction of the department helped the employee understand the overall objective and be engaged in assisting accomplishing the goal. A continuous training program helps the employee evolve and when preformed correctly keeps the employee engaged with current issues. The strongest method to get that engagement is to have the employees help design the content for training.

#3 Recognition

Everyone likes to have a sense of accomplishment. Through a well-defined training program you can reward your employees for their accomplishments. Essentially you are able to fill up the emotional bank within the employee that will give them the feeling of accomplishing a hard task that ultimately will reward you for time to come.

One of the areas that I feel we fall very short on is the measurement stick used to monitor continuous training. We all have completed numerous factory-training programs and there is a lot of good content within those modules, but that is simply a foundation to start on. The factory comes out with a handful of new modules every year after you have completed the base training and that simply is not enough. You need to create a “higher learning” curriculum to follow that helps your employees to be more rounded and better versed in all areas of the operations. So when I evaluate if a new employee is going to be a critical cog in the sprocket of growth, I like to use training as the measurement tool. When I can evaluate how an employee is willing to invest in their growth and then also takes great pride in accomplishing a task, I know I have a strong core to work from. I also know that someone has not hit the “know it all” level, therefore I can expose him or her to the greater success within the automotive industry. 

Recently I was called by a dealership about a previous employee who was being considered for a service advisor position. Of course we were able to discuss how well he preformed for me in a lot of the standard service advisor performance metrics along with some of the areas that needed some improvement. Overall this was a young service advisor that has a great head on his shoulders and does really well with the customer. Typically he was the top producing service advisor on our Honda service drive among four other talented service advisors. I wanted to share with you why I was not able to give my previous employee a “go ahead” nod to his future employer and why I explained to the service director on the other line a glairing cause for concern.

It all boiled around his willingness to train and continue his growth early on in his career. Right now you may be questioning the head on my shoulders, but I wanted to explain the reason “why” a good training program can teach you so much about how a potential employee will fair in todays service drive. We know that an advisor will talk to more customers than any other position within the dealership, so why are they typically the least trained?

#1 our customers want to speak to the expert

There is constant change in our industry that is only accelorating. With change comes continuous improvements and enhancements from our manufactures. Our customers want to talk to the subject matter expert in all areas of the vehicle. A service advisor today has to know everything mechanically on the vehicle along with all the electronics and new features and then convey with confidence their knowledge to the customer.

#2 a good training program will keep the employee engaged

A recent study highlighted that a training session based on the “big picture” or showing the future direction of the department helped the employee understand the overall objective and be engaged in assisting accomplishing the goal. A continuous training program helps the employee evolve and when preformed correctly keeps the employee engaged with current issues. The strongest method to get that engagement is to have the employees help design the content for training.

#3 Recognition

Everyone likes to have a sense of accomplishment. Through a well-defined training program you can reward your employees for their accomplishments. Essentially you are able to fill up the emotional bank within the employee that will give them the feeling of accomplishing a hard task that ultimately will reward you for time to come.

One of the areas that I feel we fall very short on is the measurement stick used to monitor continuous training. We all have completed numerous factory-training programs and there is a lot of good content within those modules, but that is simply a foundation to start on. The factory comes out with a handful of new modules every year after you have completed the base training and that simply is not enough. You need to create a “higher learning” curriculum to follow that helps your employees to be more rounded and better versed in all areas of the operations. So when I evaluate if a new employee is going to be a critical cog in the sprocket of growth, I like to use training as the measurement tool. When I can evaluate how an employee is willing to invest in their growth and then also takes great pride in accomplishing a task, I know I have a strong core to work from. I also know that someone has not hit the “know it all” level, therefore I can expose him or her to the greater success within the automotive industry. 

As per Google’s most recent services path to purchase study the top 3 factors when a customer is deciding on a vehicle service center are, positive past experience, vehicle expertise and price of services. Of the 1,500 surveyed 63% said a positive past experience was the most important factor and vehicle expertise and price were 56% and 53% respectfully. 

Creating a positive past experience starts with ensuring their current experience has been infallible. A few easy steps to help with that are: Insist on having proper communication before, during and after the service experience. Appreciate your customers and do something for them unexpected. Resolve any customer concerns quickly and amicably. Make certain your business culture is a customer centric model and not just a catchy phrase word.

With information being readily available on most everything possible, it is super critical to customers that you are the subject matter expert. Having expert knowledge has become expected. Customers want someone that will answer their question completely and in their terms, no pressure, right? A solid training program starts the foundation, but a continuous learning strategy is a must. Those who demonstrate their knowledge will be rewarded with customers wanting to choose you for their repair business.

When looking at price, here's a few things to keep in mind. Price does not always mean cheaper. Most salespeople agree that overcoming a price objection is a matter of conveying value. At the dealer level we have the opportunity to talk about the value of the service and explain a fair price does not mean the cheapest price. In order to do this you need to be aware of your competitors pricing and know that a customer today is researching other options on price when standing in your service drive discussing the services needed. A fair price along with a conversation about value of services will help your customer feel better about the perceived cost.

Applying these 3 strategies are simply a start as there are many more factors that go into the customers decision to choose a service facility, however, they are the largest factors. As Google states in the afore mentioned study there has been a decrease from 2014 to 2015 of 12% in drivers likelihood to return to service centers and excellent service and a positive past experience are the ticket to loyalty.

As per Google’s most recent services path to purchase study the top 3 factors when a customer is deciding on a vehicle service center are, positive past experience, vehicle expertise and price of services. Of the 1,500 surveyed 63% said a positive past experience was the most important factor and vehicle expertise and price were 56% and 53% respectfully. 

Creating a positive past experience starts with ensuring their current experience has been infallible. A few easy steps to help with that are: Insist on having proper communication before, during and after the service experience. Appreciate your customers and do something for them unexpected. Resolve any customer concerns quickly and amicably. Make certain your business culture is a customer centric model and not just a catchy phrase word.

With information being readily available on most everything possible, it is super critical to customers that you are the subject matter expert. Having expert knowledge has become expected. Customers want someone that will answer their question completely and in their terms, no pressure, right? A solid training program starts the foundation, but a continuous learning strategy is a must. Those who demonstrate their knowledge will be rewarded with customers wanting to choose you for their repair business.

When looking at price, here's a few things to keep in mind. Price does not always mean cheaper. Most salespeople agree that overcoming a price objection is a matter of conveying value. At the dealer level we have the opportunity to talk about the value of the service and explain a fair price does not mean the cheapest price. In order to do this you need to be aware of your competitors pricing and know that a customer today is researching other options on price when standing in your service drive discussing the services needed. A fair price along with a conversation about value of services will help your customer feel better about the perceived cost.

Applying these 3 strategies are simply a start as there are many more factors that go into the customers decision to choose a service facility, however, they are the largest factors. As Google states in the afore mentioned study there has been a decrease from 2014 to 2015 of 12% in drivers likelihood to return to service centers and excellent service and a positive past experience are the ticket to loyalty.