New normal, social distancing, quarantine, self-isolation. They’re all terms that everyone hopes to never hear again when we’re through with the COVID-19 pandemic. What the world is slowly realizing is that, no matter how diligent we are right now, it’s going to be years to go back to the way things were, and that’s if they ever do.

Service advisors are dealing with the same clientele today as they were a few months ago. The people are the same but the way they behave has changed. What that means is that the way a service advisor performed their key functions needs to adapt.

Let’s look at the basic roles of a service advisor, what they looked like pre-pandemic, and how they need to adapt for your customers in the coming months and years.

The Greeting

In the past, greeting a customer would have been as simple as opening the car door and shaking hands. A friendly smile and a welcome phrase. Today’s environment doesn’t exactly allow for that.

Customers today will be in two categories: in-person and DOPU (drop-off and pick-up). In-person customers can be similarly greeted to the pre-pandemic style except contactless. When social distancing has relaxed, perhaps an elbow bump will be comfortable. DOPU customers are very different, though. The greeting is still your first impression, but you have to make it over the phone when you reach out to discuss their work order as their car arrives. Friendly, business-like language will be the best way to make that impression.  

The Walkaround

Before the virus, the service advisor would lead the walkaround with the customer in tow or observing from the desk. That’s got to be different now since touching surfaces is taboo.

If your customer is in person, ask for their participation. Can they pull the hood latch for you, turn the wheels to the side, and turn the key in the ignition for the mileage? Having an active participant helps them to see the areas of concern alongside the advisor. If it’s a PODU customer, have the walkaround completed before calling them from the desk so you can review the findings before printing the RO.

At the Desk

Talking face-to-face across the service desk was the norm. Now it’s too close.

Six feet apart makes it a challenge to interact without being awkward at the service desk. Ensure you’re able to still show the customer your actions by turning the screen so you can both see it as best as possible.

The economy is touch-and-go at the moment but continue to sell services as an assumption with the understanding that you might receive a little more pushback. If you have objections, determine if your store’s financing might be a key to getting a yes instead of a no.

As always, get the RO signed. For PODU or contactless ‘signatures’, send the document to your customer and have them reply with ‘I agree’ or something similar.  

The Communication

Communication hasn’t changed. Keep in constant communication throughout the day. It’s one of the most important parts of every visit.

The Cash-Out

At the end of the day, the customer picked up their car from a cashier and the service advisor reviewed what was done at the cashier’s office.

Today, it will probably look a little different. To eliminate too many people sharing a space, the service advisor should have their RO reviewed before the customer sees the cashier. For PODU customers and even in-person customers, reviewing the work over the phone is a great idea. Your store will have payment options worked out for contactless payment and for PODU customers.

The Follow-Up

Just like communication, follow-up is still key. Maybe even more so.

Ask each customer how they found their visit, acknowledging it’s different than their last visit. Ask what could be done better for the process.

No one expects that everything will just magically return to the way it was. As a sales and customer service role wrapped up in one, the service advisor has a leading part in making sure that the service department continues to be a profit center that treats the customers professionally and efficiently.