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Exceeding the Expectations
What would a Service Professional do?
A Professional understands their Customers Expectations.
Now this has got to be the easiest “no brainer” post you have read in years! You would think that every person who works in the Dealership has heard of Customer Service (here’s a little hint: WE ALL DO) and would take the time to understand their Customer expectations.
You would think.
And every day in the field at a Dealership there is a couple of moments where there is the “I have no idea” look on people’s faces when asked about what their Customer came in for, what was the reason for their visit, why are they here, how are we helping them, what’s the story etc....It's like a mystery novel.
The reason is they have become order takers. This new breed of Service Advisor has been trained by corporate America all of their lives with “instantology”, which is using the smallest amount of brain activity required to actually have meaningful interactions with their Customers.
This in turn has led us to a new term in Training called “you don’t need to know” in which Customers are regularly greeted and serviced by non-communicators who cannot distinguish between a request for service or a statement of concern unless it’s printed on the touch screen menu in front of them.
This collection of "Service (aacckkkk, cough cough) Professionals” are then left to founder and fumble with your Dealership Customers (you know, the "lifeblood of the Dealership, our main focus, why we are open"...etc...you've heard all of that before, right?) with more skills in “instantology” than in COMMUNICATION and CRITICAL THINKING!
This has reduced our once world renown model of Service Excellence we called the “American Way of Doing Business” to a misdirected application called "Someone told me to stand here and talk to you."
And because we choose to do business this way we find ourselves in constant need of reminding our Service "Professionals" what they are supposed to do and why they are supposed to do it.
In turn, this has increased our Customers chances of having to do business with someone who has little desire and are completely clueless how to deliver Exceptional Customer Service because it does not come with instructions on the box.
The true Professional Service Advisor not only knows what his or her Customers expectations are, they EXCEED them. They are anticipatory because they have taken the time to study their product and their Customer. And they truly understand Service. More importantly, they understand how the Customer could EXPECT to use their vehicle in their daily lives. Lastly, they understand their Customers EXPECTATIONS when they come in for Service.
How do they know these "magical things?"
The true Professional Service Advisor has taken the time to become an excellent COMMUNICATOR and only relies on “instantology” for storage and processing of the Customers information as a means of assistance and not as a means of conveyance.
Basically folks, you can’t get the computer to pull out its wallet no matter how hard you try.
When you have taken the time to really understand and anticipate your Customers Expectations by asking if they have been met one on one and by becoming a true Communicator through study and application will you become a True Service Professional.
Be Professional.
A Professional understands their Customers Expectations.
Now this has got to be the easiest “no brainer” post you have read in years! You would think that every person who works in the Dealership has heard of Customer Service (here’s a little hint: WE ALL DO) and would take the time to understand their Customer expectations.
You would think.
And every day in the field at a Dealership there is a couple of moments where there is the “I have no idea” look on people’s faces when asked about what their Customer came in for, what was the reason for their visit, why are they here, how are we helping them, what’s the story etc....It's like a mystery novel.
The reason is they have become order takers. This new breed of Service Advisor has been trained by corporate America all of their lives with “instantology”, which is using the smallest amount of brain activity required to actually have meaningful interactions with their Customers.
This in turn has led us to a new term in Training called “you don’t need to know” in which Customers are regularly greeted and serviced by non-communicators who cannot distinguish between a request for service or a statement of concern unless it’s printed on the touch screen menu in front of them.
This collection of "Service (aacckkkk, cough cough) Professionals” are then left to founder and fumble with your Dealership Customers (you know, the "lifeblood of the Dealership, our main focus, why we are open"...etc...you've heard all of that before, right?) with more skills in “instantology” than in COMMUNICATION and CRITICAL THINKING!
This has reduced our once world renown model of Service Excellence we called the “American Way of Doing Business” to a misdirected application called "Someone told me to stand here and talk to you."
And because we choose to do business this way we find ourselves in constant need of reminding our Service "Professionals" what they are supposed to do and why they are supposed to do it.
In turn, this has increased our Customers chances of having to do business with someone who has little desire and are completely clueless how to deliver Exceptional Customer Service because it does not come with instructions on the box.
The true Professional Service Advisor not only knows what his or her Customers expectations are, they EXCEED them. They are anticipatory because they have taken the time to study their product and their Customer. And they truly understand Service. More importantly, they understand how the Customer could EXPECT to use their vehicle in their daily lives. Lastly, they understand their Customers EXPECTATIONS when they come in for Service.
How do they know these "magical things?"
The true Professional Service Advisor has taken the time to become an excellent COMMUNICATOR and only relies on “instantology” for storage and processing of the Customers information as a means of assistance and not as a means of conveyance.
Basically folks, you can’t get the computer to pull out its wallet no matter how hard you try.
When you have taken the time to really understand and anticipate your Customers Expectations by asking if they have been met one on one and by becoming a true Communicator through study and application will you become a True Service Professional.
Be Professional.
Was Last Month Defined By Two Simple Words?
Was your last month defined by these two words…”If only”?
“If only…”
The Dealer Principal
“If only” I had asked my Managers “What is your plan for increasing Profit this month?” and held them accountable for their replies.
“If only” I had taken a walk every day and made it my mission to talk to Sales and Service Customers, introduce myself and say “Is there anything I can do to help you today while you are here at our Dealership?”
“If only” I had walked through the Dealership and asked my personnel “What is there about your job you like to do?”
“If only” I had walked through the Dealership and asked my personnel “What is there about your job you don’t like?”
“If only” I had asked the Service Manager “What is your daily routine when you come into work in the morning…in other words…walk me through the first 10 things you do every day.”
“If only” I asked the Service Manager “What is your plan for getting Labor Margins to 75%?” and the Parts Manager “What is your plan for getting the Parts Margins to 45%?” and held them accountable for their actions.
“If only” I had asked the Service Advisors “How do you do a Walk-a-round?” and let them demonstrate it to me.
“If only” I had asked the Service Advisors “What does it mean to ask for a Pre-authorized amount when writing a repair order?” and then observed them doing it.
“If only” I asked my shuttle drivers to take me with some Customers on a shuttle ride so I could see how they were treating the most valuable asset I have…My Customers.
“If only” I had been more involved in the daily business of my Dealership. What would have happened? Would I have been able to influence the outcome?
“If only…”
General Manager
“If only” I had held a meeting in which I asked the Service Manager and the Parts Manager “What is your plan for increasing Gross Profit…increasing Repair Order Count…increasing CSI?” and held him/her accountable for their actions.
“If only” I had held a meeting in which I asked the Parts Manager “What is your plan for increasing Item Transactions…Gross Profit Margins…Wholesale Item Transactions?” and held them accountable for his/her reply.
“If only” I had walked through the Service Department once a day and introduced myself and asked my customers “Is there anything else I can do for you today?”
“If only” I had walked through the Service and Parts Departments and asked Dealership personnel “Is there something preventing you from doing your absolute best?”
“If only” I had weekly meetings with my Fixed Operations Managers and asked them “How are we doing in meeting our monthly objectives and what can I do to help you get there?”
“If only” I had taken the time to have a monthly meeting with the Fixed Operations personnel and congratulated them on something that they did well.
“If only” I had been less tied to my desk where I only hear what people want me to hear. Would I have been able to prevent a bad month from happening.
“If only”
Service Manager
“If only” I had been in the Service Drive every day especially during the busiest times to work with my Advisors and help them become more Professional.
“If only” I had taken the time to be available to the Technicians and Advisors especially during the busiest times and help them overcome problems with production.
“If only” I had coached my Advisors every day on the previous days results using the reports from the DMS.
“If only” I had coached my Technicians every day on the previous days results using the reports from the DMS.
“If only” I had taken the time to introduce myself to my customers and asked them “Is there anything else I can do for you today?”
“If only” I had asked my Service Advisors to demonstrate an ASR presentation and then coached them on the results…again and again.
“If only” I had reviewed the Customer Pay Repair Orders with the Advisors and Technicians and coached not only on what was wrong, I also coached them on what was done right.
“If only” I had taken control of my month.
Everybody
“If only” I had accepted responsibility for my actions, held myself accountable for what I needed to do, made changes when necessary and reviewed my progress, what kind of month would I have had?
“If only…”
The Dealer Principal
“If only” I had asked my Managers “What is your plan for increasing Profit this month?” and held them accountable for their replies.
“If only” I had taken a walk every day and made it my mission to talk to Sales and Service Customers, introduce myself and say “Is there anything I can do to help you today while you are here at our Dealership?”
“If only” I had walked through the Dealership and asked my personnel “What is there about your job you like to do?”
“If only” I had walked through the Dealership and asked my personnel “What is there about your job you don’t like?”
“If only” I had asked the Service Manager “What is your daily routine when you come into work in the morning…in other words…walk me through the first 10 things you do every day.”
“If only” I asked the Service Manager “What is your plan for getting Labor Margins to 75%?” and the Parts Manager “What is your plan for getting the Parts Margins to 45%?” and held them accountable for their actions.
“If only” I had asked the Service Advisors “How do you do a Walk-a-round?” and let them demonstrate it to me.
“If only” I had asked the Service Advisors “What does it mean to ask for a Pre-authorized amount when writing a repair order?” and then observed them doing it.
“If only” I asked my shuttle drivers to take me with some Customers on a shuttle ride so I could see how they were treating the most valuable asset I have…My Customers.
“If only” I had been more involved in the daily business of my Dealership. What would have happened? Would I have been able to influence the outcome?
“If only…”
General Manager
“If only” I had held a meeting in which I asked the Service Manager and the Parts Manager “What is your plan for increasing Gross Profit…increasing Repair Order Count…increasing CSI?” and held him/her accountable for their actions.
“If only” I had held a meeting in which I asked the Parts Manager “What is your plan for increasing Item Transactions…Gross Profit Margins…Wholesale Item Transactions?” and held them accountable for his/her reply.
“If only” I had walked through the Service Department once a day and introduced myself and asked my customers “Is there anything else I can do for you today?”
“If only” I had walked through the Service and Parts Departments and asked Dealership personnel “Is there something preventing you from doing your absolute best?”
“If only” I had weekly meetings with my Fixed Operations Managers and asked them “How are we doing in meeting our monthly objectives and what can I do to help you get there?”
“If only” I had taken the time to have a monthly meeting with the Fixed Operations personnel and congratulated them on something that they did well.
“If only” I had been less tied to my desk where I only hear what people want me to hear. Would I have been able to prevent a bad month from happening.
“If only”
Service Manager
“If only” I had been in the Service Drive every day especially during the busiest times to work with my Advisors and help them become more Professional.
“If only” I had taken the time to be available to the Technicians and Advisors especially during the busiest times and help them overcome problems with production.
“If only” I had coached my Advisors every day on the previous days results using the reports from the DMS.
“If only” I had coached my Technicians every day on the previous days results using the reports from the DMS.
“If only” I had taken the time to introduce myself to my customers and asked them “Is there anything else I can do for you today?”
“If only” I had asked my Service Advisors to demonstrate an ASR presentation and then coached them on the results…again and again.
“If only” I had reviewed the Customer Pay Repair Orders with the Advisors and Technicians and coached not only on what was wrong, I also coached them on what was done right.
“If only” I had taken control of my month.
Everybody
“If only” I had accepted responsibility for my actions, held myself accountable for what I needed to do, made changes when necessary and reviewed my progress, what kind of month would I have had?
Comfort Zone vs Accountability
As a Dealer, did last year bring you the return on investment that you expected?
As a General Manager did you meet or exceed your net profit projections for the year?
If you are a Fixed Operations Director did you increase your customer pay retail sales for parts and labor over last year?
For all three of you, is your Service Absorption rising year over year? If any of your answers were “NO”, then you must ask yourself...why?
To begin with, your financial statements will show you where the opportunities for improvement (conditions) are but what they won’t show you is how to fix them. To fix them you have to know what’s causing the out of line condition.
Once the cause is determined you can then make the corrections
necessary to properly bring the condition in line with industry guides. For those of you who have ever written a repair order you probably recognized this as the “Three C’s”, Condition-Cause-Correction.
The Technician needs the Condition to properly diagnose the Cause which then enables him to make the necessary Correction. It’s no different for the Dealer, the General Manager or the Fixed Operations director when it comes to making money.
So, now that you have studied your financials carefully to determine the conditions that prevented you from attaining your respective financial goals, let’s determine what the cause might have been. I believe the culprits here are Comfort Zones and Accountability.
Everyone in your dealership has a comfort zone just as you do. The issue is not to get rid of them but to simply move them again and again until you achieve the results you’re looking for and then move them again!
This is important because it enables you to focus on the performance
of your employees. Next, you must hold them accountable for their individual performance.
Currently, most of you are doing that in the New Car, Used Car and F&I departments, which of course is where you devote much of your time and energy anyway, but you fail to do so in the Service and Parts departments.
Allow me to give you some examples to clarify what I’m talking about:
1. If I am a Salesperson and I sold an average of 5 units per month last year, what are you going to do with me? Answer: Train me how to sell 10 units or more per month or replace me with someone who can.
2. If I am a Service Advisor and I sold an average of 1.5 hours per customer pay repair order last year, what are you going to do with me? Answer: I have a job for life!
3. If I am a Sales Manager and my Sales Team averages 5 units per month and my gross per retail unit is at $700, what are you going to do with me? Answer: Train me how to average 10 units per Salesperson and gross $1500 PRU or replace me with someone who can.
4. If I am a Service Manager and my Service Team averages 1.5 HPRO and my Technicians’ productivity is at 80%, what are you going to do with me? Answer: Leave me alone because the other dealers in your 20 Group are about the same!
5. If I am your General Sales Manager and my Sales Team averages 5 units per salesperson, $700 gross PRU, $200 F&I gross PRU and loose $600 per wholesale unit, what are you going to do with me? Answer: I wouldn’t have lasted 6 months let alone a year!
6. 6. If I am a Fixed Operations Director and my Parts and Service Team averages 34% in retail parts gross, 62% in labor gross, averages 1.5 HPRO, shop productivity of 80% with a declining repair order count, what are you going to do with me? Answer: Thank you for being back there because I sure as heck don’t want to fool with that stuff!
Are you starting to see my point?
Most Dealers and General Managers will hold their Sales Team accountable for their performance on a daily, weekly and monthly basis and make any adjustments (moving their comfort zones) on an as needed basis NOW!
Meanwhile their Parts and Service Team remain in their comfort zones to continue to dwell in the land of “underachievers”.
Why does this happen?
My belief is that most Dealers and GM’s are outside their comfort zone in the “back end” of their dealership since their roots are in the “front end.” What can a dealer do to enable him or her to leave their comfort zone and cross over the demarcation line to the back end of their business?
• Measure the performance of the people you intend to manage.
• Your people must know that you are measuring their performance.
• Their performance will be compared to industry benchmarks.
• They must understand that they will be held accountable for achieving or exceeding those benchmarks.
Simply say what you mean but more importantly mean what you say. Again, most dealers don’t hesitate to do this in their Sales and F&I departments. Start making it happen in Fixed Operations.
Now I want you to rid yourself of the usual whiny excuses that I here from dealers when I’m speaking to 20 Groups, Dealer Associations, Dealer groups or individual Dealers. It doesn’t matter whether it’s north, south, east, west or rural versus metropolitan. I hear this all across the U.S.,
Canada and the United Kingdom:
“Don, you don’t understand, my market is depressed.”
“Don, you don’t understand, my Service Manager has been with me for a long time.”
“Don, you don’t understand, I can’t find an Advisor that’s any better.”
“Don, I don’t want to run off my customers by up selling”
Well folks, here is what I do understand.
A depressed market has nothing to do with accountability for performance.
Time on the job does not dictate a good performance on the job.
If you can’t find better people, look harder because they are out there. If you or any of your people are afraid of “running off customers from up selling” then you need to get out of the retail business of selling parts and service. (By the way, the aftermarket already has 70% of your customers’ maintenance)
Don’t you think it’s time to get out of your comfort zone and make the return on your investment that you deserve? Please, drag your Fixed Operations Team out of their comfort zones and start holding them accountable! Once they stop kicking and screaming they will all make more money, they will be happier and your customers will realize you have the best dealership in town.
“The entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it, and exploits it as an opportunity.” -Peter F. Drucker
Don Reed
CEO
DealerPro Training Solutions
“Pro Solutions-Pro Results”
As a General Manager did you meet or exceed your net profit projections for the year?
If you are a Fixed Operations Director did you increase your customer pay retail sales for parts and labor over last year?
For all three of you, is your Service Absorption rising year over year? If any of your answers were “NO”, then you must ask yourself...why?
To begin with, your financial statements will show you where the opportunities for improvement (conditions) are but what they won’t show you is how to fix them. To fix them you have to know what’s causing the out of line condition.
Once the cause is determined you can then make the corrections
necessary to properly bring the condition in line with industry guides. For those of you who have ever written a repair order you probably recognized this as the “Three C’s”, Condition-Cause-Correction.
The Technician needs the Condition to properly diagnose the Cause which then enables him to make the necessary Correction. It’s no different for the Dealer, the General Manager or the Fixed Operations director when it comes to making money.
So, now that you have studied your financials carefully to determine the conditions that prevented you from attaining your respective financial goals, let’s determine what the cause might have been. I believe the culprits here are Comfort Zones and Accountability.
Everyone in your dealership has a comfort zone just as you do. The issue is not to get rid of them but to simply move them again and again until you achieve the results you’re looking for and then move them again!
This is important because it enables you to focus on the performance
of your employees. Next, you must hold them accountable for their individual performance.
Currently, most of you are doing that in the New Car, Used Car and F&I departments, which of course is where you devote much of your time and energy anyway, but you fail to do so in the Service and Parts departments.
Allow me to give you some examples to clarify what I’m talking about:
1. If I am a Salesperson and I sold an average of 5 units per month last year, what are you going to do with me? Answer: Train me how to sell 10 units or more per month or replace me with someone who can.
2. If I am a Service Advisor and I sold an average of 1.5 hours per customer pay repair order last year, what are you going to do with me? Answer: I have a job for life!
3. If I am a Sales Manager and my Sales Team averages 5 units per month and my gross per retail unit is at $700, what are you going to do with me? Answer: Train me how to average 10 units per Salesperson and gross $1500 PRU or replace me with someone who can.
4. If I am a Service Manager and my Service Team averages 1.5 HPRO and my Technicians’ productivity is at 80%, what are you going to do with me? Answer: Leave me alone because the other dealers in your 20 Group are about the same!
5. If I am your General Sales Manager and my Sales Team averages 5 units per salesperson, $700 gross PRU, $200 F&I gross PRU and loose $600 per wholesale unit, what are you going to do with me? Answer: I wouldn’t have lasted 6 months let alone a year!
6. 6. If I am a Fixed Operations Director and my Parts and Service Team averages 34% in retail parts gross, 62% in labor gross, averages 1.5 HPRO, shop productivity of 80% with a declining repair order count, what are you going to do with me? Answer: Thank you for being back there because I sure as heck don’t want to fool with that stuff!
Are you starting to see my point?
Most Dealers and General Managers will hold their Sales Team accountable for their performance on a daily, weekly and monthly basis and make any adjustments (moving their comfort zones) on an as needed basis NOW!
Meanwhile their Parts and Service Team remain in their comfort zones to continue to dwell in the land of “underachievers”.
Why does this happen?
My belief is that most Dealers and GM’s are outside their comfort zone in the “back end” of their dealership since their roots are in the “front end.” What can a dealer do to enable him or her to leave their comfort zone and cross over the demarcation line to the back end of their business?
• Measure the performance of the people you intend to manage.
• Your people must know that you are measuring their performance.
• Their performance will be compared to industry benchmarks.
• They must understand that they will be held accountable for achieving or exceeding those benchmarks.
Simply say what you mean but more importantly mean what you say. Again, most dealers don’t hesitate to do this in their Sales and F&I departments. Start making it happen in Fixed Operations.
Now I want you to rid yourself of the usual whiny excuses that I here from dealers when I’m speaking to 20 Groups, Dealer Associations, Dealer groups or individual Dealers. It doesn’t matter whether it’s north, south, east, west or rural versus metropolitan. I hear this all across the U.S.,
Canada and the United Kingdom:
“Don, you don’t understand, my market is depressed.”
“Don, you don’t understand, my Service Manager has been with me for a long time.”
“Don, you don’t understand, I can’t find an Advisor that’s any better.”
“Don, I don’t want to run off my customers by up selling”
Well folks, here is what I do understand.
A depressed market has nothing to do with accountability for performance.
Time on the job does not dictate a good performance on the job.
If you can’t find better people, look harder because they are out there. If you or any of your people are afraid of “running off customers from up selling” then you need to get out of the retail business of selling parts and service. (By the way, the aftermarket already has 70% of your customers’ maintenance)
Don’t you think it’s time to get out of your comfort zone and make the return on your investment that you deserve? Please, drag your Fixed Operations Team out of their comfort zones and start holding them accountable! Once they stop kicking and screaming they will all make more money, they will be happier and your customers will realize you have the best dealership in town.
“The entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it, and exploits it as an opportunity.” -Peter F. Drucker
Don Reed
CEO
DealerPro Training Solutions
“Pro Solutions-Pro Results”
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