Service advisors play a crucial role in driving work into the shop, even when faced with production bottlenecks. If a shop is backed up, that doesn’t mean the service advisor should take a step back and not schedule work, a shop trainer advised.
Maintaining sales momentum is important and a shop would rather be too busy than not, said Jim Saeli, an instructor and trainer with Drive, during his presentation at the Midwest Auto Care Alliance Hi-Tech Training & Expo in Kansas City.
Saeli acknowledged the common tendency for service advisors to slow down when technicians aren’t keeping up with the workload.
“You start to slow down, don’t you? You’re like, ‘Well, I’m not bringing this other car in because it’s not going to get done, and I’m the one that has the bullseye on me,’” he said.
However, he stressed that this approach is counterproductive.
“Your job is to drive work in the door. If you have that issue going on, you have a production problem. And you cannot solve production problems by slowing down sales,” Saeli explained.
Good technicians thrive in busy shops and want to produce.
“They do not want to work in a shop that’s slow. They want work to do and they want to produce,” Saeli noted.
Therefore, service advisors should continue to bring in work, even if there are production issues.
“You will actually find out that people will step up if they have to, if you have to work there for them. And if they don’t, you’ll actually find folks that want to work because they want to be working in a busy shop,” he said.
Saeli’s guiding rule for service advisors is simple: “I don’t quit selling. I keep bringing that work in. You have to have this attitude: ‘I’m going to sell the work. It’s not my job to get it done. These guys in the back have to get it done.’ You’re always selling, man.”
To address production problems, Saeli recommended shop owners evaluate technicians’ capabilities and focus on training those who are less efficient.
“You need to look at your technicians and see the type of work that they can do and the type of work they can’t,” he advised.
Utilizing shop management systems to identify the top jobs and types of vehicles being serviced can help target training efforts.
“Focus attention on training the technicians that aren’t as efficient on those things, on that type of work, because that’s what you’re getting in the shop,” Saeli suggested.
Image credit: Depositphotos.com
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Comments
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Wow, talk about kicking open the ant hill and running away. Saeli obviously works in the wrong kind of shop and is promoting an outdated mindset. He and you as well, Adam, missed the boat on how to run a successful shop. First of all, the advisor shouldn’t be selling because it’s his job. He should only be recommending work the client needs…and if it can be scheduled for a time the car will be completed on time without compromising safety, it will result in a happier customer. Secondly, why is the shop backed up? Is it understaffed due to vacations or because of poor booking practices? Does the shop lack some tooling, training or are parts delays the issue? A shop that is booked a long way out due to demand can be good problem to have, but, ultimately, management needs to look at shop capacity, growth goals and staffing levels.There’s a whole other article there to be written. Drop me a line we can chat about it.
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