Fixed Ops Journal - February 2022 - F21

FIXED OPS JOURNAL
5
I
Interview by Dan Shine
minutes with ...
 Bill Springer, president of DriveSure
n many ways, service advisers are the
face of the department. Th ey are typically
the fi rst people car owners meet when
they bring their vehicle in for service and
are the liaison between technicians and the
customer. What is the best way to measure a
service adviser's eff ectiveness ? And what are
the crucial areas of focus for them ? Bill Springer,
58, president of DriveSure, which provides
new-vehicle dealerships with customer benefi ts
that encourage service retention and tire sales,
spoke with Editor-in-Chief Dan Shine in January
about this and other topics. Here are edited
excerpts.
On the importance of metrics for measuring
service adviser effectiveness.
I think the main thing is having the right
processes in place and making sure those processes
are executed well and executed consistently
by not only advisers but also technicians.
Because if you don't have your processes
down and you're not executing well and
consistently, then the metrics aren't going to
tell you anything.
Th e metrics are really a refl ection of making
sure that you have good processes in place. It's
kind of like saying, " My goal is to become a
scratch golfer, to shoot par. " So if you go out on
a golf course and say, " OK, I gotta shoot par, "
that's not going to do any good. What you
need is to focus on that next shot and understand
what you need to do to improve, and
then the scores will come down. Or the analogy
with service advisers - then your hours
per RO or whatever it is you're measuring are
going to come through. It's almost counterintuitive,
to a certain extent, but you don't want
to focus on the metrics to the detriment of ignoring
the process.
On areas service advisers should focus on.
Safety is No. 1. If you've got safety items that
are crucial: bald tires, brakes that are almost
worn out, shocks or struts that need to be replaced.
Th ose really need to be communicated
to the customer: Th ese are the most important
things for you to do, and they really
need to get done now. Second is selling OEM
recommended maintenance.
Upping your game
Tips from DriveSure to improve
service adviser effectiveness:
 Provide continual training.
 Set target goals and metrics.
 Create a clear pricing structure and
rule for discounts.
 Defi ne service department capacity.
 Open lines of communication with
customers and techs.
 Implement a customer feedback
mechanism.
On the importance of training service advisers.
I think you have to prioritize it. Th e most
successful dealers make [training] part of their
culture. Dealerships are so busy just trying to
keep up with handling customers, but that's
not going to last forever. I think training is essential
to fall back on not only when times get
slow but in all times - following those right
processes, making sure service advisers are
empathetic and have good listening skills and
know how to ask the right questions.
On how price transparency helps customers
and service advisers.
I think it's absolutely essential to educate
the customer about what they need to do to
take care of their vehicle, how frequently they
"
" Nobody likes surprises,
so educating that
customer is an important
way to prevent surprises.
Menus are a good way to
do it. Setting the right
expectation is the key. "
need to return, and setting the proper expectation
as to what the vehicle is going to need
not only on the current visit, but the next visit
as well. Nobody likes surprises, so educating
that customer is an important way to prevent
surprises. Menus are a good way to do it. Setting
the right expectation is the key.
On a service adviser who does it well.
I was visiting a dealership in Salt Lake City,
and there's a service adviser who's probably
one of the best service advisers I've ever seen.
Customers love him. He told me he spends an
hour to an hour and a half at the end of every
day preparing for tomorrow's customers. He
goes through every customer appointment he
has, goes through the customer history, the
current status of the vehicle and anticipates
what that customer is going to need so when
that customer comes through the door, it's not
a matter of trying to get caught up - he's
ahead of the customer.
On how to make all service advisers like the
one in Salt Lake City.
Th is particular service adviser does a really
good job with [prepaid maintenance] because
he looks at it as in the customer's best interest.
You know, " You come to us regularly. If you
buy this three-oil-change package, you're going
to save X amount of dollars, and you're going
to get these additional benefi ts as well. "
Most customers say yes to it if they're going to
own the car for another year to 18 months. It's
just another way to lock that customer in because
they've already prepaid for their maintenance
services. 
FEBRUARY 2022 PAGE 21
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Fixed Ops Journal - February 2022

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