Digital Dealer - October 2017 - 44

F I X E D O P E R AT I O N S

Continued from pg. 43

...MORPHED INTO A MORE SEGREGATED
ENVIRONMENT, AND THE VEHICLE WAS
ESSENTIALLY REMOVED AS THE PRIMARY ACCESS
POINT."
ture these common-sense
contents.

1. GREET THE
CUSTOMER AT THEIR
VEHICLE, know their

name, appointment
time, and the reason(s)
they are here - so Joe,
make the vehicle readily
accessible.

2. LISTEN
AND DOCUMENT
CUSTOMER
EXPLANATION(S) of any

concern(s) they may have
- just the beginning.
3. ADD TO THEIR
USUALLY MINIMAL
DESCRIPTIONS by ex-

ploiting key questions and
the answers a competent technician needs to
know to begin a realistic
diagnosis - which path to
follow?

4. EXAMINE,
RECREATE, AND
SOMETIMES FIX THE
CONCERN(S) when

possible to ensure the
concern exists, versus
educating the customer
on operational or normal
conditions. Ensure the
unpopular "no problem
found" (NPF, sometimes
NFP) is minimized - even
better eliminated.

5. NEVER GUARANTEE WARRANTY
COVERAGE, unless ab-

solute, and provide a cost
price range if known with
the goal of moving the
repairs forward quickly,
rather than trying to track
down the customer for
authorization later.
6. PRESENT

44

OCTOBER 2017

ANY "REQUIRED
MAINTENANCE"
NEEDS, both present

and future. "Required"
is listed in almost every
owner's manual "recommended" is wimpy
and optional. Present
the important vehicle
maintenance log (from
the glove compartment)
- the most powerful
no-cost tool available
promoting customer
retention. A great way for
the customer to get their
maintenance investment
back later!

7. EXAMINE THE
VEHICLE FOR TWO
PURPOSES - assess and

document damage with
the customer present (as
in right there) and assess
/ demonstrate any other
vehicle needs (i.e. wiper
blades). Some are able
to take a look under the
hood too.

8. FINAL TIME AND
MONEY ESTIMATES,

update contact time and
type agreement (don't call
me), signature(s) authorization, business card
exchange, thank you!
Hugs and kisses.
HOW MANY PENNY?

Let's see, how many of
those steps require a sitdown desk and chairs for
all? How many of those
steps would be made
more difficult (say, impossible) by isolating the
ASM from the vehicle?
How many of those steps
are enhanced by making
software the center of the

D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

transaction? How many of
those steps are important
to the dispatcher, technician, parts, and ultimate
production results? How
many of those steps are
important for developing
an on-going customer /
ASM relationship? How
many of those steps increase honest income per
repair order? How many
of those steps create indepth versus superficial
customer satisfaction?
I know you are thinking
that customers just want
to be processed quickly,
especially since we led
them to believe that was
the proper and thorough
method. Look, customers
only know what they are
taught by ignorant marketing and exposure to
lousy processes. Interestingly, back to the chairs, I
have recently witnessed
customers hanging out
in these chairs bugging
the soup (being polite
here) out of the poor ASM
trying to process other
customers and endless
paperwork. How do you
effectively tell the customer to hit the road when
you invited them there -
by using a timer, electrical
device, and a loud bell?
HERE'S A THOUGHT

I have a handy survey
for your ASM staff which
I have been using to get
the drift of their thinking,
as well as what they are
actually doing versus
what they could be doing.
I have them complete it

anonymously and I ask
for comments along the
way. In some cases, I
have found, especially
with untrained amateurs,
that they think they are
doing a good job, when
my tech survey reveals
an entirely different viewpoint (Don't know what
you don't know thingy). If
you would like to conduct
this revealing examination, send a note to Ed@
NetProfitGroup.com, and
put on the subject line:
"Reception Process Survey - Booty Call" and I
will forward it to you asap.
I dunno, maybe I
should give the survey
to the customers too. It
might surprise them to
learn what they should
be getting. But then again
why set ourselves up for
more scrutiny.
ED KOVALCHICK
has traveled the world
training and consulting
in fixed operations with
manufacturers and dealers.
His extensive background
includes master technician
status, independent
shop owner, dealer with
all Chrysler & Nissan
franchises, and founder
of Net Profit Inc., fixed
operations consulting and
training. He is a graduate of
the University of Louisiana,
and has served as state
president of the Automotive
Service Councils, and the
advisory boards of Wyo Tech
and Virginia College. He has
been a regular columnist and
conference presenter with
Dealer magazine and Digital
Dealer since 1995. EMAIL:
Ed@NetProfitGroup.com.
http://www.DIGITALDEALER.COM
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Dealer - October 2017
