Fixed Ops Magazine 2023 Vol 20-3 - 21

you don't get a call back until the afternoon, it may be
too late to get the job completed that day, and the vehicle
will need to be kept in the shop overnight.
Not only do these situations frustrate customers (and
make them liable to bash you on Yelp when they get
home), but profit-producing activities like upselling
additional services often fall to the wayside amid the
chaos. On top of that, your team is overwhelmed. And
losing employees due to a stressful shop environment
is the last thing you want in the middle of a technician
shortage.
HOW CAN YOU CREATE A MORE
CONVENIENT EXPERIENCE FOR YOUR
CUSTOMERS AND FOR YOUR TEAM?
You COULD build more bays or extend your hours to
try and keep up. Or you could make the most of the
time, space, and employees you have by maximizing
efficiency. And this doesn't mean racing the clock to
check customers in or calling them relentlessly to get
work approved quickly. Getting better or faster at what
you've always done will only lead to marginal efficiency
gains, if any gains at all. You need to run your service
drive DIFFERENTLY to see results.
THREE WAYS TO INCREASE EFFICIENCY
Here are three ways you can raise your efficiency across
the entire service process and create a more convenient
experience for your customers and team.
1. Provide self-service options:
72% of customers said they would prefer to schedule
service online, but the majority had to schedule
their most recent visit over the phone. Offering online
scheduling can not only help you meet your customers'
preferences, it also frees up your advisors to
focus on more complex tasks. Their time and attention
is much better utilized when helping a customer
understand MPI results than scheduling oil change
after oil change over the phone.
Likewise, consider self-service check-in using a kiosk
or mobile QR code to make your morning rush a little
more manageable. Providing secure lockers where
2. Take more swings at upselling:
You might think giving advisors a smaller role in
the appointment scheduling and check-in processes
could hurt your bottom line. After all, upselling
additional services is a big part of their job. But using
online scheduling or a kiosk doesn't eliminate an
advisor; it creates one more opportunity to present
options to your customers.
You can present promotions and/or recommended
services tailored to each customer's vehicle through
your online scheduling or mobile check-in tool. While
your advisors may skip upselling recommended services
on a busy day, giving customers the opportunity
to add additional services during online scheduling
or self-check-in ensures you get an at-bat every
time. In addition, customers won't feel like they're being
sold to and may be more receptive to additional
maintenance offerings.
MAY JUNE 2023 || FIXED OPS MAGAZINE
21
your customers can drop their keys will also help
speed up the process. Not everybody will want to
check in through self-service, but it can help cut down
your advisors' workload so customers who DO want
to meet with them can receive their full attention.
At the end of the day, you can place the keys back
in the lockers for customers to access anytime that
is convenient for them and offer online payments.
This will give your customers the flexibility to pick
up their vehicles at their convenience and your team
can adjust their focus to finishing jobs and closing
the shop for the day.
Fixed Ops Magazine 2023 Vol 20-3

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Fixed Ops Magazine 2023 Vol 20-3
