Fixed Ops Magazine 2023 Vol 20-3 - 40

2. TECHNICIAN PRODUCTIVITY - In many shops
there is a productivity black hole. And what goes
into this black hole is everything that keeps the technician
from doing the one thing that makes money
for the store, producing billable hours.
Do you know what's not included in the process I
just outlined?
* A friendly, caring attitude - which is probably the
most important piece of the .3 per RO increase. Nobody
wants to do business with unfriendly and uncaring
people. Here is a hint ... Hire friendly.
Oh, and that walkaround, make it a relationship building
experience and not just a documentation exercise.
Ask questions, point out things the customer needs
to know and be friendly.
So why does the service drive sales process work?
Because every customer gets:
* a walkaround
* a menu presentation
* a feature/benefit presentation on needed services/
repairs
* an MPI explanation
* a value statement
* a closing statement
If every advisor in your service department did this
with every customer every day, it's mathematically
impossible to fail. You will have an increase in HPRO.
In fact, I'm willing to bet money on it. The problem is
that it is not your process in your store.
Every SM reading this can correct 90% or more of
the out of line conditions in their shop before they
start complaining that they don't have enough techs.
Fix your house before you start recruiting and you'll
have an easier time attracting new talent.
40
Give me some examples you say.
* Technicians wandering the lot looking for the next
vehicle he/she needs to work on.
* Technicians standing at the back parts counter.
* Technicians looking for special tools.
* Technicians waiting for approvals.
* Technicians waiting for the next job.
I could go on all day.
In most shops, many hours a day are wasted on things
that have nothing to do with production. What really
makes it bad is that most of these time-wasting activities
are controllable.
Let me give you some examples:
* Have a $12.00 an hour porter bring the next vehicle
into the shop for the $40.00 an hour tech.
* Stage fast moving parts in the shop.
* Do a special tool inventory, provide tool accountability
(sign them out on an RO is one example), and
put them in one place where they are easily accessible
and visible.
* Complete a repair order review (more than occasionally)
and audit every advisor's tickets to see if
they are updating the customers' information during
writeup. If not, ask why not.
* Dispatch more than one RO at a time. Give the
techs a reasonable working time to complete the inspection
/ diagnosis and get that information back
to the advisor.
Fixed Ops Magazine 2023 Vol 20-3

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