Are Your Service Advisors Helpful

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Service Advisors are the key customer contact. In certain situations Service Advisors are the first and last people that customers come into contact with. Therefore, it is suggested that your service drive conveys to customers that Service Advisors are there to help. Customers who are adequately helped are more likely to be satisfied, feel confident in your dealership's competence and expertise, and less likely to bring the vehicle back for rework.

• Provide the appropriate training for your Service Advisors. Training that focuses on letting the customer know that the service department is there to help them, making the customer feel accepted and relaxed, and involving the customer in confirming the complaint.

• Service Advisors should assist customers in transferring items, opening doors, locating their car and any other service related scenarios to establish trust and caring.

• Service Advisors should prioritize recommended work for customers.

• Ensure that Service Advisors are actively listening to their customers. This involves encouraging customers to provide more information, asking open-ended questions, and listening carefully to the customer’s answers.

Keep Your Appointments Convenient

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Consumer research continues to show that offering convenient services is one of the keys to achieving customer satisfaction and loyalty. Therefore it is imperative that every effort is made to provide customers with appointments that are convenient for them. This illustrates to customers that your dealership welcomes their business, is focused on their needs, and is capable of meeting their needs. In the course of scheduling convenient appointments, it is important to keep in mind that the scheduled workload should match your department's capacity. Providing convenient appointments is just one essential aspect of attaining customer satisfaction. Another primary aspect involves following through on what is promised.

• Centralize and control employee vacations and time off request to ensure proper coverage during peak times.

• Create and implement an appointment script that incorporates effective words, ensures that all
information is gathered and customers needs are considered when establishing a time and date.

• Implement a scheduling tool that will enable your service department to efficiently schedule work throughout the day and track such aspects as customers with appointments, Technician
availability, walk-ins, emergency repairs, promise times, and quality control processes.

• Use scheduling tool such as the Appointment Dispatch Form.This form allows
you to calculate deadlines, which ensures that jobs are started in time to have the vehicle ready
when promised. This form is your means of controlling shop capacity and matching the skill level
of your Technicians to the service jobs.

• Distribute work assignments according to the skill level and time availability of your Technicians.

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