AutoFix AdvisorCast

Michael Doherty [00:00:00]:
This is the AutoFix AdvisorCast, powered by Worldpac. Hey, thank you for tuning into another episode of autofix Advisor Cast with your host, Michael Dougherty. Today we're going to be talking about figuring out the scheduling puzzle and how to maximize service bay utilization. This is a topic that I was asked to talk about from Chris Cotton of Autofix and he had actually entitled it Mastering Figure or Mastering the Scheduling Puzzle to Maximize Service or Service Bay Utilization. And being honest, mastering it isn't something that really applies. And I only say that because there's so many variables and there's so many different shops that have different setups and whatnot. So I'm going to relabel it to figuring out the scheduling puzzle to maximize service bay utilization. So I think first and foremost, getting into that particular topic before we start talking about the scheduling process, I think it's very important to one, understand that figuring out or I'm sorry, I think it's very important to understand from a service advisor's perspective that when that phone rings, especially if it's a new client finding out how they heard about your shop and at that moment, especially if it is a new client in your mind, figuring out that, you know, marketing is working, you know, and that that phone call could be 3 to $400 of marketing expense just to get that phone call or that one phone call from that new client to ring, and that it's very.

Michael Doherty [00:01:54]:
For that phone to ring. It's very important to keep that in mind, again, you know, your marketing dollars, that the company's spending to generate leads, whether it be through Google, ads, Facebook ads, SEO, website, however the client found or heard about you, even if it was word of mouth, you know, I mean, it's all, it's all considered marketing. So again, keeping in mind, you know, as an advisor, that when that phone rings, if it's, if it's a new client, finding out how they heard about you and doing your best to say yes, doing your best to say yes to get them in the door and help them out, you know, I mean, it's, it's considered a call of action. The client has done their part, they have called and they need something, they need your help. So, you know, let's get them in, let's help them out. But I only mentioned that because I think earlier or early in my career, I was very just, you know, the phone would ring, you get off the phone, you know, you'd make the appointment, the phone ring, and that phone just keep ringing and keep ringing and to be honest, I mean, to some degree it seemed on most days it was just annoyance because you couldn't really make time to get anything else done. But as years grew, for me, being a service advisor and, you know, understanding the importance of that phone ringing, if that phone's not ringing, then there's a problem, you don't have the opportunity to get clients in the door and help them out. And that is definitely going to impact your business in a negative manner.

Michael Doherty [00:03:28]:
So again, from a marketing perspective, keeping that in mind, that when that phone rings, if it's a new client, marketing is working. So I will lament. So, you know, when that phone rings, there's typically two clients. There is a client that has a problem or a concern, and that to me is considered a sense of urgency. And the other client that calls is the client that is going to have some, we'll call it routine service or maintenance. The client that has the concern or problem, that to me is a more sense of urgency. And the client that calls with the service or maintenance, that client is typically going to be more flexible on an appointment, meaning not push them out. But if you don't exactly have room on the schedule in a day or two, you can likely work with them to get them in in coming days or maybe the next week.

Michael Doherty [00:04:25]:
Whereas the client that has the concern or problem, again, that's the more sense of urgency to get in the door. And I know that sounds very just easy. But again, with everything we have going on on a daily basis, as a service advisor, just, you know, really being in tune with the schedule. And if you are one service advisor at a shop with two or three technicians, typically you're doing all the scheduling. If there's two service advisors and anywhere from, you know, four to six technicians, then communication definitely needs to be there between both service advisors when scheduling appointments and booking appointments. But one thing that's helped me over the years is the Google Calendar. And I would not just put in new appointment bookings. I would account for sold jobs on the calendar and not in a dollar amount sense, but blocks of time.

Michael Doherty [00:05:30]:
So we would have our normal, say it was, say it was a Wednesday, just picking any random day during the week that we were open. If it was a Wednesday, we would have anywhere from probably seven to 10 new appointments or service reservations that day coming in. And prior to that day, I on Tuesday for the workload, anything that was sold on Tuesday that was sold, you know, sold or bought work from a client from using your client guided sales, I would take the hours of that job and add them to the Wednesday calendar in blocks of time. So Mr. Or Mrs. Jones had a BMW X5. It needs a water pump that's going to take our technician three to four hours to do. And I would actually block out that time on the calendar.

Michael Doherty [00:06:20]:
So I'm not only accounting for new incoming service reservations or appointments that day, but I'm also accounting for blocks of time of things that haven't been done yet. And reason I was doing that is because when it was just me making the appointments and booking the service reservations, I. I was able to already know what was in the shop. There wasn't another person I had to really communicate with for that. But when we got to two service advisors, I had to change my thought process. And that way we weren't overbooking or under booking. But I think also a big part of the puzzle, if you would, is knowing your technicians and what they're capable of. And again, just communication just over the years, knowing what they're good at.

Michael Doherty [00:07:08]:
You know, if you get that phone call, you know, hey, Mrs. Jones has a vehicle that's overheating. You know, you're already kind of thinking in your head, you know, I'm going to pair that with this particular technician, he's good at doing those, and, you know, kind of think, you know, think ahead and make appointments or service reservations from that perspective. But again, I think the people that call in, they have a more, you know, problem or, you know, concern that's a better, you know, more sense of urgency to get them in sooner. And, and the ones that call in for service or maintenance, again, those are ones that, you know, are a little more flexible with appointment scheduling, but always try and find a way to say yes. It's very easy to say, you know, when someone calls, you're looking at your schedule, it seems like it's really booked. I mean, you have to account for, you know, there are going to be people that, you know, unfortunately aren't going to show up for their appointment even though they've confirmed their appointment. Don't show up, don't call, don't come in.

Michael Doherty [00:08:03]:
You have to account for the, you know, that percentage, that slim percentage, but that, you know, of work that's not there. So I'd rather stay a little overbooked if you would. And knowing that some of those things may happen through the week where some of those previous scheduled service reservations may fall through the cracks, chances are if you had someone in a week prior for service, maintenance and or work on their car and they purchased Some additional work on the DVI that you'd sent them, and they want to come in next week to do the work. Chances are they're coming back. You know, that's going to be a definite confirmed appointment. They're coming back to do that. So. But I'm talking about, you know, the ones that just may not show up.

Michael Doherty [00:08:42]:
And there's been some clients over the years. I'm sure everybody's had that. One or two clients that, you know, you have to constantly remind them, you know, hey, Mr. Mrs. Jones, please, you know, remember you have an appointment with us tomorrow. You know, send them on a text. I'm going to email a reminder, and they may not show up. But.

Michael Doherty [00:08:57]:
So, again, just accounting for those, but especially the ones that when clients call, you know, hey, my window, I put it down and it won't go up. You know, and it's easy to look at the schedule and go, well, you know, I, I'm fully committed for tomorrow and Thursday, and I don't think I'll be able to get you until next week. That it's not going to help them. I mean, they're, They're. They can't wait that long. They're not going to wait that long. You know, think of that. You know, treat it like it was your mom's car, your sister's car, you know, you would want to get them in as soon as possible.

Michael Doherty [00:09:28]:
And believe me, if you want to find a way to do it, you'll find a way to do it. So, especially for people that have, you know, a window that just went down, you know, have them, have them get to the shop, get it inside, put in the shop for the night, you know, I mean, it's there, overheating situations. You know, I've had a lot of clients call over the years, hey, unexpected situation. My car, you know, it's overheating. What do I do? You can tell the, you know, sense of urgency in their voice. Even if the schedule's packed, you know, just take it off their mind, you know, we got you. Do you need a tow truck? Do you have aaa? You know, we'll get to the shop. But also be realistic.

Michael Doherty [00:10:03]:
Let them know that, hey, we are unfortunately running behind on the workload for tomorrow, but if you can at least get it here, you know, we'll get a chance to check it out in the next day or two. All they really want to do is know that they can get it somewhere as soon as possible so I don't have to worry about it sitting in a Parking lot or broke down on the side of the road. And, you know, just. Again, just have some empathy for them and their situation and what's happened. And, you know, nobody wants to. To get that phone call of, you know, no one wants to make that phone call. You know, my car broke down or whatever. It's.

Michael Doherty [00:10:37]:
It's embarrassing to some people, but it happens. And you have to be willing. And you always have to say yes. You know, get them in the door. That's very important. So. And again, just knowing, Knowing your technicians, knowing their workload, what they're really capable of, what the week looks like that week. I mean, there's so many.

Michael Doherty [00:10:57]:
There's so many puzzle pieces, if you would, to the scheduling, you know, to. To maximize, you know, as Chris said, you know, service bay utilization. So primary factors. Excuse me, know who's gonna be there that week? Are you gonna have technicians out? Are technicians gonna be out on vacation? If a technician calls in sick, are you able to slide things around a little bit? I've had to make phone calls over the years, especially early in the morning. You know, come in early in the morning and there's a voicemail or an email from a technician, hey, I got sick the night before. I won't be in today. Or something came up with my kid. I've gotta stay home.

Michael Doherty [00:11:35]:
You know, don't freak out. I mean, stuff happens. And I've had to call clients over the years, you know, hey, I apologize. You're not the only person I'm having to call today. But unfortunately, we had a technician out and we won't be able to work on your car today. But do you still want to drop it off? You know, I mean, if you can accommodate them and get them to drop it off and they're aware of what's going on and they're cool with that, roll with it, it's fine. You know, I mean, stuff happens. It's.

Michael Doherty [00:12:02]:
It's. It's life. It's. It's not a life or death situation in most instances. You know, most cases, you know, if a client calls, hey, my brakes are grinding. You know, I really like to drop off the car before you close today. Yes, absolutely. Get them in the door.

Michael Doherty [00:12:18]:
But again, if you're gonna be busy the next day, just be honest with them. Let them know, you know, you're welcome to drop the car off. I may not be able to check it out tomorrow for you, but we'll look at it as soon as possible. You know, just be realistic with them so they're not thinking that they dropped it off and you know, you're gonna call them in the morning and it's gonna be done the next day. I mean that really isn't, that really isn't how it works. And I know you know that the service advisors, but they may not know that. And to us it's common sense, it's us, it's common sense to us of, of some of those situations. But again, from the client's perspective, they really don't know what's going on at the shop.

Michael Doherty [00:12:55]:
It's your responsibility to let them know what's going on and how you can help them and serve them. But always find a way to say yes. You know, get them in, get them and help them out. And again, the ones that are service maintenance related, I'm not saying push them off, but like I said, they will likely be a little more flexible with scheduling. But you know, just when you think your shop is maxed out, what happens? You've got a car on the lift, you've got an oil pan to do on a BMW. Most technicians, you know, that's a seven, eight hour job and something happens, you know, the parts don't show up or you know, the part that you did order, unfortunately from up.