AutoFix AdvisorCast

Michael Doherty [00:00:00]:
This is the AutoFix Advisor Cast powered by WORLDPAC. Hey, welcome to another episode of the autofix Advisor Cast with your host Michael Dougherty. This episode is sponsored by WORLDPAC and the WORLDPAC Training Institute. This podcast is your go to source for service advising and automotive industry insights. Be sure to check out worldpac.com for the latest in auto parts distribution and www.wtitraining.com to explore training programs that can take your career to the next level. Stay connected with WorldPAC Training Institute on their Facebook page and join the Community Service Advisor Nation. Happy New Year to you guys and your teams and your shops. And I guess starting off the morning, just being honest, it's 5am I got up really good mood this morning and I saw a really good quote to kind of start the day off.

Michael Doherty [00:01:01]:
It says your whole day goes better when the first thought you feed your mind is about your blessings, not your problems. Again, your whole day goes better when the first thought you feed your mind is about your blessings and not your problems. So I think that really resonates for me especially because I've had the opportunity in the new role that I'm doing. I'm working with a, I'm still doing, you know, service advising, but I'm also working with a marketing company and as a customer service rep. And just this week I've had the opportunity to talk to 15 different independent shops across the United States. I guess just kind of the map of my head real quick of some of those shops, California, Ohio, New York, Florida, and I think there are somewhere in some of those states as well, but just a lot of different shops to get to talk to. And I think the cool thing about it is a lot of what I get from the takeaway from speaking with them is they have a lot of the same issues that most independent shops do, but a strong calling to shop family. And I mentioned that word shop family because I mean, let's be honest, I mean we're, we're working with each other for so many hours per day and sometimes, yes, it can be dysfunctional, but it is, it's, it's, it's a family.

Michael Doherty [00:02:34]:
You got to take care of one another. And one of the things that I felt was really important to talk about on that front was are we as service advisors but also shops, do we have things in place? And from a taking care of one another perspective, one thing that I had the opportunity to do with a shop that I used to work at was they actually we kind of took a vote as a team and we did CPR training, and we felt that that was important because nobody on the team knew about cpr. And, you know, it's. It's not one of the things that you think about, you know, when you're in the shop atmosphere when things are going on. But. Yeah. Is it possible for someone to go into cardiac arrest? Is it possible for something bad to happen to somebody at the shop? Just, you know, things happen and being prepared for those things. So, you know, what we did was we got in touch with a local firefighter who also did CPR courses that was CPR certified, and we shut down the shop for a couple hours one afternoon, you know, checking the schedule, of course, to see, you know, when that would be available to do.

Michael Doherty [00:03:52]:
But that gentleman came out, got everybody CPR certified, and then a year later, we did, like, a recertification. But just, you know, even. Even if you've got one person at your shop that knows how to do cpr, you know, getting the whole shop on the same page so that it's preparation, right? Cause if something happens and you've gotta administer that, it's still gonna be a shock whether you know how to do it or not. But actually, just going through the mental process of what's involved and how to prepare yourself mentally to deal with that situation. And another thing that accompanies that class with which is a great idea, is to actually make sure after that class that you sign up and get a AED Automated external defibrillator. There's a bunch of companies that offer them. Most of the firefighters or people that teach the CPR class have one that they particularly like. And they're not massive.

Michael Doherty [00:04:54]:
I mean, they're about the size of a laptop or a backpack. But just having it at your shop, you know, as a secondary, you know, as a precaution, as a backup, is a good thing, too. And, you know, also along the lines of talking about taking care of one another, one thing that I've often found is, you know, when you're a service advisor, going back in the shop, talking to the technicians, coming back up front, you know, seeing fluid spills and not being, you know, lazy. Larry. About them not having the mindset of. It's not my job, you know, that mindset is. Is unacceptable, you know, really, for anybody in the building. It's a hazard.

Michael Doherty [00:05:31]:
You know, the fluids. Most of the fluids that we use are silicone based, and they're very slippery. And, you know, if you see some fluid on the ground, you know, take a second. Even if you can't get to it to mop it up right then and there, go grab an orange cone. If your shop doesn't have orange cones, you know, go to your local hardware store, get two or three. No, they don't have to be orange. That can be anything. But just kind of like, you know, when you see an orange cone in the middle of the shop, kind of tells you, hey, caution, right? So again, we're trying to be proactive, not reactive in that front.

Michael Doherty [00:06:02]:
So again, if you see a fluid spill, again, have, you know, when you're having your team meeting, you know, again, everybody on the same page and you know, it's everybody's job to take care of one another. But again, I really think that if you don't have it, having a CPR class, getting certified for your team, for your shop, everybody individually and again, not only just being able to react and respond to help a team member, but a client. A client could be in the lounge. Anybody that's in the building, you know, it goes a long way. And again, just a mental thought process of if something happens, how do I handle that? Because you're not going to know until it's that time and you want to be prepared. You know, I'm really big on proactive, not reactive. But another part of it too that when I was speaking to a lot of these shops this week about some of their marketing stuff, again, just kind of coming along, the family vibe. And you know, some of these shops have been around for 25 years.

Michael Doherty [00:07:00]:
It started off with, you know, a dad that opened it and you know that dad has passed away and you know, they want to carry on the legacy and all that stuff and that's great, but the shop's legacy, but you know, getting into, you know, core values, you know, what, what is your shop's core values? Is that something that your shop has and is it in an area where you can see it, right? Is it in a break room? Is it down the hall? Is it in the shop? You know, really defining what your core values are as a shop and actually taking action on them on a daily basis. And I think that's really important because it's an accountability marker. But you know, everybody's gotta have buy in too. So if your shop does not have core values, I would encourage you to have a team meeting, sit down, define what those are to you and again, you know, get em posted, you know, go to a Staples, go to a Kinko's, go to a Walmart, you know, print shop, wherever you can and get those Printed out and you know, put one in your office, put one in the back of the shop, wherever you can. Also, you know, core values. The company that I work with, the core values actually embody the word shield S H I E L D And the core values for where I currently work at are synergy, happiness, integrity, expansion, leadership and dedication. And you know, for a service advisor, I think those are great values. And the synergy part, you know, obviously teamwork, meeting with your team regularly, collaborating with your team regularly, you know, the synergy part of it, everybody working toward a common goal, which is take care of the client, right? The center or happiness part, I mean sounds self explanatory, but finding happiness in what you do on a daily basis.

Michael Doherty [00:09:01]:
And I've mentioned before, for service advisors, you know, taking a mini break, you know, every 10 minutes out of the hour, something that's going to make you happy, you know, go listen to some music, take a walk real quick, just some type of mental downtime. And you know, it's. If you're using the Google Calendar, put a block on the calendar, you know, with a reminder, you know, remind yourself, you know, you've got to do that. And it's not only for service advisors, but your team members as well, you know, the technicians especially, again, building that, building that relationship with one another, it's really important. And being able to go back there and saying, hey man, you know, you've worked on three cars back to back to back. Why don't you, you know, why don't you take a mini break, you know, and I guarantee they'll appreciate you noticing that because again, we all get caught up in the day, but we're not machines, right? We're humans and we have to take care of one another. The integrity part of that shield or that core values, you know, honesty, you know, your moral compass, doing the right thing, you know, strong principles, expansion, constantly curious, learning new things, right? So when I was talking with all these different shops this week about some of their marketing things and just talking shop in general and that was so cool because I had the ability to not only talk to them about their marketing, but just on a shop level and getting to learn new things that I didn't know with certain shops and products and tools and things of that nature. So that was cool.

Michael Doherty [00:10:29]:
The leadership part, I think that's not just for a service advisor but for everybody at your shop. And you know, the leadership is, you know, just be a, be a team member, right? I mean, be a team member and be a leader. Be a Leader. And, you know, if you see somebody not having a great day, try and get, you know, try and go talk to them customer. You know, being a leader, I think would be, you know, again, just. Just confidence, confidence in what you're doing, your product knowledge, thanking them. But, you know, everybody in the T on the team at your shop has leadership capability. And it's figuring out the best way to get that out of every individual.

Michael Doherty [00:11:10]:
You know, really important. You know, everybody's got their strong points and their weak points, and for people that have their strong points, you know, always, always getting the best out of them. But for their weak points, you know, growing on those, not picking on them, right? Helping them grow in that area. So that can definitely be leadership role and then dedication for the core values that our company has. You know, dedication to me from a service advisor's perspective is, hey, our business hours are X to X. But, you know, if I see that, you know, Mrs. Jones got here maybe a half hour early, why not open the door, right? Get her in the shop, get her in that loaner car, get her down the road, start the process. Don't let her just sit in the parking lot.

Michael Doherty [00:11:56]:
You know, I mean, the dedication to doing the best for your client, you know, if. And I've oftentimes too, on the way home, you know, yeah, I know it's a work life balance, but if I'm running tight on time, I'll call a client on the way home on my cell phone, you know, talk to him about, you know, their car, talk to them about the dvi, any of that stuff, or, you know, I'll limit the conversation time, but just they're not expecting you to call them outside business hours. So, I mean, you know, again, the dedication to doing the job, if you can help people out and, you know, and you're already there, go for it, you know. So again, our core values, again, were shield, synergy, happiness, integrity, expansion, leadership and dedication. So you can use some of those or you can do your own. But again, I really encourage everybody that doesn't have core values to get them defined. You know, carve out a good block of time with your team and get them put on a piece of paper, on a poster, anything that you can, and just live by them, Live by them and lift up your team. Another part of it, too, that, you know, we always talk about is, you know, well, I'd like to say that, but the dvi, you know, the digital vehicle inspection that a lot of shops are doing, you, you know, we're taking pictures we're providing photos, we're videos, we're sending those to the client so we can establish transparency, trust when we're talking to them.

Michael Doherty [00:13:19]:
But how about our own version of the dvi, you know, for our shop, you know, what does that look like and reason I mentioned that is, you know your website, you know, your website that you've got, how does it look? Is it outdated? Does it have the right information on it? But mostly, you know, when people are on your website, I mean, that's the heartbeat, kind of your business for them to come to like know and trust you. And from a DVI perspective, you know, I mentioned photos and videos. Do you have photos, a lot of photos on your website where people can see your team in action doing work on cars, maybe cool videos of things that you've done, cars that you've worked on. I think photos and videos, especially on your website are a big deal for people, especially first time prospects, you know, coming to your website that you're looking at it to see if they want to do business with you or not. So, you know, DVI in the terms of again, not digital vehicle inspection, but maybe, you know, your own, you know, in house dvi, you know, pictures, photos, videos on your website so people can like know and trust you and get a good feel for you and your shop and want to do business with you guys. So Service Advisor nation, it has been another awesome experience to talk to everybody, collaboration across the board, getting to know you guys better. Over the past couple months I've been doing this and I do, I wish everybody a great new year again, to your teams, to your shops. So again, just a quick recap, you know, taking care of your team, please look into CPR classes, look into getting an AED again, automated external defibrillator at the shop on hand also too, you know, your medical cabinet, is it stocked up, is it stocked up with the right things? And typically in our industry, you know, when a technician gets injured, you know, we're not talking about a Boo Boo, we're not talking about, you know, you're going to put a spongebob Kids band Aid or a Dora the Explorer Kids bandaid over that wound.

Michael Doherty [00:15:20]:
I mean, it's kind of, excuse my French, it's an oh shit moment, you know, and making sure you've got the stocked right supplies in that medical cabinet for that technician if they get cut or injured. Eyewash station, you know, is it covered in dust? Hopefully not. Get it cleaned up, pay attention to that stuff. But again, take care of one another, be safe, work together, get some core values. If you don't have. And if you already have core values, you know, redefine them. You know, is it still, you know, it doesn't have to be the same thing every year. Is there something new that you want to inject? Is there a new value that you want to bring to the table? And don't be afraid to speak up, you know, again, talk about it, talk about it.

Michael Doherty [00:15:59]:
That's how, that's how teamwork works, you know, I mean, if you're really feeling that something's important to you, bring it up. Talk to your manager about it, talk to your team about it, you know, get it out there. And, and if it's that important to you, make it happen. You know, put it in action. So service advisor Nathan Nation signing out. This is Michael Dougherty for an episode of autofix Advisor Cast. And also thank you again to our sponsor, worldpac. We appreciate you.

Michael Doherty [00:16:24]:
And until the next time, hey, thanks.

Michael Doherty [00:16:29]:
For listening to the Autofix Advisor Cast. If you're ready to take your shop to the next level, check out our sponsor WorldPAC and the WorldPAC Training Institute, WTI. Big thanks to them for their sponsorship. Follow the podcast on social media for more insights and subscribe so you never miss an episode. Oh, and tell your friends we want to help the industry grow and help a vice. Advisors love their jobs again. See you on the next autofix Advisor Cast.