AutoFix AdvisorCast

Michael Doherty [00:00:00]:
This is the autofix Advisor Cast, powered by WorldPac. Hey, service Advisor nation. What's happening? What's going on? Thank you for tuning in to another episode of the Autofix Advisor Cast with your host, Michael Dougherty. Hopefully everybody's doing well, everybody's healthy, all that good stuff. It's toward the end of March and, you know, I'd say daylight savings time is here, spring is here, the grass is growing, it's raining a lot, probably my fault. I've been getting my cars washed and it's probably causing it to rain. So my apologies. But in any event, I've been talking to a lot of independent shops lately over the phone, and when I'm getting on that phone call or that zoom meeting call and anticipating, you know, what I'm going to say to that new prospect or client to talk to them about some things about their shop, you know, kind of, for a better word, kind of pre framing it in my head, you know, what I want to talk about based on the information I've gotten from them.

Michael Doherty [00:01:09]:
But once I get on the call, I'm finding that they're anything but engaged, they're anything but listening a lot of the time. And it's, you know, it's, it's, it's fastly becoming a pet peeve. I know it's not personal, but, you know, got me thinking about, you know, from a service advisor's perspective of, you know, you know, engagement with a client, when you're speaking with them, whether they're calling in about making the appointment, whether you're talking to them, and this is obviously, you know, it's not text formats, not email formats, like, you know, on the phone talking to them, you know, are they engaged? Are you both, you know, yourself, the service advisor and the client? Are you participating in active listening? And reason I say that is, you know, I think it's very important to talk about that because from a service advisor's perspective, again, we got so much going on and as soon as you get off that phone call, you got something else that you're going to need to do, you know, whether it's pick up the phone again, you know, put the information in the, you know, computer that you just spoke to the client about or as you're talking to them, do that. But, you know, I'm finding, especially these days with a lot of people that, you know, work from home or involved in the shop that I'm speaking to, you know, they're just, they're, they're not really engaged. There isn't a lot of active listening, and it poses a problem. You know, I've come to my senses lately and, you know, basically I'm asking people, hey, you know, it's just. Is now not a good time, you know, to talk about this? You know, I really want to, you know, go over these things with you, but, you know, you seem preoccupied, and it's okay to say that. I don't think it's rude.

Michael Doherty [00:02:56]:
And I've experienced that too, as a service advisor, you know, you know, Mr. And Mrs. Jones, you know, we're going to talk about some things about your vehicle. Is now a good time to talk? And, you know, he or she will say, yeah, and then as you start talking, you know, you hear background noise, you know they're talking to somebody. And you know, especially when you're talking about expensive repairs or it doesn't have to be expensive, but you know, just when you're talking about people's vehicles and trying to get across to them specific information, I think it's very important again, that there's active listening going on from the service advisor's perspective, you know, if that client does not seem like they're engaged, if there's not a lot of active listening going on, you know, don't feel bad, you know, pause, pause, don't say anything. And you're gonna hear on the other end of the phone, hello. Hello? You still there? You know, reply. Yeah, I'm still here.

Michael Doherty [00:03:51]:
I was just waiting for you to finish up, you know, what you were doing. You know, it's kind of a, a way of saying, hey, you know, I'm, I've stopped talking because you're not paying attention. So it's, it's also okay to, you know, call somebody out professionally but say, hey, you know, it seems like you're very preoccupied. These things are very important. You know, is there a good time for me to call you back? You know, it's okay to do that, but from the service advisor's perspective, when a client is calling in, you know, depending on the circumstance, you know, somebody might be a little more spirited in talking to you about their car if, you know, it's an emergency or something like that. But again, you know, practicing active listening, you know, and kind of what does that look like? So I think first and foremost, you know, it's just being patient, right? It's when that phone rings again, whatever you got going on, if you're going to, as a service advisor, pick up that phone and commit to answering that phone, hey, thanks for calling xyz Automotive. This is Michael. Thank you so much for calling in.

Michael Doherty [00:04:52]:
How can I help you? You know, if you've engaged in that phone call, you know, you really have to kind of clear your brain and, you know, listen to what they're telling you and, you know, repeat it back to them. You know, that's. That's the part of it I really believe that gets people's attention, that you are paying attention to them instead of saying, okay, yep, sure. Huh, yeah. You know, as they're talking, just let them talk. Let them explain what's going on. And, you know, definitely reply back. You know, okay, so what you're telling me is, you know, again, repeat it back to them.

Michael Doherty [00:05:29]:
Because I've often found times, too, where I've repeated it back to somebody and they go, oh, no, no, that's not it. It's this or it's that. So again, repeating it back to them and also, you know, asking, you know, clarity. Asking, you know, qualifying or clarifying questions. Right. You know, as they're, you know, as they're talking, but, you know, think about what you're going to say before you say it to them. And, you know, okay, so, you know, what you're telling me, Mr. Jones, is, you know, your vehicle overheated and, you know, you want to get it towed in, and we do not recommend you drive it.

Michael Doherty [00:06:01]:
And, you know, xyz. So again, you know, asking, you know, clarifying questions about what's happening with their vehicle. And again, just, you know, active listening and being engaged, and it works for both parties. Right? So again, from a service advisor perspective, if you're going to pick up that phone and commit to answering that phone, you know, do it in a sense that shows the prospect or the client that you are definitely paying attention to them. The other side of that, I think, is, you know, adaptability, you know, as a service advisor, you know, adaptability and handling, you know, unexpected situations and changes. And that could be, you know, the day before, you had 10 appointments coming in, right. Or the next day, you know, you got 10 appointments coming in, and you come in that morning and, you know, only four or five people show up. Right.

Michael Doherty [00:06:52]:
I mean, what's the game plan? You know, it kind of changes, you know, the workflow for the day. You know, if there's vehicles that were towed in overnight unexpectedly, you know, night drops that you were anticipating as appointments. Right. How do we handle those things from an adaptability standpoint and still helping the client without feeling overwhelmed? Right. So I think a large part of that is just you know, setting expectations and being transparent with the clients about those situations. And again, the answer is always, yes, we want to help you out, Mr. And Mrs. Jones, or, you know, client.

Michael Doherty [00:07:25]:
But at the same time, you know, they don't need to know everything you've got going on the shop. You know, you don't need to tell them, hey, you know, right now I've got two cars up on the lift. You know, I'm not expecting parts for one permit, you know, till later on today, I'm not going to be able to get to your car. You know, one of our technicians, John, he's out today, and then the other technician, Tim, you know, he's got a doctor's appointment in a couple hours, so he may not be here to look at it. They don't want to hear any of that stuff. They want to hear, yes, that you're going to accommodate them, that you're going to relieve them of their problem and they can drop off their car. But again, you know, expectations, all you got to say is, hey, you know, I'm not able to, you know, just be clear. You're welcome to drop it off.

Michael Doherty [00:08:08]:
How? However, based on our current schedule, I'm not going to be able to look at it today. I'm pretty confident of that. But there's a high opportunity that I'll be able to get it in first thing in the morning and I'll probably get you an update between 9 or 10 o'clock. Right. So again, you don't need to go into the whole XYZ of what's going on at the shop and, you know, nobody wants to hear that. You know, it's none of their business. They really don't care. I'm just being honest, just, you know, kind of more to the point, you know, and, you know, being able to adapt and handle to those situations in shop stuff as well.

Michael Doherty [00:08:41]:
You know, parts issues, you know, if a part shows up and you know, the day before you made a promise time to the client and you find out that that part that came in is not correct or it's broken or you're gonna need another part, you know, get in touch with that client as soon as possible and let them know what's going on. Hey, you know, we had a parts issue and we're not gonna be able to get another part until tomorrow. I just want to be transparent. Are you okay to hang in that loaner car for the evening or, you know, are you going to need to come by and get a car or however, you know, how can you accommodate them? How can you make it easier for them if they were expecting the car that day? You know, you don't have to really spend money to do that. I'm not saying, you know, go rent them a car or something, but again, you know, just. I've never had an issue, honest to God, with a client, as long as I've been proactive in communicating what's going on with their vehicle. And you're meeting the times that you told them that you'd update them. So, again, things change, life happens.

Michael Doherty [00:09:37]:
It's okay betting. It's how you're handling it. You know, adaptability. And one thing, too, I think is important to talk about is, you know, identifying customer needs, you know, and recommending appropriate services. So, you know, if somebody's coming in for just a regular service or maintenance, if your shop is doing a digital vehicle inspection, you know, after you've done the oil service or the technician's done the oil service, sent you the DVI as a service advisor, you're writing up, you're looking at things, you know. You know, when you're calling that client, you know, obviously, number one, hey, Mr. And Mrs. Jones, the oil service is in process or it's been completed.

Michael Doherty [00:10:16]:
You know, we did a digital vehicle inspection for you, and here are some things that the technician noted. You know, I really would recommend, you know, as a service advisor, you break that down in three categories, right? So their primary concern, what they came in for, number one. Number two, anything that's safety with the vehicle. Paramount, right? Want to let them know about that stuff. And number three, you know, kind of extra service or maintenance or anything that wouldn't be considered safety or their primary concern. And I have had the situation before where, you know, somebody's come in and allotted, you know, a chunk of change, you know, thousand dollars for, you know, a BMW service or maintenance or Mercedes service or maintenance. And the technician's got that vehicle up in the air and he's doing the oil service on it. He notices that, you know, the front brakes, you know, they're worn down to 2 millimeters or, you know, it's got a really hellacious oil leak coming out of the front end or something like that.

Michael Doherty [00:11:12]:
So, you know, I'm calling that client back and I'm saying, hey, before we get started on this other service or maintenance that you've authorized, I just want to let you know that your front brakes are really in need of being replaced. I've prepared an estimate for you, and I want to let you know about that before we get started on this other work that you have authorized, you know, because that money, if they don't have any extra money to purchase additional services from you, I would really recommend putting that money toward that break service, you know, that is going to benefit you better at this service visit. We can still do the other service or maintenance. But what would you like to do, you know, repurpose that money that they've allocated you toward things that are going to really help them, you know, and things that are safety. So I think there's, you know, a bond there. You know, they're seeing you're looking out for them. There's. There's trust built there, you know, and again, we are building and maintaining client relationships, you know, very important.

Michael Doherty [00:12:08]:
So again, you know, it's nice to get all the kind of, we call it, I guess, gravy, right, the service and maintenance stuff. But again, you know, if they've got a laundry list of things that they've authorized and you haven't done the DVI yet, you know, if they're coming in for a 30, 60, 90K, whatever, and it's a chunk of change, you know, do the dvi, do the oil service, get the oil drain and do the dvi, and then ask the technician to send you that DVI back before they get started on those other items. And again, you know, use their money responsibly, right? Look out for them. And I guarantee you, if they can, they're going to do the other stuff as well, but they're going to remember that you didn't do all the other things and then tell them about their breaks they can't afford. So, you know, again, just building and maintaining client relationships there so really important. But again, you know, going back, active listening engaged, right? Are we paying attention? And still, I think with the active listening, too, is, you know, comprehension, you know, are we, are we comprehending what people are telling us? Because somebody's explanation of something may not be the way you're interpreting it. And it's okay to say, hey, I'm just, I'm not understanding completely what you're telling me. You know, just so we're on the same page.

Michael Doherty [00:13:17]:
Could you, could you mention that again? Right. And if it doesn't line up, it's okay to disagree, but do it professionally, right? So again, you know, there's, there's definite, you know, comprehension in the understanding of what somebody's telling you, too, for active listening, you know, if you're just not sure, don't guess, you know, just, hey, when it's your turn to speak, I am not sure. And that goes with service advisors talking to technicians as well. You know, I've been out in the shop before and technicians telling me X, Y and Z, and I'm just, you know, I'm standing there, I'm like, yeah, I kind of get what you're saying, but could you show me. Could you. Could you bring me over to the car? Could you show me exactly what you're talking about? Oh, okay. That makes sense. Yep.

Michael Doherty [00:13:58]:
Now I got it right. So, again, comprehension of what you're being told from a client, from a co worker, from a technician, it goes a long way and it'll help you sharpen your skills as well. But Service Advisor Nation, I appreciate you. We also appreciate our sponsor, worldpack and look forward to seeing you next episode. And again, really appreciate y'all and take it easy. All right, see you later. Hey, thanks 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.

Michael Doherty [00:14:36]:
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 advisors love their jobs again. See you on the next Autofix Advisor Cast.