AutoFix AdvisorCast

Michael Doherty [00:00:00]:
This is the Autofix Advisor cast, powered by WorldPac. Hey, welcome back to another episode of the Autofix Advisor cast with your host, Michael Doherty. And today I want to talk to the service advisors out there in Service Advisor land about the evolution of the Service Advisor. Kind of like, for a better word, like, kind of like our origin story, right? How do we, how do we, how did we come to be. So, you know, we're used to, we used to rate on carbon copy pads. Now we explain, you know, adas calibrations to confuse customers while translating three diagnostic reports and brewing Keurig coffee all at the same time before 8:00am but no, honestly, so just kind of want to talk about again, kind of our origin story, you know, you know, where did we kind of evolve from and where are we going in this ever changing landscape that is the automotive industry? So you know, first and foremost, just some kind of quick facts, but you know, the term service writer was actually established in the 1960s and often referred to by, to the person who literally wrote out the repair orders by hand. This is done with, you know, carbon copies and clipboards. No CRM, no shop management system, just a pen, a phone and we'll call it hope, right? I think, you know, growing up in the, I will call it God, I'm dating myself late 70s, you know, progressing into the 80s and the 90s, but going with my dad to his friend's Dave shop which was downtown from where we lived.

Michael Doherty [00:01:48]:
And you know, Dave pretty much had, you know, that pad, he had that pad and paper and wrote everything down and so, you know, got to see that happen in reality. And Dave was a one man show though. So he was, you know, the service advisor, customer experience, if you would, the mechanic, the accountant, the parts ordering machine, everything that went along with it. So Dave was a party of one. But in any event, again, so, you know, kind of our origin story. But as cars became more complex, you know, you know in the 50s and the 60s and dealerships and independent shops started growing, someone needed to handle people while the techs handled vehicles. And basically that's kind of how we came to be the service advisors, right? And by the 1980s the customers expectations started to shift. People wanted more than just a fixed car.

Michael Doherty [00:02:40]:
They wanted clarity, options, reliability. Dealerships leaned into the customer satisfaction index or a CSI scores and independents started seeing service writers as their frontline face, basically. So again, you know, someone comes into the service department, who are they going to see first? The service advisor. And that's where basically, you know, the Transformation kind of began, right, for service advisors in that role so that the job became less about just writing tickets and more about relationship building at that time. So again, pairing that relationship building with also the customer satisfaction index or that CSI that existed then. And service advisors at that time, they were the translator between two worlds, the mechanic and the customer. And we still are to this day. And probably I would say in the early 90s, somebody that was underpaid, probably with a pager and a mustache.

Michael Doherty [00:03:48]:
So moving along in the 2000s, we'll call it the digital disruption, if you would for service advisors. Right. So when the 2000s hit, computers came into shops, email, online appointments, suddenly the service advisors weren't just answering phones. We're managing inboxes, CRMs, text messages, and building trust across those digital, we'll call them touch points. And let's not forget also the implementation of Google.

Michael Doherty [00:04:26]:
Right?

Michael Doherty [00:04:28]:
And now customers are armed with dangerous information. Right. You know, hey, I saw this, I saw this video that this job can be done in, you know, 30 minutes. Why you guys charging me three hours and you know, debunking all those fun myths, you know, around that time. Great with, you know, with YouTube coming out, things of that nature again, you know, I would call it, you know, the 2000s into probably like 2010 somewhere in there. And you know, in 2019, I won't call it a fun fact, but fact. In 2019, studies showed that 72% of vehicle owners use online resources to research repairs before calling the shop. Advisors didn't just evolve, we had to adapt.

Michael Doherty [00:05:13]:
Right.

Michael Doherty [00:05:14]:
We became researchers, educators, marketers, and in some points, you know, psychologists to clients. Right. Talking them off the ledge. And you know, to present day, you know, we're more of, I would say strategy.

Michael Doherty [00:05:30]:
Right.

Michael Doherty [00:05:31]:
We're not just the customer rep anymore. We're, you know, we're managing again, digital vehicle inspections, adas, system explanations, we're doing scheduling optimization. Yes, still CSI scores. I think that holds true. Probably more for service advisors are in dealership roles, but I know some independents have things that track that as well, customer satisfaction.

Michael Doherty [00:05:56]:
Right.

Michael Doherty [00:05:56]:
And I think we can boil that down to Google reviews. Right. And pairing that Google review with the service advisor that had that client manufacturer recalls, warranty claims and more important, you know, selling ethically. Right. That's, that's one thing that we always should be doing is selling ethically. And again, you know, doing all that right before probably mid, mid morning in our day. But again, just kind of like an evolution of the service advisor. You know, how do we, how do we Start out and where are we currently in this ever changing again automotive landscape.

Michael Doherty [00:06:32]:
But you know, I think too, you know, the future, right. What does that look like for us? Because I know there's a lot of AI tools and you know, don't, don't be scared about them. I mean they're here to help us, right? I mean there's always, I feel, going to be a touch point, right, between customer service, which is service advisor and client, right. We can use those AI tools to better our jobs, right. So one thing that's really helped me as a service advisor is getting information back from a technician that I would say maybe, you know, for a better word, his or her write up from a technician standpoint was very shorthand and you know, they're in the middle of doing a job. So I can take that shorthand, put it into an AI platform and kind of get a better, right. A better explanation that I can copy and paste and put in for the client on that particular job, right. Could be a check engine light code, a P code could be again, explanation of, you know, brake fluid.

Michael Doherty [00:07:34]:
Why is that important to change out every two years based on moisture content, accrual cabin filters, air filters, again, anything that, you know, we can save these things in Google Docs, right. And we can just basically take that information and again put it in the work order that it pertains to and get it to the client in a quicker, more transparent way these days. So again, AI is really helping us, I think change the landscape of how we do things and freeing up more time for us honestly to deal and help clients. And that's really important.

Michael Doherty [00:08:07]:
Right.

Michael Doherty [00:08:08]:
Again, the work that goes into it is equally as important. But if we can reduce our typing and I wouldn't say communication, but just the explanation part of it and get that out to the client or customer quicker and spend really more time connecting with them and building that experience. I think that's, that's wonderful. So again, AI tools are really going to help us out. But again, you know, where are we headed this, you know, the future of service advisors. And so again, you know, the next generation, if you would, but communication tech, you know, again, AI implementations, electric iFication, right. You know, EV service workflow, battery diagnostics, transparency tools, right. Digital vehicle inspections, videos, real time status tracking.

Michael Doherty [00:08:55]:
And I think again with DVIs, they've been around for a little while now. I know a lot of shops still aren't using them and I'm not going to say shame on you, but you know, as a service advisor, again, it's a great tool for you for explanation to a customer or a client to break things down. Because again, they're seeing pictures of their own vehicle. I mean it really resonates. And you saying, hey, you know, your brake line is cracked in their head, you know, they might just think, okay, it's cracked, it's not that bad. But that picture is showing like the sheathing, right? The sheathing around that brake line, you know, just unraveling and maybe sweating a little bit of fluid.

Michael Doherty [00:09:31]:
Right.

Michael Doherty [00:09:31]:
I mean that's, that's a dangerous thing. So we want to again use pictures, use DVIs, not only to help us explain to the client, but to give clarity and show the client transparency and that we're being honest with them. Right. Again, building that, building that trust, building that relationship. Soft skills, right. Emails, empathy, conflict resolution, I hate to say it, negotiation, right. Maybe not on price point, but you know, I'm sure everybody's gotten the phone call from a client that hey, they want to drop off a vehicle, they say they can leave it with you, they're not in a rush, you do the best you can to work it in, accommodate them and like, you know, a day later, not that you've forgotten about them because you've obviously didn't judge update them, but they drop the bomb and say, hey, by the way, we're going to be leaving out of town tomorrow at 2 o' clock and we really need the vehicle back. You know, and you kind of go and wait a minute, we never talked about this.

Michael Doherty [00:10:24]:
You know, how do you negotiate that, right? How do you explain in a professional manner that you know that's not possible and had you known about that, you may have given a better realistic expectation to them and by all means, right, don't stop the production line. But if they've been a great client, they've been a repeat client, they've been a loyal client, client. Talk to the team, have a meeting, see what you can do to get them in and, and while it's there and figure it out and right. Deliver, deliver, right. Deliver satisfaction to them if you can. But also, you know where we're headed, sales, right. There's so many seminars, training again, you know, find somebody that's like minded and that has more experience than you as a service advisor. And listen to them, right? Listen to them.

Michael Doherty [00:11:18]:
Let them be a coach, come out to events.

Michael Doherty [00:11:22]:
Right.

Michael Doherty [00:11:23]:
The ASTA Expo is going to be happening this September in Raleigh, North Carolina. That's an automotive service and tire alliance. Fantastic show. I will be there representing shop Marketing Pros and also teaching a class with Haley, which is a coworker of mine at Shop Marketing Pros. She's our coo and we're going to be doing a class talking about local service ads. Google local service ads because that has been a hot topic with a lot of shops lately. So looking forward to that teaching class and just a variety of classes are going to be there. But again, if you've never been to the ASTA event in Raleigh, North Carolina and you're on the east coast, please, please, please carve out some time on your calendar to come to that.

Michael Doherty [00:12:14]:
It's going to be fantastic. Very, very, you know, deep rooted involvement in the community for automotive and you know, Lucas Underwood, fantastic gentleman who has a Shop Eleanor performance in North Carolina, is really passionate about the show in particular, as he has said it, it's the show that, it's the event that kind of changed his life because he was ready to give up. He was ready to give up as a shop owner, as a technician. And you know, he went to this event and it totally kind of changed his trajectory and his thought process and his shop, you know, he's doing fantastic. Him, David Roman, the team in general, right. The change in the industry, podcast team. But again, the ASTA Expo in Raleigh, whether you're a service advisor, a shop owner, a technician, I implore you, you know, come out to that. It's going to be fantastic and stop by and say hi.

Michael Doherty [00:13:15]:
Right.

Michael Doherty [00:13:16]:
But in any event, again, Service Advisor Nation just want to kind of give a scope of, you know, again, kind of how we started and where we are and where we're going. And I think there's definitely, you know, outlets right. To again for teachings for service advisors. There is podcasts.

Michael Doherty [00:13:37]:
Hello.

Michael Doherty [00:13:38]:
Great. We're doing podcasts about it. But you know, having a, having a more tight knit community.

Michael Doherty [00:13:42]:
Right.

Michael Doherty [00:13:42]:
Because we all kind of go through the same things. It's daily client interaction, it's managing expectations, it's, you know, not taking things personally with clients and again, just, just knowledge in general.

Michael Doherty [00:13:56]:
Right.

Michael Doherty [00:13:57]:
I mean, I don't know everything. I mean, I'm sure there's more for me to learn as well and I want to, and you guys can help me do that. So, you know, chime in, drop a line, you know, mention something in the comments. We'd love to hear from you. But Service Advisor Nation, thank you so much for letting me do another episode of the autofix Advisor cast for you and look forward to doing many more. And I hope you have a fantastic rest of your week. Keep those base full and until next time. All right, bye.

Michael Doherty [00:14:25]:
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 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.

Michael Doherty [00:14:46]:
Advisors love their jobs again.

Michael Doherty [00:14:48]:
See you on the next Autofix Advisor Cast.