AutoFix AdvisorCast

Michael Doherty [00:00:00]:
This is the autofix Advisor Cast powered by WorldPac. Hey, thanks for tuning in to another episode of the autofix Advisor Cast with.

Michael Doherty [00:00:16]:
Your host, Michael Doherty.

Michael Doherty [00:00:17]:
Hopefully everyone in Service Advisor land is doing well, taking care of one another.

Michael Doherty [00:00:21]:
And keeping those bays full.

Michael Doherty [00:00:24]:
One thing I wanted to talk about to you guys and gals today was comebacks. I hate saying that word, but it's reality, right? I mean, it's going to happen, and it's how we handle it, right? It's how we handle it as professional service advisors to strengthen the client experience.

Michael Doherty [00:00:47]:
And get them to come back.

Michael Doherty [00:00:49]:
Literally to get them to come back after a comeback. How do we do that? So, you know, let's be honest. I mean, again, mistakes happen in our industry, and it's how we bounce back, right? And how we respond and how we make that happen can break trust, retention, and confidence, not only in ourselves at the shop, but in the customer's mind as well. So, you know, let's get down to it. So put some notes together for this one, right? You know, nobody's perfect. Not us, not our technicians. And, you know, nine times out of 10, a lot of these things can.

Michael Doherty [00:01:26]:
Be prevented from just having kind of.

Michael Doherty [00:01:27]:
A checklist, I think, in place, an accountability marker, right? And I've had it happen before. What I mean by that is, hey, I've had a vehicle in the shop for, well, you know, we'll call it brake work, tire work, something along that lines, which is going to involve reinstalling and torquing, lug nuts or lug bolts. And sometimes things like that get missed and it shouldn't, but it happens. Was it intentional?

Michael Doherty [00:01:58]:
No. Was it a mistake? Yes.

Michael Doherty [00:02:00]:
How do we prevent that?

Michael Doherty [00:02:02]:
Right.

Michael Doherty [00:02:02]:
So again, I think having a checklist of things for the technician to check off, and also, again, you know, for service advisors that are also, I will call it tech savvy, if you would, you know, grabbing a torque wrench, going out to the parking lot and just, you know, going around and making sure that everything's good to go.

Michael Doherty [00:02:22]:
Is that overkill?

Michael Doherty [00:02:24]:
Should we have to do that?

Michael Doherty [00:02:25]:
No.

Michael Doherty [00:02:26]:
Should we want to do that?

Michael Doherty [00:02:27]:
Yeah. Because again, we are the ones that.

Michael Doherty [00:02:29]:
Are placing that phone call to the client saying, hey, Mr. Mrs. Jones, you know, your vehicle is ready for pickup.

Michael Doherty [00:02:36]:
And it's good to go.

Michael Doherty [00:02:37]:
You know, you're saying that to them, you know, you're. It's at that point, it's. It's more transactional. You know, you're saying with, you know, full trust of your team backing you.

Michael Doherty [00:02:48]:
That this Car is good to go.

Michael Doherty [00:02:49]:
And you want to know that that is what it is. So again, if you have to, if you're not so sure, go out there and check yourself or come up with a checklist and make sure that the.

Michael Doherty [00:02:58]:
Technician, you know, check those items off for services performed, come up with where.

Michael Doherty [00:03:03]:
That list needs to be, have them.

Michael Doherty [00:03:05]:
Sign it, have them date it.

Michael Doherty [00:03:06]:
Again, it's an accountability marker, Right. But again, more importantly, when that does happen, not just lug nuts and lug bolts, but could be anything, right? Again, mistakes happen.

Michael Doherty [00:03:16]:
It's not intentional.

Michael Doherty [00:03:19]:
But how do we build? How do we, how do we figure that out with a client?

Michael Doherty [00:03:22]:
Right.

Michael Doherty [00:03:22]:
Or what's the right thing to do?

Michael Doherty [00:03:24]:
So I think the first thing is, you know, own it, take ownership. Yes.

Michael Doherty [00:03:29]:
You likely did not work on the.

Michael Doherty [00:03:31]:
Vehicle as a service advisor, right. If you did, if you can you.

Michael Doherty [00:03:34]:
Help the technician, great.

Michael Doherty [00:03:35]:
If he didn't, most of the time that is the case. But again, you know, it's team effort.

Michael Doherty [00:03:41]:
Don't get it in your head or.

Michael Doherty [00:03:43]:
Say to the tech, say to a client, right. With something that happened, that's considered a comeback. Well, you know, you know, the technician did this or the technician didn't do that. No. At that point, you know, it sounds like you're placing blame, right?

Michael Doherty [00:03:57]:
It's a team effort. Pass or fail.

Michael Doherty [00:03:59]:
So taking full accountability, right? You're part of the team. They're part of the team. We, that's where that word comes in. We are taking ownership of this. We messed up. We want to make it right. Don't place blame on one individual. Again, it is a team effort.

Michael Doherty [00:04:16]:
I can't stress that enough. But again, you know, how do we, how do we not ruin our reputation and do it the right way? So here are some things that, you know, kind of go into that, right? So again, take accountability. Be honest, right?

Michael Doherty [00:04:37]:
First and foremost.

Michael Doherty [00:04:38]:
I mean, just be completely honest with them, what happened. And again, take ownership of it. And, you know, we're going to take.

Michael Doherty [00:04:45]:
Care of that for you. We're going to make it right.

Michael Doherty [00:04:47]:
Right.

Michael Doherty [00:04:47]:
Again, no blaming, no dancing. Hey, Mr. And Mrs. Smith, you know, I owe you an apology. Something got missed out on our end and we want to make it right. You know, again, maybe they've been someplace.

Michael Doherty [00:04:58]:
Where they're used to hearing excuses.

Michael Doherty [00:05:00]:
Don't be that shop, don't be that advisor, right? Take accountability. Be transparent, be professional. And, you know, I've had it happen before. So, you know, case in point, suspension work gets done, but the alignment doesn't get performed. Somehow, some way, it was on the work order, something in the system glitched, it's not on the work order anymore. The technician did some work and just kind of going through, you know, the work order and checking off boxes.

Michael Doherty [00:05:28]:
This job was done, that job was done.

Michael Doherty [00:05:30]:
And they're telling us that, hey, it's.

Michael Doherty [00:05:31]:
Good to go, right? And again, we're calling the client with full confidence, hey, your car is ready to pick up and you come to find out the alignment wasn't done.

Michael Doherty [00:05:37]:
Right. You know, how do you bounce back from that? A, again, take accountability. Let the client know that, you know, we made a mistake and we're going.

Michael Doherty [00:05:45]:
To take care of that for you.

Michael Doherty [00:05:46]:
You know, we're going to take care of the alignment for you at no extra charge. And maybe, you know, you could also go to the extent to see, you know, next time the vehicle's in for an oil service, we're going to take.

Michael Doherty [00:05:56]:
Care of that for you.

Michael Doherty [00:05:57]:
You know, again, everybody's got their own policies, but that gesture shows integrity and it costs a lot less than losing a customer.

Michael Doherty [00:06:06]:
Right?

Michael Doherty [00:06:07]:
They're looking for, again, you do to be the professional and part of that job is, you know, taking accountability and being transparent with them. So don't ever make up a story, don't ever blame it on somebody else in the shop. You know, like again, you've got to really take ownership of that experience and.

Michael Doherty [00:06:25]:
Turn it around for them.

Michael Doherty [00:06:26]:
And more importantly, after that instance, you know, don't chicken out and not follow up with them.

Michael Doherty [00:06:34]:
Right?

Michael Doherty [00:06:35]:
You might think that they're upset with you, they're going to be more upset with you if you don't follow up. And I promise you that, again, life lessons, right?

Michael Doherty [00:06:43]:
Lessons learned as a service Advisor for.

Michael Doherty [00:06:45]:
Over 20 plus years on my end. So, you know, call them, email them.

Michael Doherty [00:06:49]:
Text them whatever form of communication they.

Michael Doherty [00:06:52]:
Prefer after that vehicle has left and just don't ghost them, right?

Michael Doherty [00:06:56]:
Follow up.

Michael Doherty [00:06:58]:
And if they've got something to tell you, they're going to tell you it's unavoidable. But again, it could cost you, it.

Michael Doherty [00:07:03]:
Could prevent costing you a bad review, bad word of mouth.

Michael Doherty [00:07:07]:
But again, you know, it depends on.

Michael Doherty [00:07:09]:
The situation and I can remember a.

Michael Doherty [00:07:11]:
Handful of situations at the shop that I work at over the years.

Michael Doherty [00:07:14]:
Nothing was truly a safety thing.

Michael Doherty [00:07:16]:
And you know, I mentioned like the lug nuts not being torqued, were they hand loose? Heck no, nothing like that.

Michael Doherty [00:07:23]:
They just didn't get fully torqued.

Michael Doherty [00:07:26]:
And you know, it's one of those things again, that just kind of happens. But You've got to refine your processes. And that's why it's really super important.

Michael Doherty [00:07:36]:
To have those morning meetings.

Michael Doherty [00:07:39]:
And I think one thing too, speaking of the morning meeting, is, you know, when you're having that go around the shop, implement something new, implement having everybody.

Michael Doherty [00:07:48]:
Coming to the table with a grateful. Hey, John, you go first. What's your grateful for the day?

Michael Doherty [00:07:56]:
John's going to go, what are you talking about?

Michael Doherty [00:07:58]:
What is your grateful for the day? It could be work related, it could be personal related.

Michael Doherty [00:08:02]:
Hey, I'm happy it's Friday. I'm happy that I get to spend Father's Day with my. With my kids this weekend. That's my grateful. All right, cool. You know, that's your personal grateful.

Michael Doherty [00:08:11]:
What's your work grateful.

Michael Doherty [00:08:13]:
You know, John's gonna go, what's going on here, John? We're changing it up.

Michael Doherty [00:08:17]:
We're getting grateful.

Michael Doherty [00:08:18]:
Right?

Michael Doherty [00:08:19]:
Again, it's building your culture. Do a personal grateful, do a work.

Michael Doherty [00:08:23]:
Grateful, and then pass it to the next person.

Michael Doherty [00:08:25]:
And you watch that shop, that shop culture build. Because every day you have that team meeting, that morning meeting, they know whoever's back there in that meeting, that they're going to have to come to the.

Michael Doherty [00:08:35]:
Table with a personal grateful and a work grateful. And not having one or the other.

Michael Doherty [00:08:40]:
Technically is not acceptable.

Michael Doherty [00:08:42]:
There's always something to be grateful for, right?

Michael Doherty [00:08:44]:
Could be your health, could be your finances, could be somebody at the shop, could be a customer coming in a.

Michael Doherty [00:08:51]:
Favorite car that's at the shop that you're working on. Again, something.

Michael Doherty [00:08:54]:
But I really recommend, I really recommend.

Michael Doherty [00:08:57]:
Implementing a personal grateful and a work grateful into those morning meetings for each person that's part of that meeting.

Michael Doherty [00:09:03]:
Give it a shot, see how it goes.

Michael Doherty [00:09:07]:
Again, it's just building better shop culture.

Michael Doherty [00:09:09]:
But going back to a kind of segue a little bit into, you know, again, you know, how do we, how do we handle, you know, comebacks, things like that? And I think it's really, you know, it's. There's no script for it, right? It's, it's. Every situation is different and you have to adapt and adapt quickly. And obviously, if you can catch it.

Michael Doherty [00:09:33]:
Before it's a comeback, great.

Michael Doherty [00:09:35]:
Again, why I mentioned the service advisor, right? You're kind of the last line of defense before you make that phone call to the client. And I've encountered situations before telling that their vehicle's ready for pickup. I've encountered before, hey, you know, we have a battery that's replaced in a vehicle, and you go out to the vehicle and you know, the clock's not set on the dash. The radio, when you turn it on.

Michael Doherty [00:09:57]:
It says radio code.

Michael Doherty [00:10:00]:
Yeah, we're talking about some older vehicles here. The new ones have, you know, IBS system, intelligent battery sensor, so the clock automatically resets. Satellite radio, you know, comes back on. But again, you know, one pet peeve of mine was, you know, not reinitializing windows, Right. What is that? Well, on some of the earlier vehicles, you know, 2000s, between 2000 and, I don't know, 2010, somewhere in there, Audi, Volkswagen, Mercedes, those vehicles, anytime you did window work, you'd have to reinitialize the.

Michael Doherty [00:10:34]:
One touch up, auto down feature.

Michael Doherty [00:10:36]:
So you'd have to put the window all the way down, hold your hand on, on the window switch, count for about five or 10 seconds and then you'd raise it all the way up, hold the window switch another five or ten seconds, and then you'd be able to do auto up and auto down if the vehicle had that. And, you know, I would always go out there to make sure that that was done if that vehicle had that technology. And also I'm checking for, you know, window smudges, fingerprints for interior work that may have been done, window work especially, you know, we need to, you know, keep some cleaners and degreasers on hand with us. And when we're going out to that car to get ending mileage, again, just.

Michael Doherty [00:11:18]:
Do a quick visual scan, right? Is there a grease print on the floor?

Michael Doherty [00:11:21]:
Is there a grease print from a technician's shoe on the carpet that shouldn't be there?

Michael Doherty [00:11:28]:
Is the window clean?

Michael Doherty [00:11:30]:
As the window change, the next oil change, do sticker in the windshield if you're using those cling stickers, right, Just.

Michael Doherty [00:11:36]:
A quick kind of just look around, right? If they had brake work done, right, Again, you know that the wheels were.

Michael Doherty [00:11:43]:
Off, so, you know, are they torqued down properly?

Michael Doherty [00:11:45]:
Again, just checks and balances to prevent comebacks.

Michael Doherty [00:11:48]:
But again, when a comeback happens, it's totally how you handle it. And again, if it's left the building and comes back and it's determined to come back, have a conversation, right, with the technician, not an argument, not a.

Michael Doherty [00:12:05]:
You did this or you did that.

Michael Doherty [00:12:06]:
It becomes a shouting match, it becomes disrespectful, tempers get heated.

Michael Doherty [00:12:11]:
I've been there before.

Michael Doherty [00:12:13]:
It's not how to do it, it's just frustrating because nobody wants that comeback call. And again, until it gets to your shop and you've determined that it's a comeback, don't treat it as such you know, I mean, still take care of the client, be transparent. Hey, we're going to check this out for you. But again, you've got to make that determination if it's a comeback and again.

Michael Doherty [00:12:32]:
Put your heads together, right? It's a team effort.

Michael Doherty [00:12:34]:
Talk collectively, come up with a game plan. And yeah, it's going to be the.

Michael Doherty [00:12:38]:
Service advisor or service manager calling the.

Michael Doherty [00:12:40]:
Client back to, you know, make it right. And I believe it should always be the service advisor because again, you're the one who has built that client experience. And, you know, don't, don't duck out of it.

Michael Doherty [00:12:54]:
It's a learning.

Michael Doherty [00:12:56]:
It's a learning phase.

Michael Doherty [00:12:57]:
It's a growth phase. Sometimes those situations can be uncomfortable.

Michael Doherty [00:13:02]:
But again, you don't have to call them up cold call and spitball it. Like, again, you know, think of a plan of action, right?

Michael Doherty [00:13:10]:
How are we going to handle this?

Michael Doherty [00:13:11]:
How do I want to handle this?

Michael Doherty [00:13:12]:
Kind of role play in your head.

Michael Doherty [00:13:13]:
What you're going to say to the.

Michael Doherty [00:13:15]:
Client before you call them and then make that call, right?

Michael Doherty [00:13:18]:
And what they say is what they're going to tell you. But again, if you handle it with tact, transparency, you're taking ownership of it and you're going to make it right. I don't see them getting upset with you about it. And if they do get upset, it is what it is. But again, it's how you respond.

Michael Doherty [00:13:34]:
I've had to, I've had clients before.

Michael Doherty [00:13:36]:
Get upset, and I'll literally come up with something real quick, you know, oh, my gosh, can I put you on hold real quick and put them on hold and count to maybe 10 seconds.

Michael Doherty [00:13:47]:
15 seconds, get back on the phone.

Michael Doherty [00:13:50]:
And they're probably gonna say, oh, my gosh, what happened? Right. They're now out of their funk, right? Oh, man, I just. Something, something happened real quick in the shop. I just had to go take care of that. But hey, you know, getting back to what we were talking about, right? It just diffuses. It breaks down that, that I won't call it anger phase, but, you know, it's. It's a mindset shift on their end, right? And it's okay to do that sometimes.

Michael Doherty [00:14:09]:
If you get in that situation.

Michael Doherty [00:14:10]:
So again, just. Personal tip, you know, hey, create. Create a sense of urgency and put them on hold real quick. You know, 10, 15 seconds later, get back on the phone, and they're probably not going to be in that funk. They're probably not going to be in that. They're going to be more curious. Hey, what happened is Everything okay and kind of just take it from there. But again.

Michael Doherty [00:14:28]:
Oh, thanks for asking, Mr. Jones. Yeah, everything's okay. So moving forward, here's, here's what's going on with your vehicle. Right. Again, a way to diffuse somebody that's just better word. Kind of taking that out on you with, with self preservation.

Michael Doherty [00:14:41]:
Right.

Michael Doherty [00:14:42]:
For yourself.

Michael Doherty [00:14:42]:
So. But in any event, Service Advisor Nation, thank you again for another episode of.

Michael Doherty [00:14:47]:
The autofix Advisor cast.

Michael Doherty [00:14:48]:
I truly appreciate it. And again, you know, we really are the front lines for interfacing with the customer and we need to be the ones to call them back, especially if there's been a comeback. Don't pass it to somebody else. Yes, it can be uncomfortable sometimes, but that's where the growth happens and getting.

Michael Doherty [00:15:07]:
Outside of your comfort zone is a good thing.

Michael Doherty [00:15:10]:
Did I always want to make those calls? No, but the, the more I had to do that. Actually, let me rephrase that. The more when we did get comebacks.

Michael Doherty [00:15:21]:
I wanted to be the one to.

Michael Doherty [00:15:22]:
Call them back because again, you know.

Michael Doherty [00:15:24]:
They were hearing from me with the good stuff. They need to hear from me about the bad stuff too.

Michael Doherty [00:15:29]:
But it's how you translate it to not make it bad.

Michael Doherty [00:15:33]:
Right.

Michael Doherty [00:15:33]:
So again, get your thought process together before you make that phone call and, you know, handle comebacks head on.

Michael Doherty [00:15:39]:
Right.

Michael Doherty [00:15:40]:
Transparency, honesty. And here's what we're going to do.

Michael Doherty [00:15:43]:
For you, Mr. And Mrs. Jones. We're going to make it right again. If it's really your fault, if it's the shop's fault, if you missed a step, if you need to take care of it, if you need to offer them an additional service just to, you know, make it right, smooth it over again. It's gonna cost you a lot less to do that than losing their business in totality for them coming in for the rest of their vehicles lives with you. So again, you'll think about that, right? Is it worth losing the client over just eating a service if you have to. And the right decision is, yeah, make it right.

Michael Doherty [00:16:18]:
Eat the service, make them happy, they're going to come back. And again, service of Azure Nation, thank you so much for tuning in episode and I hope you have a fantastic week. Keep those base full and keep doing what you're doing. All right, bye.

Michael Doherty [00:16:31]:
Hey, thanks for listening to the auto Fix Advisor cast.

Michael Doherty [00:16:34]:
If you're ready to take your shop.

Michael Doherty [00:16:35]:
To the next level, check out our sponsor WorldPAC and the WorldPAC Training Institute.

Michael Doherty [00:16:40]:
WTI.

Michael Doherty [00:16:41]:
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 [00:16:52]:
Advisors love their jobs again.

Michael Doherty [00:16:54]:
See you on the next autofix Advisor Cast.