AutoFix AdvisorCast

Michael Doherty [00:00:01]:
This is the Autofix Advisor Cast powered by Worldpack. Welcome to another episode of Autofix Advisor Cast with your host Michael Dougherty, sponsored by WorldPak and the WorldPak Training Institute. WorldPak is your go to source for automotive insights and great parts. Be sure to check out WorldPak.com for the latest in auto parts distribution and WTITraining.com to explore training programs that can take your career to the next level. Stay connected and visit their Facebook page or join the community at the STX Training and Expo by following this group. Also, don't forget to mark your calendars for the World Pack STX August at the Gaylord Inn in Washington, dc. It will be a can't miss event. Service Advisor Nation I watched a movie not too long ago.

Michael Doherty [00:00:59]:
The movie's old. It's called Pulp Fiction and it's a Quentin Tarantino movie. And in that movie there's a scene that I'm not condoning the scene of the movie, but made me think of a service advisor's role. And that scene was if you've seen the movie Pulp Fiction, there's a gentleman that they call and the actor that portrays the person in the movie. The actor's name is Harvey Keitel. And Harvey Keitel plays Winston Wolf. And Winston Wolf is a problem solver. Long story short, in the movie they got into a pickle.

Michael Doherty [00:01:39]:
They didn't know what to do. They didn't know how to handle a particular situation. So they called in the big gun. They called in Winston Wolf, Professional Problem solver and I really feel that as service advisors that is what we do. We're professional problem solvers and other things that we are to our clients and our coworkers are therapists or client advocates. We are on the front lines going to war with extended warranty companies fighting for the maximum to help the client or mediators. All encompassing were who we need to be to build and maintain client relationships. And again, that's why I think we're professional problem solvers.

Michael Doherty [00:02:27]:
We have so much going on on a daily basis that is just information overload, information overload, information overload from clients, co workers, parts, you name it. It's coming at us at rapid speed. And I really feel that we need to and we do. We compress all that information, compile all that information and try to generate the best outcome for the client, the shop that we're working with or for and ourselves. And it's very tough to do. And part of the reason I say professional problem solver is because we're tasked with those things on an everyday basis. It's finding out little things. It's figuring out things to prevent them from becoming bigger things.

Michael Doherty [00:03:16]:
It's solving problems for clients. Right? So I think first and foremost, we are a customer service industry. We're a customer service industry and we do automotive repairs. 99% of what we do is client care and building and maintaining client relationships. And a large part of that is communication. But the other part of the, that I didn't really understand until most recently with the communication aspect is getting into comprehension. And what I mean by that is when you're speaking to a client, when you're talking with a coworker as a service advisor, the comprehension part of the communication that you're having is that person you know, that you're speaking with, are they, you know, understanding what you're talking to them about? And reason I say that is we have a morning meeting at the shop that I work with. And some of the stuff is run of the mill.

Michael Doherty [00:04:20]:
You know, we may talk about, hey, we would like to see the technicians use seat covers more often. We would like to see the technicians use the fender covers that we've purchased that are very nice and protect the client's car. And you know, at 9, 9:30 in the morning, the meeting isn't bad, but the focus there is really just kind of touching on basics and what we're going over for the day. But again, it's comprehension, you know, it's communicating, but with comprehension on both sides. And we've had some client online appointment requests lately where I work. And as part of that, excuse me, I take a drink real quick. And as part of that information that the client fills out, aside from their name, their contact number, their email, you're making models a section for them to describe their concern or concerns to us. And we recently had a client who had an online apartment request for Mercedes.

Michael Doherty [00:05:21]:
And in her online appointment request, she specifically detailed that she wanted her tires to be checked out. This particular client has had habitual issue with loss of air pressure in her tires. Since she has been a client, I want to say, honestly, it's probably been four visits over the past two and a half years with tire issues. And the client didn't specify, but my gut is saying that the holidays are coming up, she wanted to get in for an appointment, have the car checked over. And my gut was saying she wanted it road ready, she wanted it road ready to take a trip. She didn't specify that. But knowing the client pretty well, that's what I felt. But I wasn't the one who made the online appointment request and transferred that information or that communication to the technician on an RO or an invoice to be dispatched.

Michael Doherty [00:06:17]:
It was a co worker. And a large part of the information the client provided us was not transferred to the technician. The day that the vehicle came in, the client had additional concern. She had mentioned that the check engine light came on the morning she drove the vehicle into us and she described it as the car was shaking and wanted to know if we could check that out as well. I told her absolutely I would have the service advisor get in contact with her that morning to give her a price for having it checked out for the check engine light. And we go from there. I kind of lost track of time. I wasn't in the shop at the moment the car was being looked at, but I was test driving another vehicle for a client or a technician that got done with the repair.

Michael Doherty [00:06:59]:
And when I pulled that vehicle back into the shop, I saw that the client was speaking about earlier that had the specific issue about the tires. Her vehicle was up on the service lift and service position. And I asked the technician, because I pulled up right next to him and said, hey, what's going on with the tires? He goes, what do you mean? I said, well, I saw the online appointment request and the client specifically had some questions about the tires. She seemed concerned and he kind of had this blank look on his face. And I said, so you didn't see any indication of that on the ro? And he goes, no. And I said, let me make sure I'm talking about the right one. So we went into my office, looked up the client online appointment request and saw the information about the tires. And we're able to provide some answers to the client at that point.

Michael Doherty [00:07:47]:
But between the client providing the information to us via email from the service advisor, making the RO and sending it back to the technician, again transferred information that information was not on the roof. And that could have been a big issue that could have posed a problem if the client's car was in for a specific concern on top of some other things that we did not assess for her. So when that service writer came back that afternoon from her lunch break, we talked with her about the need to get the information to the technician as far as communication goes. But as far as the comprehension aspect, it was really letting that person know the service advisor, why we needed her to provide that information to the technician. And again, it's comprehension with communication. But most recently, my son, he's got an older BMW. He's got a 2007 525i. And I had been.

Michael Doherty [00:08:52]:
I've been telling him for four months, son, your car needs tires. He works part time, he goes to college part time. I've been asking him to save some money up. He's gonna need tires to be proactive. Probably every two weeks, I'm out in the driveway checking adjust tire pressures. We've had a little bit of cold snap here and there, but Saturday I was out in the driveway checking his tire pressures, and the front tires are actually starting to come apart. I went inside, I said, son, remember we talked about you needing tires four months ago. It's time.

Michael Doherty [00:09:24]:
It's time for tires. So we got on some tires, and while the technician was doing the tires at the shop that I work at, and I really appreciate him doing the modern balancing, he had pointed out to me that two of the wheels look like eggs. They're not round anymore. He said, mike, they're not round. Come check this out. And sure enough, they are. They look like eggs. So I asked him, for the time being, could we please put those egg wheels in the back of the vehicle to minimize vibration.

Michael Doherty [00:09:51]:
But I took pictures and I shared that information with my son via text and spoke about it more when I got home and actually showed him the pictures communicated to him about the importance of watching out for potholes, curb surfing, things of that nature. But again, communication, but comprehension. While I'm talking to him about that, making sure he understands why it's important to avoid those things. And I know it sounds like common sense stuff, it really does. But for somebody that's not really car savvy, coming from a dad who's in the industry, that's a little bit of a challenge getting that information across in a manner that he will understand it, comprehend it. So I feel after having that conversation with him, he had a better sense, a better awareness of what was going on with the vehicle and whatnot. So he took the vehicle, got going down the road, and maybe a half hour later I called him, I said, do you feel a difference with the new tires? And he said, yes. And he said he appreciates it.

Michael Doherty [00:10:49]:
So glad he got the tires, to be honest. He bought two, I bought two. Want to help him out where I can. But again, communication and comprehension of communication. WorldPak has been a great sponsor to us. We also have two other sponsors that are 0.5% of sponsorship. One is Callahan Brake Pads out of Sandusky, Ohio. If you're going to be Placing an order, a bulk order, over $1,000.

Michael Doherty [00:11:17]:
Please ask for Tommy. And also we have a 0.5% sponsorship with Kalco Auto. They manufacture cross drilled brake lines and left handed hammers. So maybe stocking stuffers for, you know, automotive people in your life, family members, friends this coming Christmas. So again, Callahan Brakes and Calico Auto, we appreciate your 0.5% sponsorship and thank you so much. Other things to talk about. This week has been just a interesting week for me, to be totally honest. The company that I work with, that I've been working with for over 15 years, today was my last day with that company, totally amicable, but I decided to take a leap of faith and do some other things but maintain in the automotive realm, in the automotive industry.

Michael Doherty [00:12:15]:
So news updates will be coming out shortly about those, those happenings. But I will be working remote from home. That'll be interesting. I had mentioned to my wife when we made the decision to for me to accept the position that I'm going to be starting on Monday, this coming Monday the 25th, I had mentioned to her that I would be working remote. And she got excited and said that sounds great. And she goes what's involved with that? And I said, well, I'm going to be home more, I'm going to be home a lot more and working upstairs. And in a very jovial, joking manner said, you know, it'll be great. You know, I'll be up here working and maybe around 12, 12:30 I'll send you a text and maybe you'd be so kind to, you know, make me a sandwich.

Michael Doherty [00:12:57]:
And the look I got was the look that could have cut Superman in half. The red eyes, the red beams just cut me in half. So, so I figured I'll probably just get a mini fridge, stock it full of water, non perishables, some uncrustables and lock the door. And that way I can avoid what I think she thinks is going to happen with this remote position. But I'm very excited. I'm still going to be doing the podcast, the Service Advisor podcast. I've been a service advisor for so long and have so much information and want to help people. Really feel touched though.

Michael Doherty [00:13:36]:
One of the technicians that I spoke with today, out in the parking lot as I was kind of wrapping things up, cleaning my office out, whatever, he come up to me and he said, michael, I'm not really a good at explaining my feelings, but I just want to let you know that you are the best service advisor that I've ever worked with. And I Don't. When I heard that, I didn't feel cocky, I felt touched. I felt, wow, I've been able to help this individual and he's worked for some other companies that maybe didn't treat him well or didn't have a good experience working with a service advisor, technician, bond, relationship, whatever. And it's so important to, again, you know, as service advisors, really get to know your technicians that you're working with, really bond with them, you know, just, yeah, sometimes, well at work, when you can, but just get to know them better, you know, on a personal level and what makes them tick, grievances, pet peeves, whatever. But when he said that to me, I just really was floored. And I said, thank you so much. And he said also, he goes, you're one of the nicest human beings I think I've met.

Michael Doherty [00:14:53]:
And I just, again, take that. Just so. Wow, that just made me feel great. So again, being a service advisor, being in the customer service industry and having a coworker, actually a friend, it was a coworker, it's a friend, it's a family member. And even though I'm not going to be working there anymore, I still hold that place in high regard, hold him in high regard. But again, moving forward with other great things, opportunities in my life and the shop that I did work for, I will continue to promote them, market them, try and help them where I can and I really hope that they do well. But again, just excited about the upcoming events and again, more news about that in coming episodes. But tomorrow I actually have a podcast with Chris Cotton who is the owner of Auto Fix and that is going to be a great conversation, a great podcast to tune into.

Michael Doherty [00:15:53]:
Were hoping to do two episodes in one, but I've never done a podcast with him before and he does great coaching coaches all across, all across the country and is very involved with World Pack training as well. So super excited to work with Chris tomorrow on the old laptop and talk about some cool stuff and we'll get some more episodes out. But again, Service Advisor Nation, thank you for your time and communication. Communication with comprehension is very important and I hope you all have a fantastic evening. Thank you so much for tuning in. And this is Michael Dougherty with autofix Advisor Cast. 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, WorldPak and the WorldPak Training Institute, WTI.

Michael Doherty [00:16:45]:
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.