This is the Aftermarket Radio Network.Hey everybody, Carm Capriato, Remarkable Results Radio and another Town Hall Academy.So happy we're at 400 plus.
These are these single subject forums that we started, God, maybe five years ago or something like that.Well, if we're in episode 400, do the math. Hey, so glad you're here.
I appreciate you're loyal to the podcast as we constantly work to advance the aftermarket.I want to remind everyone, I've got this great poster on my website.It's on my downloads page.
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Start seeing results today.It's a great, great company and a great product.Join your peers at todaysclass.com. Wow, we're going to talk about workflow.
Trust me, this team here is more than qualified to help you move in a better direction when it comes to workflow or come up with some really great ideas and tweak what you're currently doing.
With me is Gerald Martin from Martin's Auto Service in Anna, Illinois.Hello, Gerald.Thanks for having us. Good to see you, man.Yeah, thanks for being here.Jimmy Bearden, General Manager, Christian Brothers in Glendale, Arizona.Hey, Jimmy.
How you doing?Great to be here.Thanks for being here.George Reynolds from Stress-Free Auto Care.Hey, George.Hey, Carm.Happy to be here.Thanks, man.Hey, so give me a count.How many stores do we have now as of today?Got 19.
16 in California, three in Texas.You guys are building up Texas, right?
Absolutely.That's the focus right now.We've got a real opportunity over here.
How much fun is that?Oh my.And talk about a company with 19 locations that can tell us a little bit about workflow.And also with me is Bill DeBoer's, Bill DeBoer's auto from Hamburg, New Jersey.I've been to your place, Bill.
I tell you, I got this incredible tour.If anyone has ever seen the video of us skydiving, me and Tracy, it happened in the County Sussex that his shop is in.Right after the tour of your place, we were jumping from 15,000 feet.I think it was.
My safe air space to drop into.
It was one of the best times of my entire life.I saw so much good stuff going on at your place.I'm sure you got a lot to bring us.Well, look, I have this level of curiosity about who stages the work inside the business.Is it the service advisor?
Is it the dispatcher?Is it the shop manager? How much digital are we using?Screens and or communication tools and texting and software.And if we concentrate on workflow, can we create the best client service experience anywhere?
And why is workflow management critical in growing a great business?How about those as interesting curiosities from me? Let's start with George Reynolds.George, is this going to make us the best customer service experience around better workflow?
Well, you know, I mean, that's the goal.I mean, it's imperative.And and over here at Stress-Free AutoCare, we've managed to pull off a completely paperless environment.It is completely digital.And that's the way of the future.
And we're very technology based.So none of this works without AutoFlow being dialed in and integrated.Right.I mean, it touches every aspect
of our business from the customer, obviously the interface with the service advisor going to the service manager or the GM and then back into the shop.
So if our communication, our process isn't dialed in, what's going to happen is is a fragmented choppy experience and it's going to result in low customer satisfaction, low retention.
You talk about this in your huddles every day?
Every day.Because it's one of those things.I mean, it's our business is a lot repetitive, but it's very much like Groundhog Day, right?The day that you don't bring it up is the day that doesn't get done.And everybody knows that.
How many jobs do you do twice every day?I mean, as far as there isn't a job that comes in or a solution for a customer that seems to be similar.
So you're right about it doesn't repeat like Groundhog Day as much as all the jobs are different and some of them require different think.
They are different, but the process and the execution has to be consistent.
Truly, that's the thing that we're talking about today.So let's jump into the role of the service advisor.Anyone wants to start about how critical that is?
As far as our service riders are concerned, man, We went through a couple of periods where, again, we thought, hey, get this, get us more productive, whatnot.We thought it was in the shop.
And then we got to a point where business got going so quickly.We quickly realized, man, if the service advisors aren't asking the right questions on intake, aren't opening a conversation right at the front counter with the customer,
And it makes our job and the shop's job that much harder to then connect on a secondary basis.If we can connect with the customer right at the counter, ask the important questions as to why the vehicle's here.
Maybe, hey, are you seeing the leak on the ground?If it's in here for a leak, are you smelling anything?Are you noticing a drive different?If we can ask those questions at the front, we notice our workflow get
Let's say 10% easier just because now the technician wasn't having to stop, come up and ask, hey, what's going on with this car?What were their complaints?What were they seeing?
So I would say a huge portion of that is the intake on the service rider side. If you want your workflow to go, get that going sooner than later.
Is a written down set of key questions a piece of this or are you just relying on the SA, their service writer, just to know what to do?
So we did rely on the service writer.It's similar to what George said, hey, Groundhog's Day every day.And every day we're still getting the questions, hey, what's going on?So we cheated a little bit.We had canned jobs in our system.
We use Techmetric and actually we made a can job for everything a customer can come in for.If it's AC, if it's a leak, if it's an overheating, if it's a check engine light, there's just four or five quick questions to each one of those.
So the service advisor drops that can job onto there and opens it up. How long has your light been on, sir?Is the vehicle running any different?When did that light come on?Are you smelling anything?
So just really basic on the, I would say on the surface level questions, but guess what, when it gets back to the technician and he sees what's going on, And then he has a small amount of feedback on those quick questions.
He's able to navigate it just a little bit better and get us answers a little bit quicker.
Gerald, I believe you're all over that.
I wish I could say that we were.One of the challenges that we face is Sometimes, the service advisor, I really feel like they're doing their best to interview the client and to ask those questions.
And even so, we can have a technician that has perhaps an hour of testing sunk into a vehicle and the technician starts asking questions, the service advisor makes a call back to the customer and then
the customer says, oh, I forgot to tell you that it only happens on days when it's raining outside, or I only hear it first thing in the morning, or there's a particular intersection where I make a turn going up a hill, and that's when I hear the noise.
I feel like if there's a way to get all of that information up front, we haven't found it yet.That's why I'm here.I feel like we're in grade school here and probably some other operators have got this one nailed down better than what we do.
But it is a problem and a challenge for us to get that information up front that saves us time for sure.
Do you find technicians wanting to speak to the customer to clarify what maybe the service writer didn't get?
We don't know.In our shop environment, it really isn't a technician's responsibility to communicate with the customer.
If the service advisor did not get the information that they're responsible to collect in the first place, it really needs to go back through them to establish that communication channel being what it needs to be.
Makes all kinds of sense.They each have their own roles and their jobs.
I remember hearing a great story about the fact the guy drove up the hill to get a hot dog like once a month and the car acted funny, but no one found out that he was driving uphill.
He just was going to get a hot dog and he blamed it on the hot dog shop and how and where he parked. And it ended up becoming a problem with the angle of the car.And so to your point, it's like, where were you?What was the place?
You know, what was the road like?And so those kinds of questions, sometimes you have to go really deep.Bill, I'm sure this has all happened to you.
Oh, yeah.We've been doing this quite some time here, and I've learned a few lessons along the way. One of the things that we do, we've had for years is our intake forms.As a ski patroller, I was trained in medical and that sort of stuff.
And I kind of took those principles that we use for intake, for an assessing, you know, doing a rapid assessment on a patient and then going into it and kind of built those into our forms so that we're getting the most critical information up front.
This past year, we switched scheduling programs.So we had four intake forms.We had a first-time visit form, a break form, engine performance form, and a noise, harshness, vibration form.
And those latter three, we were able to combine and put into our new scheduling software.So now that lessen the workload on our service advisors, so that we still get all that information for the technicians up front.It's a lot more streamlined.
All the service advisors have to get is that first time visit form.Getting that pertinent history on the vehicle, if we've never seen the vehicle before, kind of want to know where it's been, what it's seen, kind of the thing.
And that goes a long way for setting up the workflow the right way. From there, we can take, obviously that's at the end of the call.
The customer, the night before their vehicle is scheduled to come in, we will actually, the service advisors all go in and build our tickets.
So if it's got an oil chain building out the can job, they're putting the right oil, putting the right filters on there, sending them off to the customer for pre-authorizations that when those keys hit our box or they're hitting the counter, we are ready to go.
We've got all the information collected. The techs have all the information they need on the vehicle, and they can get right to work on it.
Bill, I was so impressed with your clocks.Can you tell us about them?
So we're a paperless setup, too.We use shopware, but we run a traditional board where it's four by eight, and every vehicle has its own tag.We nicknamed it D-Board, on a play with our last name.So D-Board is the boss at Devorah's Auto.
You know, we run everything through that. So yeah, the clocks are for the waiters.We set timers 15 minutes after the vehicle's been checked in from the customer.
The timer's going off and the service advisor is checking with the technician to see what the status is on that vehicle.
And by the second 15 minute block, we want to be with the customer at the car presenting what our findings are and having a game plan for them.
How many waiters?We see about 30 waiters a week.Really?I'll bet you everyone on the panel is going to say, really?What do you all think, George?What's going on?How many waiters?
Yeah, I mean, it all depends.But overall, you know, I would say it's at least half.
So there are a considerable amount of waiters over here and the way our workflow is, it's imperative that we get that the DVI, the digital visual inspection within 15 minutes and before we start work.So that's just one part of the process.
But case in point, if you've got an oil change customer and they're waiting and you're 45 minutes in and the keys come up front and you're trying to discuss the results of the DVI, What are the odds that you're going to make a sale there?
Slim to none, right?So it's imperative that we maximize our efficiencies and make sure that certain processes are completed.
You know, and the DVI is crucial and the DVI gets done before any work is started so that we are talking about the DVI while the oil change is being done in the back.
And therefore, if there are any additional services that the customer decides to purchase, they make them right then and there and it doesn't interrupt the flow of work in the shop.
You know what I find so interesting?We're already 16 minutes into this episode.Where did it go?So if you think about those 15 minute time chunks, Bill and everyone else, it's like, it's a snap.
And I love the idea that even though maybe internally I say, Mrs. Smith is here.We've got to keep top of mind and the phone rings stuff is it's so tough today.It's like fire hose that we do and we live with.
I think it's a phenomenal idea for a waiter so that you don't undersell or oversell and you never forget about them.
Well, the other thing for us too, Carm, too, right?So we're here to help people live life uninterrupted.
So if we can get to them within a half hour, we find whatever is going on in their vehicle, we can quickly get them into one of our loaner cars or off in a Uber or Lyft and get them on with their day and we can take care of the car.
White Glove Service.Jimmy, you were going to say something.
When you're talking about you have 30 waiters a week, are those mainly oil changes?Are those any customers?And do you have a dedicated loop rack or loop technician for that?
We've got an interesting setup, right?We're an independent.We can do what we want.We have two buildings as CARM has seen.Our older building, we run three pre-apprentice GS type techs in there.Our apprentice is in there as well.
all working under the foreman, and they're called our discovery team.In our new building, we have a production team, so everybody starts out next door, going through the discovery team.
Those guys will do the DVIs, they'll do the estimates, and then the service advisors will present the work off of that to the customer.
Once the work is sold, parts are ordered, or if it's an advanced, you know, if it's an inch performance diag or, you know, something more advanced, it'll come over here to a production tech to handle the rest of that piece of it.
So that's pretty much how we handle it at our shop.
So we have a single shop, we have 10 bays, and I do have a dedicated loop tech.Again, when you guys were talking, I was like, man, I don't see how they pull off the 30 waiters.
Think about the competitive challenges to all of the national chains that are talking about quick everything today and to allow someone to continue to have a strong relationship with you and at least come to you for the maintenance work, and you also want the heavy work, the maintenance work,
It's supposed to be done fast, isn't it?Oh my God, in and out, in and out laundry.So I see why you're paying attention to that because it is a competitive advantage in the mind of the customer.
Yes, certainly.So we run about 150 cars through the 10 days per week.We do turn cars out, but we kind of have a, with our service writers up front, Hey, if we can get them home, let's get them home.We have,
shuttle drivers, we have a lot of aspects or avenues to make that happen.Our ARO is way up there for the business.
So we know if we have someone waiting in the front, our success rate as far as selling them what they need kind of goes down a little bit.Yes, you're going to have that success and you're going to have some
stuff that happens and people anticipating getting work done, but we just feel we have a greater advantage.
If we can get the customer home comfortable, let them know that we're taking care of them, let them know it's going to get back to them today or worst case scenario tomorrow, right at the front counter.We feel that our success rate goes way up there.
I couldn't tell you what our waiter success rate is, but man, I can tell you if we can get a customer just to have confidence, leave it with us and let us do our job.We have a lot better success when it comes to that.So
I'm sure Bill does a great job with those waiters.I just, I had to pause it and kind of know the situation because again, like you said, every shop is different.Every shop runs a different way.
We have a lot of great shops out there and everyone kind of skins a cat different.And I'm as curious as anybody else, curious as our listeners that, hey, how do things get done at these shops?
Gerald, I know you guys use loaners as part of a good, efficient workflow.
Yeah, we do.Well, I'll start with a question here, maybe.How many loaner cars does a shop need?Any shop who has loaner cars already knows the answer to that question.The answer is one more.You always need one more loaner car than what you have.
And so we've gone from two loaner cars to three to four to five, which is where we are right now.And that's been pretty comfortable.So loaner cars, They're good for us because with loaner cars, time pressure can be removed.
And there's a benefit there.We can get that customer that's stranded or that was waiting on a service and found out that they had vehicle issues that they weren't aware of.We can get them back in wheels, get their lifestyle put back together again.
However, the same thing that's such a big help to us actually becomes a liability too.And I'm really curious if the rest of you that run loaner cars have run into this.
But the liability with loaner cars is that loaner cars remove the sense of urgency, because now that person has a vehicle, they're no longer waiting.And so if we get
For instance a new breakdown comes into the shop someone else is a disabled vehicle perhaps we don't have another loaner car to send out a lot of times again this is speaking to an issue a real life issue that we have we kind of leverage those loaner cars and
Maybe even prioritize the people who don't have a loaner vehicle because we know that they're stuck, they don't have transportation.
We realize that the person who we've given a loaner car to, we can probably push back a little bit because we've provided transportation for them.
This is perhaps especially true when the shop is short-staffed, which is the case for many of us probably in the industry right now.
And I'm really curious if any of the rest of you who run our cars have this problem or if it's something that is unique to our operation.
We require everybody to bring the vehicle back within 24 hours of the repairs being done.Otherwise, they get hit with all the charges retroactively on the vehicle.And that usually entices them to come in sooner.
The other thing that we do as well is we charge anytime a loaner vehicle is out, it gets billed out on the ticket. So it goes to the GP that affects the service advisors pay.
So that goes a long way for motivating them to stay on top of their vehicles to bring them back in as well.
That's a really strong idea there, Bill, especially the part about linking the time a loaner car is out, which is a real factor, right?That's part of the cost of that repair.And so very, very interesting idea there.
That certainly would incentivize an advisor to make sure that that loaner car is not away for more days than what it needs to be.It would help to level that playing field, wouldn't it?
You know, I think anybody that's had loaner cars has a story or two, but, you know, it kind of helps
mitigate the risk of somebody needing a nice car to go to their cousin's wedding three states over for the weekend, and their vehicle's not going to make it there.So, kind of self-pleases itself a little bit.
You know, the loaner cars that we have, no charge to the consumer, but we do back that up with storage fees.
So, you know, if the vehicle is completed, the customer is notified, they do have an incentive to come back, because otherwise, if the vehicle is complete sitting on the lot, then then they may incur some storage fees.
So with us, typically, we don't really have issues with getting that loaner car back.So overall, it's fairly efficient.Plus, with our workflow, we have two-way texting, so they know for sure the minute that that repair is complete on that vehicle.
And we don't really have issues with those vehicles staying out for an extended period of time.
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A couple of things I want you all to chime in on is the communications challenge or piece.And from front of shop to back of shop, I just hear so many people work so hard at this.I'm sure you guys are all in the deep thicket of it.
Let's go around the room.I want everyone to chime in.Give us a great idea. that you're using internally to keep communications as high and as strong as it can be.Maybe you're using tools, maybe it's the daily huddle, maybe it's an afternoon huddle.
Tell us about the value and the power of communication in this whole workflow.George, I'll start with you.
Kind of what I just alluded to, all of our technicians, our teammates have iPads in the shop, and that's how we do our DVIs and everything, but as well,
we have the texting feature where we can do two-way texting between the technician and the advisor, or we can loop in the customer as well.All of that, the whole basis for our business model is transparency.
When it comes to efficiently working the vehicle through our processes, communication is the number one priority.If we're not communicating, liaising with the customer,
and the technicians not updating us through either their tablet or obviously just the basic verbal communication, it doesn't get done.None of this works without that.
Now, technically, the way that we're set up, as far as verbal communication goes, none of it needs to happen technically, right?We can do everything.
over texting, let the customer know what status of repair the vehicle is in, let them know when the vehicle is repaired, we can do text to pay, we can update the customer, and we can also talk about the results of the DVI.
But nothing will ever replace the basics of communication, which is the power of the phone, right?Picking up the phone and literally walking the customer through the results of a DVI and the inspection process, because again,
Although we're getting very close to it with the post-COVID world where we don't really technically need to pick up the phone and we have the technology that supports that, nothing takes the place of walking the customer through a plan and the results of an inspection so that they have a clear picture
of exactly what's going on based on the comprehensive front bumper to back bumper inspection that we do, right?Because otherwise, you know, we've had cases where, you know, the customer is like, well, maybe I should sell my car, right?
And it's like, no, no, no, no, wait, hold on for a second. Let's talk about this plan and let's work together on how the repair process will go because we use red, yellow, green when it comes to the issues, right?
And so what we want is the customer to have a solid understanding of what we need to do today.
right and what the yellow items what is not necessarily critical but at any given point in time throughout the process whether it's today or next oil change they can elect to get that done as well and then also things on the horizon right way down the road or improved performance issues or
scheduled maintenance issues, but it's just absolutely imperative that we never forget the importance of picking up the phone.Critical piece.
So otherwise, of course, we get a lot of confusion and, you know, the case in point with the one customer, should I sell my car?Absolutely not.
I want you to put as many miles on this vehicle as you'd like to, and we'd like to be the company that helps you do that.
How many people say when they get a $3,000 bill, do they say, I'm going to sell my car?Is it 60%?
Well, you know, I bring that up because it was a live case just from a few weeks ago and this was a regular customer.He had a 20 year old Lexus and you know, he came in typical, uh, in Texas, AC blows warm. OK, great.Right.We do the basic checkout.
We do a DVI and boom, there goes the inspection right behind it.There goes the estimate.In this case, you know, there was a mistake.Right.We didn't we didn't follow that up with communication, just a simple phone call.
And so the customer happened to be in the area and he came in and he said, hey, guys, I love you and everything.You guys are great.But, you know, this is my wife's car and maybe I should sell it. And it's like, oh my word.And I happened to be there.
And then I peeked around, and I looked at the inspection, and I looked at the initial concern.And I said, let's break this down.And we went through that process.So our job is to ultimately provide a comprehensive inspection.
But it's not to put any kind of fear or trepidation in that person about their vehicle, because the average age of our vehicles is about 120,000 miles.So if you don't back that inspection up,
was just some basic communication part of our workflow, then you're not going to get any kind of additional sales.
As a matter of fact, the customer is not going to feel comfortable about their experience, and they're likely to give you a negative review on Google or Yelp.So imperative that that is done.
you know, but it is very frequent, you know, because the age of our vehicles that the vehicles, you may see a $3,000 estimator, you may see something like that in that ballpark.
So if we don't communicate that piece, and they don't get that information, and we're not walking them through exactly what is needed on their vehicle, then of course, we get, you know, oh, my word, it's a sticker shot.
So it's imperative that we inform the customer and guide them through our process.
Got it, perfect.Gerald, communications.
Yeah, always work to be done on this one, right?
So what George was just speaking about, I realize that execution is a large part of this and we haven't done a perfect job, but it would certainly be my preference if, I would say almost every case, if the client would get a quick phone call from a service advisor before that digital inspection report is sent, and maybe even send it while they're on the phone, something like,
I am circling back to you with that inspection report that we discussed earlier, and I want to share it with you, but I just want to reassure you that overall your vehicle's in great condition, and there are some things that need help.
We found some problems, but I'm going to walk you through it to where it all makes sense, okay?I don't want you to panic, because that's what they're going to do.If you send them that report that shows so much wrong with the vehicle,
what's the first thing they're going to do?They're going to go to Google, they're going to go to YouTube, they're going to go to their brother-in-law who is not qualified to provide an opinion on what the vehicle needs.
And by the time you get to them 20 or 30 minutes later, you've just created an enormous obstacle to work your way through, right?
So I think part of it is really making sure that that client doesn't have a lot of time with that inspection without providing some guidance with it, if that makes sense.
And then to the other parts of the question about communication between the front of the shop and the back of the shop. We use an internal instant messaging system.
The one we use is a self-hosted one called Zulip, but it's very similar to Slack in how it works.And we have a channel for each technician's jobs on that messaging platform.
And then we subscribe those to the technician and to the service advisor team and also the rest of the company management can see what's happening there too.
That way there's visibility if a technician asks a question about a job, a number of different eyes are going to see it and make sure that something happens.That's running all the time on everyone's computer and phone.
It's hard to imagine operating without something like that for taking care of those one-off questions.But beyond that, I think there's a place for a digital phone system with perhaps extensions for each technician.
We're probably used to doing that for our service advisors.
We've recently done some shop expansion, which isn't fully finished yet, but I do envision making sure that eventually each one of our technicians also has an extension on the phone system, whether it's a virtual digital extension or whatever, so that they can quickly call an advisor, perhaps.
I love the idea of the technician asking the advisor to come and look around the vehicle just so that they can understand and speak with conviction where that advisor can say, yes, I saw it myself.This is exactly what's going on.
You know, your water pump bearing failed and it destroyed your belt.And yeah, this is what it takes to fix it.There's never going to be a replacement for that personal touch, that one on one communication.So there's a place for texting.
There's a place for instant messaging.I think that to whatever extent we can keep the human factor in it, our communication is going to be more authentic.
Good stuff there.Thank you so much.Bill, how about you?Communication?
Well, I prefer to try to keep everything written and documented as much as possible.So nonverbal communication is key for us at Devores.
You know, as far as customer outward stuff, as soon as we finish estimating, we'll text or email them our findings.And then we set the timer and we call the customer within 10 minutes to make sure that we have that verbal communication with them.
Internally, what we do is we're Google Workspace users.So anything internal, we use the Google chat functions.We have back of the house, front of the house channels.We got a parts channel.
And we try to keep everything non-verbal and tracked in there.But then we do have these little things that come in handy for looking for a part on this or that, and somebody can run a part over to somebody.
Is it important, Bill, that you have that little communications device?What does Star Trek call them?Walkie-talkie?I don't know.Communicator, right?It's a communicator.Is it because you have two different buildings?
You're right on the opposite corners of the same side of the street, but is that why you have them?
Yeah, but it actually started in the first building first, to be honest with you, just to try to keep technicians in their stalls.You know, we don't want them coming out of their stalls if they just have a quick, stupid question that needs answered.
They can pick this up, have the answer and keep on working.You know, time is money.
Do you agree with Gerald?Gerald said that he's going to make a phone call to the client and then send the vehicle inspection.You seem to send it first, then call them.What would be the standard here? Or is there is no standard?There is none.Yeah.
I don't know if there is a standard.We've tried it a couple different ways.Usually if you send it to people, they know it's coming or they can look at it.Ten minutes seems to be about the right time for us.
You know, if they need to speak to a decision maker, you know, a spouse or something, usually that's enough time for them to get together.
Some people are trained with us, we've been on Shopware since 2018, they know, they open it up, click yes, yes, yes, and we're off to the races, parts are ordered, we never even have to make a phone call.
We still do just to confirm the work, but, and everybody's different, you know, everybody, you know. As we get into, I just went to a training last week, and they were talking about how we have five generations in the workplace.
It's the first time ever, and that could be said about our customers, too.Five different generations, and they all have different communication styles, so try to meet them where they're at.
Boy, how true is that?How true is that?Jimmy, your take on communication, sir.
It sounds like we do a lot of stuff the same.I'll just chime in.Man, shout out to Mr. O'Neill at Auto Text Me.We use Auto Text Me.And man, that's a great tool.The one thing that we do is when it comes to sending out the digital vehicle inspection,
When we do send it, we never follow it with an estimate.But what AutoTextMe or AutoFlow allows you to do is it allows you to see exactly when that customer opens that said inspection.
So we've trained our guys, hey, when you're going to send these out, Let's keep an eye on it.As soon as it turns green, we know the customer has it open.We give them a couple minutes with it.
But similar to what Gerald was saying, I don't want them to kind of go down their own path.So when we see they open it, we give them a call and we kind of play like we don't know what's going on, for lack of better words.
And we just say, hey, we sent over a digital vehicle inspection.Have you had the opportunity to take a look at it?Well, we already know that it's open right now.We know that they opened it a minute or two ago.
They're going to let us know, yeah, we're going through it right now.We just let them know, hey, if you don't mind, we'd like to go over it with you.Let's walk through these pictures. and make sure we're on the same page.
So 99% of the time, the customer is definitely open to that.So we walk them through each and every picture, each and every video that our technician puts on there.And we kind of, for lack of better words, we steer them the direction we want to go.
similar to what George says, hey, I'm not here to blow you out of the water and have you go trade in your vehicle.I'm not here to blow you out of the water and say, hey, man, I'm just gonna drive this vehicle till it dies.
We're here to work with them and or set up a game plan with them.So if it's something that, hey, my technician may say, you need $5,000 worth of work because we are doing a comprehensive inspection on it.
But if I can break it down and say, hey, Mr. Customer, for $1,800 today, I'm going to get you safe, I'm going to get you on the road.Yes, it does need this other stuff, but we can work towards this.
This is maintenance, this is repair, this is safety, and then we can set up a plan for that customer.So we make it very manageable for the customer, and if it's small bites that the customer needs, then we make it, then we accommodate them there.
But I will just kind of go back and say, hey, anything on the inspection, we tell our customer, I mean, we tell our technicians, anything that you want to sell or is that's needed, We need a picture or a video of it.
There's no oil leaks that go on to our inspection that don't have a picture or video.There's no... check engine like that comes in, that's not, there's no picture or video of what's going on.
So we make it very easy for the customer to understand and for us to explain to them what those pictures in front of them, what's going on with their vehicle.So communication, when it comes to this, I'm all for the verbal.
We never like to leave our customers alone with that inspection and try to decipher it themselves.
A lot of great stuff there.I appreciate this section that we did on communication. Let me jump into some real hardcore tangible I can touch this stuff about workflow and things that can go wrong like Where do the parts go when they come in?
Is there a repair order rack?Who's assigning?If you're paperless, it's one thing.If you're not, then there's pouches or something on that order that can get in the way.Who assigns the technician?
Oh, what about the tool truck that comes in and slows us down?How about somebody having an overextended lunch?Cause they forgot to look at their timer.They were loving that taco so much.And then what about incorrect parts?
And these are all issues that have to do with workflow. So in our remaining, say, 10 minutes here, let's just tear this apart.Pick your favorite topic.Let's talk about it.How about you, Jimmy, again?
I'm going to go with the parts section.So we've been blessed here to have a parts manager.So once the parts are ordered and gets back to the technician, again, when I say blessed, if that strut is incorrect,
my technician isn't going into the office and stopping a sale that's going on with the service writer or he's not stopping that service writer from making a call.
He's able to go to my parts manager and then they're able to take care of it from there.So if you ordered the wrong strut, ordered the wrong axle, it gets headed off there.It gets put, it gets the correct part gets ordered.It gets put on the invoice.
And then we just make it happen.If it's going to be a time frame or a difference, then we'll stop the service advisor, kind of tap them on the shoulder, say, hey, here's what we have going on.Here's what needs to be fixed.
Here's what we're doing for it.And here's the time frame for it.But other than that, we try to leave the service writers alone because, again, we talk about workflow.
We want them to do their jobs, talk to customers, get jobs sold and keep that ball rolling.So we have a kind of a mediator, parts manager that handles the parts that are wrong.
So a 10 bay place, a parts manager, George, in the size of your places, do you have parts managers on staff?
No, we don't.All of our parts vendors are trained, right?They know where to go and where to put the parts and everything like that.And our technicians also are trained as soon as we see that part hit.
we have to get that to the vehicle make sure it's the correct part because too many times what you'll see is technicians working on the vehicle the part sits it's been sitting for several hours and now he finally takes the time to pick up the part and he realizes at 4 30 at the end of the day that the part is incorrect and now we have a deadline and we're unable to meet that deadline so you have to have those processes where those efficiencies are streamlined but
That's critical.The tool truck thing, boy, that's one of those things, how many times you have to go back there and get on that truck and sweep everybody out of that truck.
You know, I also, we communicate with those tool truck guys with a little courtesy and respect because ultimately we're trying to get work done.
And I tell them, you know, at any given time, don't have more than one of my guys in there because sometimes you'll where is everybody, right?It's 10 o'clock and it's not lunchtime, everybody's gone.And you go back there and there's the tool truck.
So, you know, just a little bit of communication on the process and what the expectations are and that pretty well eliminates it.And you let the tool truck guy, if he can't help you manage it, then, well, he can't stop here.That's what we do.
Does the parts person know who the technician or specialist is?Does it put it on a special shelf or is it just only the parts come in on one shelf, George?
We have a show where we've got the major vendors identified.So they know where it needs to go.And then of course, our guys in the shops are very tuned into when that part comes in, you know, where's it going?Who's it from?
And they know to go over there and check it so that we don't have any wasted time.
Yeah, the flow of parts is so critical, so critical to great workflow and promise times, right, Gerald?
Yeah, it really is.And it just seems like we are dealing with more and more issues of product quality and defective part issues too many times aftermarket parts that fit on the vehicle, but don't work the way they're intended to.
I'm sure we all have some horror stories about some of this. My son was replacing an evaporator core in a Toyota Camry on Saturday.
And in that case, we had a new evaporator core here and I was helping him fit it in the evaporator case and realized the box had been dropped and one corner of the new evaporator core was crushed.
And well, who's going to put that in and risk a 10-hour job?So we didn't put that one in, made a trip to a different parts store to pick one up. So yeah, the parts issue is always going to be one of the challenges for efficiency.
One of the other things, Carm, if I can jump in on this, that we have been working at trying to pick up some efficiency on is the amount of time that it takes from the time that the key comes across the front desk until it is in the technician's hands.
We now have a service advisor assistant role or administrative assistant in the office.
And one of his primary responsibilities, along with doing our quality control process, is that when the service advisor receives keys to a vehicle and is doing the write up,
The keys get passed on to the advisor assistant and his responsibility is get those keys tagged, go out to the vehicle where the customer left it, use his iPad and get those four corner walk-up photos to document vehicle condition upon arrival, capture a picture of the VIN tag in the door that has tire size on it, get a picture of the vehicle's dash with it idling in park, make sure we capture any warning lights that are on when it's dropped off,
His responsibility is to get that uploaded to the AutoFlow DVI sheet for that vehicle before it goes to the technician.
And the intention is to try to reduce the amount of time that it takes for a technician doing that, I guess you could call it some of those details or busy work, but it's so important.
But that documentation happens we just don't want a flat rate tech taking their time to do that if somebody else can have it prepped for them so that's one of the areas that that we've been.
Working at trying to pick up a little bit of efficiency i think it's helping. Part of it is just awareness though, a new customer came here, here's a new set of keys, you know, keeping that flow in motion and have a chain of custody of those keys.
You know, misplaced keys can be a tremendous cause of lost time and frustration or even somebody left the keys in the vehicle when
they should be on a certain key rack when they're prepared for attack they should know exactly where to go for those keys and there should be no question where are the keys for the vehicle that's all lost time those are great points Gerald oh my the chain of custody on keys bill so it sounds like something you would implement I'll just touch on a little bit of everybody because we kind of do all the same stuff we got a
Parts manager in a parts room that we handle all the distribution of parts, bringing them in and getting them to the guys.We don't ever get wrong parts after five o'clock.On purpose.Yeah.
And Gerald's point about the QC guy, that person that we've implemented that this past year as well, and that's gone a long way for helping us out.
I'm not so much just on the damage control type items because there's very little issues that we have there but you know checking wheel locks you know i don't want my guys pulling in the vehicle if we don't have the wheel lock so if they go out and we can't find the wheel lock it's going back to the service advisor to find that we lock.
We do a pre and post scan on every vehicle.
So if it comes in, we know exactly what it's lit up for or, you know, where the monitors are for that vehicle, making sure that the advisor has done their job, the right oil filters on the ticket, the oils on the ticket, all the customer notes, the first time visit forms in there.
So a lot of stuff to, you know, because once we get that into the shop, we don't want to have to have the guy cut out for anything.We want to make sure that they're ready to go and they can be successful with what they need to do.
I love the idea of the service advisor assistant, Gerald.That is just a great idea to toss off some of the busy work to your point that the service advisor can move on to some of the more meat.It's great stuff.George, I think you're up next.
Any final words here on our discussion about tool trucks, part flow, all that stuff?
Ultimately, that line of communication has to be in there, has to be in place, and you have to have a free flow of it.But I think we're all touching on a lot of the similar things that we all do.
But regardless of ultimately who's assigned at the end of that repair, the QC is imperative to make sure that we're not missing any of those little things that can create a negative experience for our customers.
That's one of those things, our technicians sign off on it, the advisor reviews it, it's imperative that that final step is done because we want to make sure that everything's buttoned up, there's nothing loose, there's nothing leaking, and the vehicle repairs were finished and finalized and everything's running great.
So that's the most important thing.
I can't even imagine we didn't start off in the beginning of this episode to talk about great team culture and we should have.So we need to do another episode because I think it helps bridge the gap and brings all of this together.
I know we, we talked about some heavy lift stuff, the things that I think that are naturally important in a business to run a great business because Everything that I keep hearing from all of you, which I'm a big fan of, is the client experience.
You wouldn't be working this hard.We wouldn't be sharing this information to advance the industry without understanding that ultimately it's about the client, but it can't happen unless the team culture is right.
We gotta come back and we gotta discuss that or just go to my website, type in culture and start listening to some of those episodes or watching some of them to realize that you really can't put all this stuff together if the culture isn't there.
You just can't, it will not work at all.And you're gonna have attitudes and thunderstorms going on inside the business.You're gonna wonder why it's a sunny day outside but it's kinda rainy inside, which is one of the
Great definitions of culture that I had heard.It's about the weather.So, hey, this was great.I appreciate this.I think we could go on for such a long, long time to make all this happen.
And I really appreciate Gerald Martin being here from Martin's Auto Service in Anna, Illinois.Jimmy Bearden, General Manager, Christian Brothers in Glendale, Arizona.
George Reynolds, Stress-Free Auto Care, 19 locations in California and in Texas and growing.And Bill DeBoers, From DeBoer's Auto in Hamburg, New Jersey with the Countdown Timers.Love them, Bill.Thank you all so much for being here.
Thank you for having me.Thank you.Appreciate it.We'll see you, Hunter.
Thanks for being on board to listen and learn from the premier automotive aftermarket podcast.Until next time.
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