The Relationship Corner: Episode 1: I got fired before I was hired!
We already know that the customer relationship is the most important thing to take care of. When we come to work, however, we have more relationships to manage than customer relationships. And sometimes working through those relationships, takes our eye off the ball
But what about the interdepartmental and co-worker relationships we have? What about the standards we are setting for new hires coming into the dealership?
In the relationship corner, we will break it down!
When I was younger, I did not care about my relationships with co-workers in the drive-thru or the cash office, nor did I care about my relationship with departments at all.
New hires got in my way. I was always expected to train them because there was virtually no one to do it at all, let alone in a good way. But the conundrum of that situation was, that I was always the busiest person in the drive-thru so training them was a major interruption in many processes already existing that I had to handle.
I was dispatching all of the work at one point, and handling 60-70 fresh work orders each day, not including my carry-over and problem files that I had to manage. My desk was an air traffic tower basically.
At that time, salespeople were a thorn in my side because they always came racing into the drive-thru with nothing but problems, no solutions, and usually had an issue due to their lack of communication. And of course, when they had an emergency was the exact time we were so backed up in the shop, that fixing their issue, delayed several other customers’ jobs in turn.
Frustrating!
I have worked in some very toxic departments. Luckily for me, I don’t have to stay in them. One time I even got fired because I would not comply with the status quo. The toxicity there was affecting the way the customer was treated and I, being a customer service warrior, would not allow them to suffer because someone did not want to jump to the aid of the customer instead of making them wait.
In this shop, there were only two advisors on the counter each day. At 9 am one day, there was a lineup of customers 8 people deep and my co-worker had his head in an estimate that he was working on. I had helped 3 of the people when I asked if he was available to assist one of the remaining 5 at the counter. He said, “I will as soon as I am done with this quote.”
I looked up into the faces of the customers and all of them were clearly frustrated and confused. So, I took control. I asked them all which ones needed shuttle rides, and only one did, so I had the rest of them put their keys in night drop envelopes and get on their way. I wrote the one that needed a shuttle and got him on his way.
I then started on the ones that had left their keys in envelopes and called them to review the bookings and wrote those as well. At that point, my co-worker was still not done with his quote. And asked for a few of the envelopes to write up. HAHA, not likely sir!
Taking that whole situation to the service manager at the time, I thought there would have at least been a chat about the importance of handling the person in front of you but there was not. Needless to say, the relationships between myself and the staff that was there to start were very tenuous and declined sharply after that.
It only took me two months to get fired. But looking back, I was fired even before I was even hired. The relationship was doomed from the start because the people hiring me did not clearly define my role when I got there.
In that toxic shop, I was headhunted and hired by the new owner and his new fixed-ops director to go to that shop and rehabilitate it. So, they told me. They sat me down and told me that the level of customer service there was very poor and they needed to make changes happen. I was not going there as a manager but as an advocate for change and as a customer service champion.
I butted my head with the dispatcher because she would not expedite the waiters in a timely fashion. Then later, with the service manager, because he would not allow me to give one of my customers that was spending $4500.00 a free loaner car. I still did, but he was not happy about that at all.
In the end, the service manager did not want to deal with the changes that had to happen to deliver great customer service. He was also very new to his post there. He must have been a bit overwhelmed, and there were too many people that he did not want to fight to make it happen. So, it was easier to can the person that was making waves. And I am a wave-making machine for sure! They were the size of tsunamis from some perspectives, I am sure. But when I was hired, I was made to understand that is what they wanted.
Dealing with someone like me, as a new hire is very difficult, especially in the environment I was put. Only service managers with the right pair of handling gloves get it right.
The point of that story was that not all relationships are going to be good so it is important to be clear on your objectives when you hire someone, and it is important to know when to end the relationship as well.
Cue the break-up song music now.
But as a manager with new people being injected into the department, we must make sure the fit is right.
When I got there, there was no support from the management after that as I brought issues to the fixed-ops manager
or the service manager. I was floundering with no backup. So, all I could do was take care of people as best I could with the tools that I had available to me. When I asked for different tools or processes, I got a big fat “DENIED” slap to the face.
If you know that there is going to be a major upheaval when you inject a new staff member, you had better keep yourself accountable for the direction you hired that person for in the first place.
Relationships between new hires and existing staff are very difficult to begin with. No matter what kind of person you hire, some hurdles need to be knocked down if someone cannot clear them by themselves.
If you hire a driving force like myself, the hurdles are different than if you hire someone unsure or nervous by nature. In either case, your goals had better be clear and you better be there to assist them and work through all the hurdles that are going to be there for them as well.
How can we mitigate relationships between new hires and the existing team?
We need to start even BEFORE we hire the new member.
The Service Wolf Pack Hierarchy
As the service manager doing the hiring, it is important to assess the hierarchy of your pack before adding a new person to it. Hopefully, you are the Alpha of the group giving clear direction and enforcing the structure and rules.
It is possible that you are not the Alpha. And that can work if you have a strong second in command and both of you are pointed in the same direction. But you need to be honest with yourself in this respect.
As a manager, I was what I call a passive Alpha. Meaning, that I would outline the clear rules and guidelines and would let the staff run with them. I would watch and observe, guide, and then lay the hammer down when people started straying from my direction.
I like to think of myself as the “Cooler”. If you have ever watched the movie “Roadhouse” with Patrick Swayze you will get what I mean. I gave guidance when those guidelines were not followed and if I had to consistently put someone back on the path after they veered off course, then there were harsher words said. So, I was nice, until it was time “to not be nice.”
You need to think about how the new hire will fit. Do you need a leader in the drive-thru, your Beta out there to take command when you are not able to do so? Someone that takes your rules and guidelines and is the enforcer so to speak. Or do you need someone that takes direction because you already have a strong leader out there? It
is important to remember that in terms of leaders, there can be only one!
Once you make the decision, there are clear things you need to do going forward.
You must give constant support
At most places I start, I am dropped on the counter with not much guidance. For me, it is what I prefer, because I work best and learn faster when I am learning as I go, hands-on and in the moment.
At that toxic shop, I had never used their CRM before so I needed a little run down on how to create a work order and so on but after a few hours I had it figured out for the most part. But that does not work for everyone. It is important to figure out how much side-by-side guidance someone needs before leaving them at the counter on their own.
This way, you can also assess if they are as good in person as they looked on their resume. Not many managers have that kind of time though. So usually, the new hire ends up fending for themselves.
It is important to have support available to the new hire. That is partially why we created this company in the first place. Not many managers have the time available that is needed to properly train and support a new hire. Especially if they have never been in automotive before. So a smooth staff integration is important if you want to minimize the drama.
Make sure there are clear rules and guidelines
Rules are very important for new people. They give the framework of how we expect people to proceed when dealing with adversity in the service department.
For example: If you hire me and tell me there is a rule in place, and later, I find that the rule is not being followed. I come to you with that information. What do you do? Do you rectify that issue and reclarify the rules for the other staff, or do you tell me that I now do not have to follow the rule either?
If you choose the latter, what message are you sending to me? I will tell you what I would read in that situation.
I understand that you told me one thing, and now you are going back on what you said which makes me think that you are not a person that holds to their principles or keeps their word. I start to question your leadership and your ability to manage me. Or, I think that you are someone who cannot weather the storm when it comes to staff conflict. I then feel disappointment and discouragement. Cue the downward spiral of negativity. And that may be the beginning of the end for some relationships if we cannot find a way to work through the situation.
Informing existing staff of the direction you want the new hire to go and the direction of your department with them onboard.
This may be a point you need to make with some stating there will be a great change, or that you will be maintaining the status quo. But, clarity on your goals and the reason you have hired that person, especially if they are part of a new direction, are important for the existing staff. This way they are not surprised when the new world order starts to take hold if that is what you are after.
If you are hiring a new industry person, I strongly advise that you create a bubble of support around them with people that have the time to dedicate to their growth and success.
As someone that has been hired and entering a new environment, I can tell you the best way to try and create good relationships is to……. Hold on…… Be nice!
For the first few months, I jokingly say, ‘the probation period’, it is important to assess and evaluate all the people in the environment and see where certain dynamics lay. You need to determine who is the alpha dog, who is the beta, who is the omega, and who makes up the rest in between. It will become clear to you where you are going to fit in this hierarchy within a few months.
Some things you will see happening that do not feel right to you. Going to your manager for support and guidance rather than "sucking it up" is the best thing you can do. Your manager needs to hear how you are struggling so they can change processes or support you as needed.
But even after serious preplanning and pre-mitigating the entry of the new staff member, there will still be situations that develop. Conflicts and disagreements abound sometimes as everyone is testing each other to see where they fit in the big picture.
The best way to handle them is to get each side of the story before passing judgment. Collect evidence for each side and put it together to form a true picture of the disagreement. Who said what to whom? What triggered the issue?
What I do, after the evidence collection period, is sit down one on one, and then with both parties, trying to get them to put themselves in the other’s position. I actually get them to defend themselves as if they were the other person sometimes.
Usually, when you hear each side of the story, you can draw a vertical line between each person's perception. That is where the truth lies. The perception of each person involved can usually be changed to see the other person's side of the conflict and the situation can even resolve itself.
Sometimes there are clear infractions that need discipline. But we must be sure before we bring out the hammer of justice.
My boss at my first dealership was a master at this. He was the person who taught me not to make a snap judgment, which was part of my nature, I am an Aries after all! He had to reign me in several times when I was ready to let the hammer fall.
With forethought and planning, and the proper support in place we can keep incidents to a minimum with new hires and keep them with us for the long term. We can grow ‘new to the industry’ people that have a strong customer focus and clear directives on how to grow relationships with customers without dealing with the stress of having to deal with the dynamics of relationships with staff. After all the customer is where we should want their focus to be from the start.
If you have questions or comments on how to support new hires please message me: adviseme@goldstandardservicetraining.com
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