Techs vs Advisors:
The Relationship Corner: Episode 3
Do your techs and your advisors get along? Or, is one of them driving a bus and using the other as a speed bump? How can we get everyone on the same team?
It is an age-old debate. Who is more important? The tech or the advisor?
We used to debate this at length in meetings!
Those who would answer, “The Tech” have never had to deal with the backlash of an angry customer who was receiving a coldly delivered estimate lacking any empathy.
Those who would answer, “The Advisor”, already know before the words come out of their mouth that not many advisors can fix the car.
The burning answer to the question is they are both equal parts of a team. One cannot do their job without the other.
Imagine as a tech having to stop and call the customer every time you need to update them on status or tell them the part was wrong or that you need more time for diagnosis.
And thinking about the advisor fixing cars... well that just does not compute.
Typically, the advisor brings the “people” component to the equation and the tech brings the technical component. Without each of them doing their part there is a major lake of customer service and that leads to broken down relationships with customers and in the end a loss of profit.
There are a select few that can do both jobs. I have trained several techs to be advisors when they wanted to move into management. Some did amazing, some could not deal with the personalities of some of the customers. And, just like most things, if you try to do too many things, you are never super excellent at either of them.
It takes a certain type of person to become a technician in today’s automotive world.
Historically, the perception of the trade was that it was blue-collar manual labor work for people that did not have enough money or intelligence to go to university and get a degree.
My experience, however, proved early on, that our technicians are so much more. Especially in today’s world, the electrical components and engine management systems have become very complex and hard to assess. The young people who enter this trade need to be smart, patient, and highly skilled.
Just the fact that they have decided to become techs at all warrants a huge amount of praise and major amounts of respect. Every year there are fewer and fewer people becoming and remaining technicians. This drives up the cost to hire, keep and retain them. Which also drives up shop rates industry-wide so we can afford to have them and still keep the lights on in the dealership. I recently found out that some shop rates are over 300/hour in California! That is mind-blowing.
As service advisors, we are responsible for relaying information from the tech to the customer in a digestible way. We also need to communicate what the customer says into tangible information for the tech to try and diagnose the vehicle.
This is where most advisors, including myself, need major improvement. I know, when you have a lineup of 10 cars in your face it seems like a good idea to write in the work order, "Check for noise from the front". Full stop.
Throw your poor technician a bone, peeps! Is the noise when braking, turning, while in motion, or just at idle when running? Is it from the inside or outside of the car? Is it only when the moon is full and the tide is out? Normally I ask, "How can our tech best recreate this noise?"
Techs also need to throw that bone back to the advisor when they want jobs sold. You cannot just put in your estimate, "replace front brakes". Are they close to worn? Metal to metal? Pulsating? Are they falling apart? Are the rotors rusted beyond the ability to machine them? There must be some reason you want to replace them, so share that information. It makes it easier to sell if there is some leverage, just in case the customer wants a bit more information.
"Brake fluid exchange". Is it due to history, age, or km? Is it black? Some comments are fantastic to better accentuate the reason to the customer and build value in the repair.
When the stories in the work order are well written and give a little detail on what had to be done and how they came to whatever conclusion they came to on a diagnostic, it is so much easier to justify charges on the work order for that diagnostic.
Imagine charging 200.00 for a diagnostic that said, "Test and fine it needs an Oxygen Sensor." When techs put in that they "scan and found code 12345, follow test procedures XYZ, access wiring harness to test continuity bla bla bla and find bank 1, sensor 2 failed." It is much easier for the customer to understand that the tech did not just plug in a code reader and say it needs a sensor. Which is what many customers think we do.
Not only are advisors responsible for communicating TO the techs, but they are also responsible for communicating FOR the techs. As advisors, we need to speak to the customer in “non-car” lingo that helps them see what they are spending money on. We need to think about how to best explain and justify charges to the customer as well. The only way to do that is with clear communication to and from the technician.
In certain situations, we also need to defend the technicians when needed. To do this, you must trust the technician. If you have a reason that gives you pause you must take that to your manager and get their advice on how to word things. Or ask if the issue is defendable at all. If it is, you need to stand with confidence and battle for them, the dealership, and yourself sometimes depending on the situation.
Advisors are the front line. That means that as advisors and service managers, we are paid to deal with customer objections and try to navigate through touchy situations. It requires a great deal of skill, finesse, and trust in your tech.
People can be mean, rude, and outright belligerent at times. There are ways to avoid letting the customer get to this level. But when they do, and when they are outright challenging the technician's repair process or findings, this is when we as managers, and advisors need to take a firm stand on having the tech's back. For that the tech should respect the managers and advisors for going to bat for the things that they may be putting people in situations that could be avoided if the correct information were put in the work order.
When people say things like, "That only takes 20 minutes, why should I have to pay for that?" This is when we gently explain, depending on the situation, "The technician, just like you and I, does not work for free. Technicians invest years of schooling and multiple tens of thousands of dollars on tools to do their job. For that, they WILL be paid for the work they do. As well, this is a business, we charge for repairs because we have to pay someone to do them. We also have to buy very expensive equipment to allow us to repair your vehicle in a timely fashion. So that is why there is a charge for it."
This conversation used to happen multiple times a day. But now, I can't even remember the last time I had to say those words.
As we must do for the customer, we must have empathy for our tech and the tech must have empathy for us. Sometimes we are each faced with very difficult circumstances and we can only work through them as a team with the same goal. Sometimes we do make mistakes and we need to make good on them immediately.
Advisors must also wrap their minds around some of the crazy diagnostics that have to be done these days and try and get the customer to understand them as well. As a tech, some diagnostics are very complex and time-consuming. Some even require you to install, "A known good part" and verify the repair. If the issue persists, you must move on to steps two, three, and four. If you, the advisor, call a customer and say that it is fixed after we have installed the known good part, you have not covered your A$$, or the tech's A$$, or the dealership's A$$ for that matter.
On this matter as well, if you are a tech, you would be better off explaining some of those intricacies on the things that are not straightforward to the people explaining things to the customers and trying to charge the intensely high fees for diagnostics on these systems as well. They, like you, get busy and are managing many things at once. Unless you are ready to pick up the phone and explain it to the customer as well.
I have found it very good to review the repair on the phone before pick up and when doing so, if there was a diagnostic done, especially ones involving drivability and electrical issues, to explain that we have completed "step one" of the procedures that need to be done to fix "said problem" but, this may not be the end of the issue and they are to "monitor it for now" and not to be surprised if the issue returns.
The relationship between technician and advisor can be very hard to navigate. Both positions are usually held by driven people who have a certain way of doing things. Producers and drivers usually butt heads with each other at some point. The bottom line is that we need each other to get the job done.
As managers, we need to try and keep everyone moving in the same direction. Forward, with the best interests of the customer in mind while building value in the charges we expect the customer to pay to drive profit and retention.
Techs need to put robust stories in the work order and advisors need to give clear communication on how to best diagnose the concerns of the customer. Mutual respect and understanding for each other's position are crucial for it all to work, and keep the service manager from losing more hair, or brain cells on a daily basis.
A Few Words About Techs and Our Industry:
I have worked with, and continue to work with some of the most amazing techs. Sadly, I have also seen people with great skill, drive, and intelligence throw in the towel and change careers for many reasons.
There is so much talent entering the trade, but also so much talent leaving it. The people we are losing are young and so smart, and they are driven and eager to learn more when they first start. So many leave because we are not moving them along in their training fast enough. But that is another blog altogether.
I am also super excited about how many women are entering the trade. I work with a few currently, and I was the first to hire one when I was a manager at a previous dealership. She was full of energy and wanted to learn, but no one would give her an opportunity. I did, and she did not disappoint. She was only 24 and already had her red seal. She was always smiling and did not burden the other techs with questions until AFTER she had gone to the service manual to try and figure out her issue. She brought the morale of the shop up with her positivity.
So for those of you still in the trade, a huge thank you! We could not do this without you.
If you are struggling to get everyone on the same page I would love to help:
Message me at adviseme@goldstandardservicetraining.com
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