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Improving Operations
Welcome to this issue of Drive, which focuses on fixed operations and ways to improve performance in this critical area.
- One of our customers, Toyota Mall of Georgia, describes how they were able to move more cars through the service drive and build stronger, more long-lasting customer relationships.
- We take you to the Bill Harris Auto Center, where adding Online Service Reservations improved the dealership's service business, with an equally dramatic impact on customer satisfaction.
- Reynolds Consulting looks at key industry benchmarks for more efficient and profitable fixed operations.
- We have included an article that provides insights on another way to analyze the effectiveness of your service department, offering pointers to uncover - and stop - what may be unknown profit leaks.
In a period of change unlike anything we've seen in the automotive industry, it's helpful to recognize that while we can't fix the industry, we can take control of what we can influence - and fixed operations in a dealership is one of the best places to start.
Sincerely,
Trey Hiers
Vice President, Corporate Marketing
Reynolds and Reynolds
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Trey Hiers
Vice President, Corporate Marketing
Reynolds and Reynolds
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A Dealership Perspective
The service advisor is increasingly becoming the key to retaining customers. As in most dealerships, our service advisors are primarily responsible for building a customer relationship that will extend across the years of ownership to the next purchase and beyond. We needed a way to ensure our service consultants could take care of a very large daily volume of incoming vehicles and stay in front of the customers.
We found it, and over the last three years, our national Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) ranking has skyrocketed from #858 to #336 out of 1,200 U.S. Toyota dealerships.
To realize higher retention and the higher dollars that go with it, examine your process and define your ultimate goals. For us, those goals included:
- Greet and take all customer service requirements in a timely manner.
- Increase sales in service by creating a consistent process that allows more upselling.
- Improve CSI scores.
- Be as technologically advanced as possible.
Find a way to get your advisors away from the desk and in the drive with the customer. We use an electronic system on tablet PCs to drive a customer-friendly, consistent process. Advisors have the flexibility to greet the customers, write up the repair order (RO), perform a thorough vehicle inspection, visually show the customer the recommended factory maintenance, and get the customer's signature - all at the customer's vehicle. With consistency comes more selling opportunity and higher revenue. In fact, our parts per RO and labor per RO have each increased by 24% since implementing the new process.
By interacting with the customer at the vehicle, the advisor gets a better idea of the repair needs and those repairs are done right the first time. The entire process is designed to ensure more effective and personal customer communication, which naturally results in better customer relationships. We frequently receive letters from out-of-town customers asking us to transplant our dealership to their neighborhoods, so they can always experience this level of service.
Customers are immediately impressed with the highly advanced technology and appreciate walking around the car with the service consultant to show him/her exactly what's wrong with it. It's a simple one-on-one conversation without the inconvenience of waiting at a counter or trying to explain the problem at the desk.
Our results were immediate. The old write-up process used by the service consultants was wasting the customer's time and not allowing us to service all of the customers coming through the drive. We've seen an incredible increase in efficiency just on the service drive.
The best place for service consultants is at the vehicle with the customer, listening, questioning, investigating, confirming, and selling. With a more customer-focused process and the right technology, you can keep service consultants right where they need to be - on the service drive.
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Joel Hall
Service Director
Toyota Mall of Georgia
Buford, GA
Joel Hall is the Service Director for Toyota Mall of Georgia in Buford, GA, serving the greater Atlanta area with the finest vehicle purchase and ownership experience possible.
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Service Sales Kit for ERA helps Toyota Mall of Georgia build relationships that last. |
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Store-to-Store InterCompany Entries
If you maintain multiple stores on your ERA system, you can create store-to-store accounting entries through the InterCompany Entries application. This enables you to distribute expenses, create automatic balancing, and generate receivable and payable entries across ERA stores. Here's how it works:
- Receivable and payable general ledger accounts are set up in the InterCompany specifications for each store on the system (one-time setup).
- During journal entry in Cash Disbursements (0062) or General Purchases (0068), users are prompted to specify whether or not they are making a store-to-store entry.
- If a store-to-store entry is being made, users are prompted to indicate which store(s) the entry applies to.
- General ledger account number entries are made for both originating and target stores.
- System will automatically update General Purchases (0068) for target stores, creating payable entries for those stores. System will also automatically create receivable entry for originating store.
All stores using InterCompany Entries must be profiled for it. More information is available through Online Support.
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Taking Service Online
Because more people are going online for just about everything, connecting with service customers through the Internet can significantly improve your fixed operations business. Scott Harris, President at Bill Harris Auto Center, discovered dramatic results by developing a new Web strategy using Reynolds' WebMakerX® and Online Service Reservations and implementing these best practices:
- Send specific, pre-recorded voice mail messages about Online Service Reservations to customers, using Voice of the Dealer through Reynolds Contact Management.
- Send targeted e-mail campaigns with a direct link to the new online service tool to their existing customer base.
- Show Online Service Reservations at the time of purchase to every customer who purchases a new or used vehicle.
- Help customers in the store sign up to use Online Service Reservations.
- Require service team to talk about the solution, on the phone and in person, with every customer they encounter.
- Discuss how to use Online Service Reservations at dealership's Owner Clinic, allowing customers to stay after to see the solution first-hand.
With these best practices, the dealership has increased service revenue, developed stronger customer relationships, and improved functionality for the sales and service teams. In addition, Scott has obtained a new way of collecting customer e-mail addresses and has seen a huge increase in the number collected.
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Scott Harris
President
Bill Harris Auto Center |
Fixed Ops in Times of Opportunity
By Bob Stewart
In today's economic climate, dealerships are looking for ways to operate profitably and stay in business. Cutting unnecessary expenses and focusing on generating immediate revenue is one of the most widely employed strategies. Currently, the service and parts departments present the fastest and cheapest opportunities to do so.
It's important to conduct a comprehensive examination of your fixed ops to make sure your dealership is getting the most out of every service opportunity.
Continued in Drive Results newsletter
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Bob Stewart
Business Consultant, Fixed Operations and CRM
Reynolds Consulting Services |
Each month, Reynolds University (RU) Online features an interactive Session of the Month, highlighting ways you can improve operations.
June's Session of the Month, "Maintain Gross Profit with ERA Service Grid Pricing," will help you understand and use grid pricing for all service operations to help ensure higher gross profit on retail labor.
To learn more about these courses and when they are offered, log on to RU Online and click on Session of the Month along the right side.
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New Drivers of Profitable Service
There's an old adage in business: "If it can be measured, it can be managed." Your service manager most likely already tracks overall department metrics, such as revenues, costs, and profitability. But does he/she look at the metrics at the advisor level? If not, there may be some unknown major profit leaks.
To leverage your service metrics, look at each individual advisor to determine:
- Average parts dollars per RO.
- Average number of ROs open for an extended period of time.
- Customer Satisfaction Index scores.
This tracking should be performed regularly. If one advisor is subpar with any of these metrics, identify the problem and correct it immediately.
Read the full Issue Paper entitled "Profitable Service. World-Class Service Advisors: New Drivers of Profitability."
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Service Sales Kit Upsell Reporting
Service Sales Kit can now report on upsells generated by advisors and technicians. With ERA v.9.0, the Upsell Flag is created for all jobs added to the RO after initial write-up, including those added through the Service Sales Kit Report Card, Service Price Guides, and Service Price Guides Maintenance Menus.
You can monitor upsells using six different reports created through Report Generator (6910). Four of these Upsell Reports help show the positive financial impact upsells bring to your bottom line in the service department. The other two provide more concise information for at-a-glance review. All six reports give you valuable information for monitoring and coaching your employees.
To see examples of these reports, please visit Online Support and enter "Upsell Reporting" in the Search field.
If you would like help creating these reports, please contact the Reynolds Reporting Team in the Technical Assistance Center at 800.767.0080.
Schedule Inquiry Option
Over the past four years, 90% of the 350+ ERA release enhancements have been specifically requested by our customers, including the new Schedule Inquiry Option.
You now have the ability to view the account balance of a scheduled account for any control type. Schedules can be queried from any control number prompt on all ERA posting screens, and balances will be displayed at the bottom of the screen. The Schedule Inquiry Option displays the control number account balance at the time of posting in the actual journal screen, saving time and keystrokes.
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"I need proof that my team is selling, and that's what I love about these reports. The numbers are so accurate, I'm using them to create pay plans for my advisors and techs. These reports have become a part of my daily operations to make sure my team is not falling short."
Joel Hall, Service Director
Toyota Mall of Georgia
Buford, GA |
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