Service advisors: the key to shop success

Nov. 6, 2015
In the new "experience economy," the role of the service advisor has changed from selling to helping customers buy.

LAS VEGAS — The present-day service advisor is critical to repair shop success. In his AAPEXedu session “Service Advisors: key to business success” on November 5, Rick White stressed to his audience of repair shop owners, managers, and service advisors that the shop owner’s role extends beyond creating and protecting his or her brand and generating awareness. Growing employees, especially the service advisor, is vastly important.

White emphasized, “We live in an experience economy. The advisor can no longer sell; he or she needs to help the consumer buy. It’s all about creating an amazing buying experience for the customer.”

Since the recession, customers’ buying habits have changed—the characteristics and circumstances of today’s consumer are drastically different from five to ten years ago. With the increased reliability of vehicles that are being manufactured today, service intervals are much longer, and there is less repair work to be done. White noted, “Customers have choices, and they know it.”  

Enter the experience economy. “A repair shop owner cannot compete on price,” White said, “This is a race to the bottom quickly.” 

White addressed the role of service advisors and the dynamic of selling vs. helping to buy. “Service advisors used to answer the phone, schedule appointments, gave customers the ‘good news,’ turned over the invoice, accepted payment, and handed the customer back the keys,” he noted. “Now, the shop owner must create a positive buying experience for the customer or they will go somewhere that does. Providing a service for a fair price is a given; today a shop can only compete on value and the gateway to that success is through the service advisor.”

In order to have a strong and successful service advisor, the shop owner must now to grow and train him or her. White stressed his best practices for service advisors, focusing on his service advisor "MAP to success,” which involves having a winning mindset, aptitude and performance.

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