Hiring a Good Service Writer or Shop Manager - Transmission Digest

Hiring a Good Service Writer or Shop Manager

Many owners believe that they can save a $50,000-a-year salary if they do the selling themselves, but if they aren’t any good at it or their hearts aren’t in it they might be throwing away $150,000 in additional profits to try to save $50,000. I can understand the concept of running lean and mean if the phones aren’t ringing much, in which case a lot more promotional work needs to be done, but if they are ringing and the work isn’t being sold because of an owner whose sales techniques are questionable at best, not having a manager is a major mistake in judgment.

It’s Your Business

  • Subject: How to hire a service writer or shop manager
  • Essential Reading: Shop Owner
  • Author: Terry Greenhut, Transmission Digest Management Editor

Some owners do a great job of selling work to their customers. Most don’t, but many, despite their shortcomings, stand behind that counter for 20 or more years making the same mistakes over and over again while thinking that they are doing sales properly.

Since so many owners are former or present mechanics they tend to use that mentality when selling work to customers. They can’t seem to forget that the labor rate in 1975 was $25 an hour or how much parts used to cost. When they price out a job they can’t bring themselves to believe in the total on the bottom line of the repair order. They tend to have an unrealistic compassion for any customer with a sob story and don’t understand that those same people will take advantage of the good-hearted owner any way they can.

Many owners believe that they can save a $50,000-a-year salary if they do the selling themselves, but if they aren’t any good at it or their hearts aren’t in it they might be throwing away $150,000 in additional profits to try to save $50,000. I can understand the concept of running lean and mean if the phones aren’t ringing much, in which case a lot more promotional work needs to be done, but if they are ringing and the work isn’t being sold because of an owner whose sales techniques are questionable at best, not having a manager is a major mistake in judgment.

The owner who also works in the shop fixing cars really hurts himself by doing his own selling, because he knows when he sells a job he will probably be the one who has to physically do the work. If he’s tired or too busy he will blow off jobs and never even realize he’s done it. A manager won’t stop selling when the shop fills up; an owner will.

A well-trained manager or service writer will sell the work for top dollar and will not turn work away as long as the owner stays out of the sale. He or she will bring in enough additional revenue to justify their salary and make a substantial profit for the business.

So what do you look for in a manager or service writer? First we need a definition of terms.

A small shop most likely will have a “manager.” This person usually opens in the morning and closes at night. He or she is in charge of not only sales but also most other customer- and production-related issues. It is the manager’s job to make sure the vehicle’s problem is diagnosed correctly, the proper service or repair is sold at the right price, and that the technicians are fed jobs and parts as needed and are producing at the proper level.

The manager then must be able to write a good-looking, completely itemized repair order and present it to the customer, handling all price objections and having the ability to close a high percentage of sales without having to negotiate price. The manager must be a strong leader of people who can gain their respect. He or she has to be excellent with customers, because good isn’t good enough. Telephone techniques must be flawless, because the first contact with the customer is so critical. A good attitude toward customers, employees, the owner, the company and the industry is vital. You want someone who can kid around with a customer but knows when to back off, someone who is friendly yet respectful – someone who would run the place the same way the owner would, but with no fear of customers and better sales techniques.

A “service writer” is likely to be found in a bigger operation. The service writer’s primary function is to sell the work. Someone else is usually responsible for production. It could be the owner or a shop foreman. One of the major responsibilities of the service writer is to keep the schedule full. Just like the manager, they have to work the leads and repeat customers while taking care of follow-up to generate more business. In a large operation there may be several service writers working under a service manager.

The manager or service writer is a smart, savvy individual, someone who can read people, both customers and technicians. He or she has to understand how the business works and why turning a good profit on every job is so important. They have to present a believable and friendly appearance to customers. They must be well spoken and never conceited or condescending. They must be able to instill trust right from the initial telephone conversation through the delivery of the finished vehicle. They must be able to handle price objections and get the customer to pay the asking price for the repair. They have to understand that keeping the shop productive is the only way it will make a profit, so having the ability to sell the work is only part of the job; getting the work out economically while meeting high quality standards is the rest of it.

The service writer or manager must be willing to work on commission or some type of a bonus system. They need a reason to work hard and never let down or give in to the temptation of doing things the easy way.

This service writer or manager is your company’s face to the public. What they say and do reflects directly on the business. This is not a hiring decision to take lightly. When you need one of these types of people, interview very carefully. Don’t be quick to hire the first warm body that comes through the door. Test their knowledge of selling techniques. Let them try to sell you a job, from the first phone conversation right through to the closing of the sale. Be as tough as you think your customers will be. This role play needs to be as close to real as possible.

Ask the applicants how they feel about honesty, integrity and quality. Find out whether they are willing to follow your concept of the way an automotive business should be run. Ask whether they have any ideas on the subject and listen carefully to their answers. Those answers might be a good indicator of how they expect to run the shop and deal with your customers.

Promoting a line mechanic to the position of service writer or manager may not be a good idea. Someone can be a great mechanic and a lousy writer of service. Fixing cars requires logic and hand-eye coordination. Selling work involves a lot of people skills. Remember that if you take your best mechanic off the line to make him management, you have to replace him with someone just as good. That probably will be a lot harder than finding someone who can sell or has the potential to.

You are usually better off finding someone with selling experience of some kind whom you can mold. Even if they don’t come from this industry it will be easier to find someone who can be trained to do the job properly than to try to convert a mechanic.

Don’t be afraid to hire a woman. Women do very well as service writers and managers. They do a great job on the initial customer call, because their goal – just like their male counterparts – is to get an appointment from the customer. The difference is that it is easier for a woman to do. When customers hear a man’s voice on the phone they assume that he is a technician and begin to ask technical questions and prices. If they get a woman they think that she is not a technician and can only offer an appointment, so many of them just take it.

Once customers get to the shop, a woman behind the counter will do something most men won’t. She will start up some kind of a personal conversation with them. She will make a friend. Since it’s much easier to buy from a friend, she’s half way to making the sale.

Women tend to show more compassion for the customer’s problem but, at the same time, will maintain the price and not give away the store. So although customers may be paying more than they want to, the sale will still be made and they will walk away feeling relatively good about it.

Not hiring family is probably a good idea. Many family relationships have gone bad on account of personality conflicts at the workplace. There is always some amount of jealousy, and there can be power struggles going on at the same time. Family is easy to hire and almost impossible to fire. I know one shop owner who fired his wife three times and she’s still there. How do you tell your father or your brother that they are through and then expect to show up for Sunday dinner?

No matter whom you put behind that counter or how much you think you can trust that person, you must have a system of checks and balances in place to make sure that all the money is accounted for and that customers are not being funneled out to other locations, such as a technician’s back yard.

Having a computerized facility has been a good idea for about the past 20 years, and anyone who won’t give in to it is pretty much a dinosaur, but if you are going to hire a manager or a service writer the computer is a must. It will have the capability to track everything they do. It can improve their batting average and help to keep them honest. At the same time it can give the owner useful statistics with which to make decisions.

Take the time to hire responsibly. Interview many individuals. Don’t hire anyone on the spot. Always say that you have several applicants to consider. A background check for someone who will be handling your money might be in order as well. It wouldn’t be bad to find out whether this person in bondable.

I’ve always been amazed that the same shop owner who would agonize for weeks or months over a $10,000 equipment purchase would make a $50,000-a-year hiring decision on the spot. Doesn’t make a lot of sense, does it?

Visit www.TerryGreenhut.com.

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