Causes of disconnection

While service managers and technicians are on the same team, they really live in two different worlds. This divide comes from distinct job responsibilities. Plus, the gap grows wider when other circumstances are at play.

Insufficient training

Many challenges in the workplace can be traced to a lack of training (both in quantity and quality). If a staff person responds to a situation with an “I didn’t know that” comment, you can rightly point to deficient training as the reason. Of course, staff education extends beyond technical instruction. Managers and technicians should fully understand the procedures and systems related to their specific jobs. 

Misplaced talent

Promoting from within is a great way to motivate employees. But let’s be honest in saying that not every top-flight technician is well-suited to joining the ranks of management. Yet, it happens all the time. In these cases, resentment builds from both sides. 

A new manager gets overwhelmed by different priorities, and technicians get frustrated by someone who forgets what it’s like to be in the trenches. At the same time, that newly minted service department manager may not be as familiar with the role as they should be (another instance of a lack of training).

Unclear goals and expectations

It’s easy to fall into the trap of just getting the work done and not looking at the bigger picture. Perhaps plans and objectives were discussed at one time, but those discussions are no longer a regular occurrence. It’s hard to follow a path when there’s no roadmap to follow. To create a framework for goal setting, try devising S.M.A.R.T. goals using the template below:

Creating a unified service department

Getting service managers and technicians on the same page isn’t rocket science. Using tried-and-true techniques, you can establish or re-launch the necessary connections.

Foster communication

Just like training is vital, so is communication. According to a study by Dynamic Signal, ineffective company communication causes workplace anxiety for 80% of U.S. employees. It’s impossible for someone to keep up with expectations if they’ve never been told about the requirements. An expanded dialogue will keep everyone in the loop and foster inclusion instead of isolation. Approaches can include starting or expanding stand-up meetings, printed memos, or a regular email newsletter. 

Take advantage of technology

Chances are your dealership already has the technology infrastructure that can help improve communication among service department staff but isn’t being fully utilized. Take a look at what’s available and incorporate these systems into an expanded communications plan. 

Work towards shared goals

Service department staff will perform as a team when working towards common goals. This reinforces the “we” mindset rather than a “you versus me” approach. For instance, customer satisfaction and retention rates are benchmarks that both managers and technicians can relate to. 

Provide feedback opportunities

Look for ways to incorporate feedback into management and technician interactions. This could be done informally, such as during a meeting or under an open-door policy. Or through a more structured process like 360-degree reviews where technicians can assess their managers. 

Importantly, demonstrate that you’re acting on the feedback that’s received. This doesn’t have to happen every time, but nothing is worse than an ignored suggestion box. 

Reinvigorate culture

Fostering teamwork through team activities and events can create stronger bonds between service managers and technicians and open a dialogue. Something as fundamental as sharing a meal can go a long way to building connections and culture.

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But right at the forefront, a lineup of shiny, sleek electric vehicles beckons. As you admire them, a long-time customer walks up beside you, eyeing an EV. “I’ve heard these hardly need any maintenance. Is that true?” they ask.

This misconception is something many dealerships regularly encounter since it’s what consumers are reading in the media. As electric vehicles begin to reshape the auto industry, they’re also redefining what maintenance means.

While they might offer fewer routine repairs, EVs open different doors for dealerships. Let’s unravel the true essence of EV maintenance, understand its implications for your service bay, and learn how you can guide your customers through this electric transition.

The Reality of EV Maintenance

Electric vehicles are inherently simpler in design than their internal combustion engine (ICE) counterparts. With fewer moving parts, no oil changes, no exhaust systems, and no need for fuel filters, the routine maintenance list for EVs is undoubtedly shorter.

This may mean reduced revenue from standard servicing and maintenance work for dealerships. However, this isn’t a sign to hit the panic button.

While EVs promise reduced routine maintenance, they also present new areas of service focus. Batteries, software updates, and cooling systems become central to the EV’s longevity and performance.

Brakes and Tires Still Matter

A common misconception among consumers is that EVs are virtually maintenance-free. While it’s true that electric drivetrains have fewer maintenance needs, some normal wear elements remain constant.

You should keep a good selection of tires around. With the weight of EVs, available power, and energy-efficient construction, consumers will replace their tires more often.

Brakes, albeit lasting longer due to regenerative braking systems, will still need periodic servicing. Dealerships must be clear about these aspects to manage customer expectations and ensure safety.

The Warranty Work Window

EVs might not frequent the service bay for regular check-ups as ICE vehicles do, but they aren’t free from potential issues. Problems related to software, electronic components, and battery health can arise.

Dealerships should find an uptick in warranty-related work, and accident repair, offering an avenue to compensate for potentially lost maintenance revenue.

Educating the Customer: A Proactive Approach

Education becomes important. Dealerships have an opportunity—and responsibility—to demystify EV maintenance for customers. Host workshops, create informational pamphlets, or design interactive sections in your showroom to communicate the nuances of EV care. Some enterprising dealerships may even consider offering tech-related services on call—sort of a customer’s 24/7/365 paid IT service technician.

By doing so, dealerships not only establish trust but can also position themselves as the go-to experts in EV maintenance, ensuring customer loyalty.

Exploring Cost Savings for Consumers

Electric vehicles can translate to significant savings for consumers in the long run. No oil changes, fewer routine check-ups, and less frequent brake services can reduce the maintenance bill substantially.

While this might sound like a grim prospect for dealerships, being transparent about these advantages to customers is essential. It’s a selling point that can lead to increased EV sales and potentially offset the revenue dip from maintenance services.

Rethinking Dealership Revenue Streams

The EV era might require dealerships to get creative. With potentially reduced maintenance revenue, it’s time to diversify. Given their often high-tech nature, this could mean expanding into EV charging solutions, becoming a hub for aftermarket EV accessories, or offering specialized cleaning and detailing services for EV interiors.

Looking Ahead

The transition to EVs is more than just a shift in propulsion; it can potentially transform the entire automotive ecosystem. Dealerships that accept the realities of this change, both the challenges and opportunities, are best positioned to thrive.

In embracing the EV evolution, it’s clear that dealerships need to pivot their strategies, focusing on education, diversification, and the unique maintenance needs of electric vehicles. The road ahead might have its bumps, but with foresight and adaptability, dealerships can navigate it successfully.

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For years, dealers have been challenged with receiving fair compensation for retail warranty reimbursement. However, nowadays, franchised dealers in all states are protected. On today’s CBT Now, Lenord Bellavia, Founding Partner of Bellavia Blatt,  joins us to break down what this means for the industry. 

According to Bellavia, “Dealers should pay attention to the reimbursement rates as it correlates to revenue streams.” But, dealers are front-end centric, meaning they always worry about sales. Therefore, based on how the industry continues to evolve, the fixed operations sector has driven the entire business overhead expeensives. Bellavia says, “This is what dealers call shop absorption, where the back end of the business drives the overhead.” Furthermore, Bellavia believes “Dealers get grossly underpaid for their parts and labor under warranty.” 

Reasonable compensation

When sitting down with dealers to outline what they’re leaving on the table, most dealers believe they’re missing out on a few couple of dollars or percentages in labor rates. However, Bellavia asserts, “When translated into real dollars, it’s typically between $200,000 and $300,000 annually in revenue opportunities. However, manufacturers hold dealers to rigorous standards regarding supporting updates and working capital. According to Bellavia, manufacturers set up departments at the OEM level to analyze warranty claims to receive kickbacks, but “Those submissions must be strictly focused on.” He continues, “If dealers submit 100 consecutive repair orders and one isn’t appropriate for the batch, the OEM will reject it and postpone it by a month or two. Which leads to possible lost revenue of several thousand dollars.” 

To properly create a submission, Bellavia’s highly skilled team takes 30 to 40 hours in the first step. Then, they have a quality control process that takes an additional ten hours to review possible mistakes that the manufacturers could see. Furthermore, according to Bellavia, “There are state statute exclusions that dealers are unaware of, which include batteries, maintenance, tires, and more that reduce the overall markup.” 

All 50 states have legislation defining 150 qualifying repair orders, parts, and labor. Most dealers are aware of the legislation and are taking advantage of it. Still, those unaware of it need to learn they can resubmit a submission repeatedly for labor because retail labor increases annually.

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Increasingly, dealers are harnessing the power of artificial intelligence (AI) for these efforts. These technologies can enhance the customer experience, streamline workflow, and ultimately improve the bottom line. Rather than talk about AI as some grandiose concept for fixed ops, let’s dive into specific areas ripe for implementation. 

Personalizing the customer experience

One key advantage of AI is the ability to use this technology for an individualized customer experience. AI systems can analyze detailed data and develop personalized customer profiles that create tailored service recommendations. This proactive approach to maintenance is based on individual driving habits and vehicle conditions rather than generic scheduled maintenance tables. 

Conversational AI solutions

AI chatbots and virtual assistants enable customers to get quick answers to common questions no matter the hour. These platforms are also ideal for scheduling service appointments. Conversational AI tools can deliver responsive and accurate support through natural language engagements. This self-service model is convenient for customers and frees up service advisors for other activities.

Proactive maintenance notifications

AI-powered predictive analytical tools offer a future look into customers’ service needs. Not only can you notify customers about upcoming maintenance work, but eventually, service departments can learn how many notifications turn into appointments, enabling more accurate staffing. The process starts with machine-learning algorithms that analyze telematics data to forecast ideal service timeframes. Customers appreciate the more personalized experience and the reduced risk of needing major repairs.

Smart recommendation systems

AI-powered systems can suggest tailored packages and upsell offers to customers based on individual maintenance history and vehicle data. This degree of personalization means service advisors don’t have to guess what to suggest, ensuring each customer receives the right offer at the right time. 

Optimizing operations 

AI has broad potential to maximize fixed ops processes and resources. Advanced analytics and automation can enhance productivity across the service and parts departments:

Inventory Management

Determining the right parts to stock and at what levels is a balancing act made simpler by demand forecasting algorithms. Some platforms can combine Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and artificial intelligence to get the job done. This is further aided by automated reordering once a low inventory threshold is reached, ensuring the steady availability of critical components. 

Workforce optimization 

AI-powered scheduling systems assess technician skills, parts requirements, and bay availability to maximize workload capabilities. These tools use algorithms to assign work depending on employee capability and availability. At the same time, service departments can seamlessly handle more vehicles faster while not overwhelming technicians.

Workflow automation

Paperwork is a necessary evil made less taxing through AI automation. Documentation tasks for inspections and estimates, for instance, can be handled through self-executing platforms. Invoicing is another example. The net result is back-office productivity and faster customer service. 

New revenue streams

AI’s potential enables forward-thinking dealer executives and managers to look beyond traditional services for new revenue streams.

Predictive upsell recommendations

Artificial intelligence creates new opportunities for dealers to sell customized upsell offers based on owner preferences and vehicle requirements. Continuous data monitoring can lead to personalized packages highlighting the replacement of wear-and-tear parts like brakes, batteries, and tires. Predictive platforms can also lead to reminders about maintenance services. The goal is to eliminate the guesswork in upselling, leading to increased appointment conversion. 

AI points to the way ahead

Staying competitive and boosting profitability are just some of the daily tasks required of today’s dealership executives and managers. While not a complete solution for these activities, AI is well-suited to help. Importantly, these technologies shouldn’t be thought of as isolated systems. But instead, as an integral component of your dealership’s approach to being more efficient and delivering better customer satisfaction. Similarly, AI must be introduced to employees as a resource for reducing mundane tasks, not as a replacement for anyone’s job.

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Use Recalls to show what your service department can do

While not every customer who comes in for a recall is coming in just for that, a service recall is quite the opportunity for service departments to shine. Sometimes customers don’t come in for service because they haven’t driven much or they would rather wait until something slightly more serious happens to pull into your drive-thru.

Customers also might be shopping for a new service department or otherwise not be overly impressed by something from a previous visit.

All of these factors make a service recall campaign a great chance to show your customers how good your service can be. From the initial greeting in the service department, the actual repair, your waiting room, shuttles, or rentals, ensure that every gear is working just right.

Care about the car

One of the best parts about doing recall work is that you are guaranteed some paid work. Showing further care for the vehicle involves empathetically presenting anything else you found while inspecting the vehicle and presenting it to the customer without being pushy about making immediate repairs if they aren’t necessary.

Understand people’s feelings about recalls

Many of today’s drivers ignore recalls. I’m still waiting to get my Takata airbags done. Aside from the recalls the service department notifies customers about, it’s difficult to get customers to take the postcard or letter they receive in the mail very seriously. This is in part because some recalls feel unnecessary, but they also take time out of someone’s day.

The people who do show up specifically for recall work are likely genuinely concerned about the state of their vehicle, or might not understand what issue the vehicle might actually have. Taking the time to explain exactly what it is your technicians will be doing and how, if at all, it impacts the vehicle, could lead to a more solid relationship in the future.

Since the driver or passenger can’t often “feel” the issue, it is more important to tell them why the vehicle is recalled. I owned a vehicle that had a power steering hose recall and I had no idea until it was brought into the vehicle simply because there wasn’t anything wrong with the power steering at the moment.

Conclusion

Recall campaigns are actually an effective way to bring people in for work their vehicle does need – and are great opportunities to impress them with the smooth operations of a well-oiled service department as well as friendly faces. Prepare for a recall appointment like you would any other paying customer and you will establish a memorable, trusted bond.

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Driving more consumers into the service bay is important for car dealers looking to grow their business, especially considering that fixed operations revenue typically comprises roughly half of a dealership’s earnings. On this episode of Inside Automotive, host Jim Fitzpatrick is joined by MC Watson, business development manager at automotiveMastermind, an automated sales and marketing platform, to discuss the importance and value of fueling the service department.

To grow their fixed operations business, car dealers must discover ways to capitalize on the consumers they have. Watson urges retailers to view their service department as a means of maintaining relationships with customers. Drivers need to keep their vehicles running throughout its life cycle, which makes it essential to nail the repair and upkeep experience, especially for repeat buyers. Doing so, Watson notes, helps earn their loyalty for future purchases, even if they may not currently be in the market for a new car.

Building these relationships and earning more customers means car dealers should approach fixed operations more strategically than they may be used to. “I think our first point is to really proactively view the customers that are going to be visiting your service department from an opportunity perspective,” Watson remarks. By checking their appointment schedule before the day starts, retailers can ascertain who that day’s customers are, their best contact information, what work they want to get done, as well as their history with the dealership. Making a good impression in the service department, whether it is the customer’s first or tenth work order, becomes much easier when managers and technicians know who they are serving.

Selecting the right vendor to generate leads for the service department is just as essential as setting the right strategy. For car dealers looking to create revenue opportunities from their fixed operations, automotiveMastermind helps by contacting and following up with every customer. This service extends beyond service department clients, however. Through automation, the platform is able to contact a wider base of prospective customers than retailers can on their own, making it an ideal outreach and marketing partner for businesses looking to grow.

The company is also hosting a free webinar on August 17 at 1 p.m. EST called Crack the Code. By attending the virtual session, car dealers can learn why fixed operations are increasingly important to profitability, tips to efficiently and effectively boost retention, along with best practices for identifying and closing high-value service-to-sales customers. Those interested in attending can sign up here. To learn more about automotiveMastermind’s service offerings and how they can help dealerships earn and keep clients, visit their website here.

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Let’s look at the audit process and what’s involved in reducing wait times, improving technician productivity, and enhancing customer satisfaction. 

Start by reviewing key performance indicators

The first step in auditing service scheduling is to analyze key performance indicators (KPIs). Look at technician utilization rates, average repair times, number of appointments booked versus available slots, and customer satisfaction scores. This data will highlight problem areas. For example, low technician utilization could indicate inefficient scheduling. Highly variable repair times may suggest inaccurate estimations. Knowing your KPIs can identify improvement areas.

Analyze the schedule

Examine how the service schedule itself is set up. Do the existing appointment slots allow enough time for typical services? Do certain repairs need specialized tools, particular bays, or specific technicians? Are you allowing enough time for test drives? Go back to the data to check if appointments routinely run long. If so, your scheduling template requires adjustment. It’s a delicate balance. Arranging appointments too far apart reduces productivity, while scheduling the work too closely leads to delays and frustration. 

Take advantage of scheduling tools and software 

Modern scheduling platforms are a boon to streamlined operations and a sure path to customer satisfaction. Evaluate the software your dealership currently uses and see if there’s room for improvement. At a minimum, you’ll want software that provides real-time updates when appointments are delayed, provides 24/7 online booking for customers, and sends automatic text or email reminders. There’s no reason not to take advantage of the powerful tools at your disposal. 

Look for scheduling bottlenecks

Review the scheduling process to uncover bottlenecks. Examples could include appointments with an unclear status or technicians slowed down by parts or authorization delays. Do a deep dive into the steps involved, from setting up the appointment to starting work. Are there any communication hold-ups? Could the workflow be improved? To identify specific trouble areas, perform a post-game analysis of any repairs that encountered delays.

Collect customer feedback

Don’t hesitate to learn from your customers about the scheduling experiences. Be sure that post-repair surveys ask about the booking process and wait times. At the same time, monitor social media and online review sites for trouble patterns and common complaints. Feedback is a forerunner of what your customers are encountering. 

You’ve made changes to service scheduling. Now what?

Implementing improvements to the scheduling process is only half the effort. There are numerous follow-up steps to employ to ensure these changes make a difference. 

Get staff up to speed

Making improvements to the scheduling process will only yield results if the staff are fully comfortable with the changes. Provide comprehensive training to service advisors and technicians to maximize the new scheduling procedures.  Review the platform’s capabilities, examine the schedule templates, and explore time allocation guidelines. Set up periodic refresher training so staff don’t fall back into old habits.

Take advantage of time management strategies

Scheduling success comes from better time management. Create checklists to keep technicians on track. If work still regularly falls behind, use timers to provide reminders. While you don’t want to encourage overruns, establish an atmosphere that encourages technicians to provide an update if they can’t get the work completed with the allotted time. 

Leverage advanced technologies

Let the latest technology do some of the heavy lifting. Artificial intelligence can scrub historical data to create hyper-accurate work estimates. Smart tablets can provide real-time information about bay status and work progress. These systems can ensure that all the improvements from an updated scheduling process don’t go to waste.

Conduct regular scheduling audits

Get in the habit of regularly auditing the service scheduling process. Ideally, this should be done quarterly. But, don’t hesitate to be more aggressive if new bottlenecks arise. Periodic audits can enable the service department to get ahead of any anomalies before they impact customer satisfaction and the bottom line. 

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Toyota Motor North America’s digital retailing service Smartpath makes it easier for shoppers to buy and finance their vehicles online. Now the brand is rolling out a new service platform, which more than one-third of its dealers have already committed to support. On this episode of Inside Automotive, host Jim Fitzpatrick is joined by John Myers, general manager of retail transformation for Toyota Motor North America and Matt Heydon, group manager of retail transformation for Toyota Financial Services, to discuss these new platforms and how dealers are getting involved.

Myers notes that Smartpath originated ten years ago out of a desire to prepare Toyota and its dealers for the market of the future. Even a decade ago, it was clear that customer shopping preferences were changing under the influence of e-commerce brands like Amazon. New generations of car buyers prioritized convenience, making the typical, hours-long dealership experience obsolete. “We really started to dig deep and talk to our dealers about what the customers…wanted the shopping experience to be,” Myers explains. Over time, several themes emerged from these conversations: transparency, efficiency and trust. These three values were missing from Toyota’s sales and financing operations, which is why Smartpath was created to accelerate the process for both dealers and shoppers.

The advantages of using Smartpath are twofold. First, since they have extra insight into the process, customers are happier with their purchase and more likely to recommend their dealers to friends and family. Second, since the platform simplifies and streamlines the financing process, dealers spend less time talking with each customer, allowing them to take more clients and close more deals. Seeing how smoothly and effectively the new service was integrated into Toyota’s dealers, the automaker decided to apply the same principles and ideas to the fixed operations departments with a new platform titled Smarthpath for Service.

“Obviously, a consumer will buy a vehicle or lease a vehicle once every three, four, five years, but they’ll service their vehicle one to two and even three times a year depending on their mileage,” Myers remarks. By getting these clients in and out of the dealership faster, technicians can handle greater work volumes and boost customer service scores. Toyota Motor’s Smartpath for Service achieves this through a four-step process. First, customers schedule their appointment online. Then, on arriving at the dealership, they perform an electronic check-in, letting the service team know they’re ready. Next, the technician will work on the vehicle, recording short updates for clients to view issues and track progress. Finally, once service is complete, the customer checks-out and takes their vehicle home. “It streamlines everything,” notes Heydon, “and it also allows specifically the dealership to have full visibility of what’s occurring with that customers, and overall it offers a better customer experience.”

Toyota is encouraging dealers to join the Smartpath for Service program so they can unlock greater revenue, higher customer ratings and improved fixed operations efficiency. “This was built with our dealers for our dealers,” notes Myers, adding that many OEMs have yet to develop a platform with the same functionality and impact. By emphasizing a digital service experience, the automaker and its retailers are gaining a head start in the car market of tomorrow.

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It is important to partner with the right vendors, especially when it comes to entrusting your dealership’s fixed operations to a business development company or BDC. On this episode of Inside Automotive, host Jim Fitzpatrick is joined by Ujj Nath, the chief executive officer for myKaarma, an industry-leading communication and payments operating system, to discuss the efficiency-boosting effects of technology on BDCs.

BDCs are nothing new in the automotive industry and have been used for years to increase profits and efficiency in the service department. However, what sets myKaarma apart from other firms is its modernized format. “In the old days,” explains Nath, “what would happen is, if you call the BDC…it will ring multiple phones like a hotline, and the first agent that picks up will answer it and that’s it.” Now, however, companies communicate with their clients through a variety of channels, including texts, website chats and emails.

This shift has helped businesses connect with more consumers. Unfortunately, it has also made it more difficult for business development companies to manage communications since the number of messages has drastically increased, an issue compounded by the fact that many are only equipped to take phone calls. Considering that today’s customers prioritize speed and convenience when scheduling service appointments, the problem becomes clear. The last thing dealers want is to lose prospective service clients because their scheduling system was too confusing or because the BDC agent took too long to answer the phone. One of the best solutions for this issue is myKaarma’s BDC Inbox.

The inbox seamlessly condenses all forms of communication, including text, email and voice calls, into a single conversation type. The message is then transmitted to the BDC agent, who can simply read the information and route the customer to the necessary dealership department without having to accommodate for different conversation channels. “Our BDC Inbox; think of it as the body and the suspension on top of our communications platform,” explains Nath. Dealers and their fixed operations departments are also able to see myKaarma work in real-time, keeping up to date with how customers are interacting with technicians or BDC agents.

This system drastically improves the efficiency of both fixed operations and BDC teams since agents are spending less time on the phone. Nath notes that dealers who work with myKaarma see the number of service department appointments rise by 10%, with call volumes often cut by half. Phone conversations made through myKaarma’s platform are also recorded, allowing dealers and customer representatives to know exactly what was discussed with clients should issues arise. The BDC Inbox also allows for channel switching, giving retailers control over how they respond to consumers.

The myKaarma platform is a powerful software suite with a proven track record of boosting BDC efficiency and fixed operations revenue. Nath notes that even more tools are planned for the platform, including an artificial intelligence plugin that will further speed up client communications. To learn more about how myKaarma can boost service results, visit the company’s website here.

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The emergence of new technologies and car buyer preferences has created new ways to improve service department profitability, but what tools should dealers choose? On this episode of Dealer Forward, host Tiffani Stefanescu, Xtime performance manager at Cox Automotive, is joined by Kris Pollard, corporate fixed operations director of Keffer Auto Group, to discuss key findings from Cox Automotive’s newest study on the ways dealers are keeping up with the rapid evolution of automotive retailing and how managers can implement new solutions in the service department.

Cox Automotive’s research shows that the service department has been the most neglected in terms of advancements. While this means many fixed operation teams are working with outdated tools and practices, it also signifies the vast number of untapped opportunities waiting to be found by forward-thinking dealers. For example, Pollard notes that his service teams have improved the transparency, convenience and efficiency of client communications by using Xtime’s video chat capabilities. This feature allows technicians to showcase needed repairs to car owners from the comfort of their homes. “We’ve seen that our close rates, from having the opportunity to walk customers back to their car and see the failed [components]…those close rates are much higher than just the service advisor trying to rely on that information.”

Since today’s customers prioritize efficiency, service department teams must regularly fine-tune their processes to continue earning new clients. This often requires adapting new technologies which optimize the daily workflow of fixed operations teams. “These tools give our employees a better experience; they give our customers a better experience,” remarks Pollard. However, this is not to suggest that dealers invest in new toolkits without first doing their research. Keffer Auto Group weighs new innovations by first asking: what’s in it for me? “With the Xtime tool, it’s clear what’s in it for them,” continues Pollard. “Everyone does a lot less running around…which allows them to focus and improve their process…” Xtime also measures how long certain activities take, allowing management teams to identify problem areas and develop solutions.

While dealers stand to substantially boost service department profit through adopting new technologies, they must be sure to choose programs that allow for cross-platform integrations. These capabilities allow different software suites to communicate with each other, drastically improving the functionality of management tools. For example, the level of integration between Xtime and Dealertrack, as Pollard notes, “couldn’t be more seamless.” The connectivity allows managers to be consistent, ensuring that technicians do not miss any maintenance or repair needs.

Xtime can also help service departments better communicate with OEMs in the event of recalls. Recall work can easily trip up a team’s workflow due to its unexpected nature. “We do a better job because the recalls, during the [client] scheduling, are communicated back to the service advisor, and they know that the car has a recall on it,” remarks Pollard. This ensures that service departments are able to properly organize their workflow to avoid frustrations. “You can create a business model and the experience, again both for the customer and the employees, that you want,” Pollard concludes.

For a closer look at the tactics discussed here and how dealers can apply them in the service department, visit Xtime.com/profitguide to download the new ebook: “Three Profit Opportunities for Today’s Fixed Ops.”

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