Avoid Hiring These Service Advisors AT ALL COST! (Service Drive Revolution)

Let's talk about the six type of service advisors that will kill, destroy your department. Absolutely implode.

The Chernobyl effect.

Going Chernobyl effect. Okay, the first one is the liar.

The service advisor that's a liar. Let me tell you what I mean by liar. They don't tell customers what they really need. So they do two things. One is they don't check history, so they don't recommend maintenance. That will save customers money in the long run. Right.

So they don't do that. And then the second one is they don't recommend everything. I remember when I was a service advisor and I would have these college students with like an old Volkswagen Jetta and it would need like a laundry list of stuff in the. And I would tell the. Usually it was a female and I would tell her she's a college student and she would cry and the whole thing. And then I don't know, two hours later, dad would call me and give me a credit card. Right?

Yep.

And so a lot of times they lie. Like I remember when I would get other advisors, customers when they were off or sick, and they had never recommended anything. They'd written the customer up for years.

Right.

And never recommended anything. And I'm like, you're lying to this customer.

Yeah, but then you're the one that gives them a $4,000 estimate.

I know, I hate it. I hate service advisors that don't actually care about their customers or they're cherry picking. They're just lazy.

Okay. Yeah. I have a third one. What that they, that they lie about. Do you know what it is? They're always making excuses for their unorganization and not getting the car done on time. And guess who they blame it on?

Yeah, they over promised too.

Parts department, of course.

Yes, we got the wrong part again today. But their lives catch up on. They don't sell this. Tell the same lie over and over again. And then the story always changes. And then the customers. Well, you told me something about that, but it was different. So we don't want to lie. So the liar. Absolutely. Okay.

The next one that I have is they can't see through their own wallet. So they have their own wallet up in front of them. They can't see through their wallet enough to not lie to customers.

So they're like, well, I wouldn't spend $1,000 on my car, so I'm not going to recommend it. And they, they prejudge customers because they can't get past that. It's, you know, 700 or $800 and they wouldn't spend it.

So then that wallet creates a rut that they sell into as well then. Right. So if you look at, you can analyze the numbers and do a forensic audit and see exactly what they're comfortable with selling what they're not. So you can actually change that so they can't see through their wallet. That's interesting.

Then the other one I have is the flippers and the jumpers.

The flippers and the jumpers.

So they jump from one job to another. They never stay in one service drive and build a clientele. They're always just chasing the pay plan.

I had a guy come through our class about three years ago, and he works for Ducati North America. He's their national training director, and he was a Mercedes Benz technician. And he told me, said the only time that his paycheck went up was when he moved his toolbox to another dealership. So for technicians, I guess it's okay in a sense. But yeah, from an advisor standpoint, you don't want to just rely on the dealership or the business providing you business. You want to create your own book of business. Right. You want to create your own clientele. Stay in one place, don't flip and don't jump. The grass is not always green on the other side.

Then the next one is the rookie. And I don't care if you've been there a month or two years. The rookie just doesn't care about knowing anything, learning anything. It's just amateur hour constantly.

Well, those are the catchers, right? This is an easy business in a certain extent. This is why, yes, an iPad will replace the mediocre service advisors. There's a certain amount of business that is built in if you just ask for it. So you don't have to be a professional. It takes a pro, though, to know how to go through three or four different levels and really connect what the customer uses the car for and get into that personal side of their life. So. So then they can understand why they need to do everything today rather than putting it off and deferring the work. So I like this one. The rookie.

Yeah. And I think if you're getting paid to do something, you're a pro.

Yes.

And a lot of advisors don't treat it like a career. They don't act like pros, and that makes them rookies.

So it's amateur hour down at the karaoke bar. It just sounds horrible.

Exactly.

That's what their sales presentations sound like.

And then line cook.

What do you mean by that? I Forget line cook. No, no you don't. They're just transaction after transaction, just flipping it, moving on to the next one. Right?

Yeah, yeah.

Quick, easy, no personalization to the service. They're just, they're stuck in transaction. I really like this point when we work with newer advisors and teaching them how to move beyond, you know, just the, the basic job of moving from the rookie into the pro ranks, which is you've got to move from transactional into what relationship to get those key throwers. It's not hard to do. It just takes a couple little moments of caring and going that, that much deeper.

The last one is the cannibal.

Oh, what a good word, the cannibal. I picture big teeth which is blood dripping everywhere.

Completely the opposite of the liar. This advisor sells customers stuff they don't need and rips their head off. Never really listens to the customer, never really has any empathy for the customer. They're just sell, sell, sell. All they care about is selling, selling, selling. And they're, they're not collecting customers, they're just trying to rip their heads off.

Do you know that typically cannibals will stay at a dealership and not move to the independent world?

Why is that?

Because we the. The independent.

I did not know that. Please tell me why. This is German, the independent, wise one.

The independent world. You don't have as big of a support staff. So think about this. At a dealership, I have a massive, multi million dollar business that I get to operate within. I've got porters, I've got car wash, I've got a detail department, I've got expert technicians that are factory trained. I've got a parts department that does a certain percentage of my job for me. Right. So basically I can handle a larger volume. I can just process the transaction, not really care about people, and I can get by and be successful to a certain extent. In the independent world. Those guys get flushed out and just they're gone in six months because what happens is their numbers scream up. Like we'll have guys come in and they'll triple average repair orders literally overnight. The shop owner calls like, oh, it's so great. Like I'm making so much money, I'm going to buy a boat. Whoa, timeout. Don't buy the boat. Just wait, wait for the fall. And sure enough, six months later, they're calling, crying because the numbers just tanked. The arrow has completely flipped upside down and the customers are gone. Why? Because they got that hollow feeling that they were taken. Yeah, and that's not what we want. So, yeah, typically the cannibals don't survive in the independent world. They'll hide in a larger dealership where they've got the support around them to stay.

That's interesting. I never thought of that.

I once saw a guy literally sell a $4,500 job face to face. Walked in the back, dispatched a ticket, walked back in, looked that same customer. I said, hi, can I help you? And he goes, I just talked to you about my car. Oh, and your last name. Like, that's how unempathetic this guy was. It's horrible. That's a true story.

That's psychopathic.

Very, very close. Yes, absolutely.

That's not very good. Those are the six types of advisors that will kill your service department. Destroys you.

Like Chernobyl. Chernobyl effect, yes.

Thank you so much for watching this clip of Service Drive Revolution. Now you can catch the full episode on YouTube, iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you consume your podcast. If you have any questions, go ahead and post them in the comments below. Make sure you subscribe and hit the bell icon so you're notified when we post new episodes. I'm Chris Collins and you can find me on Facebook and Instagram at Chris Bulldog Collins, and I'll see you again on the next episode.