Leadership Decisions
"Stop blowing holes in my ship!" ~capt. Jack Sparrow
Oftentimes Service Advisors find themselves in a position where they need to make decisions when the owner or manager is not present. In all actuality, these decisions are being made even when a manager or owner is present, and that’s a good thing!
Aug 23
/
Guy Roberts
You must be able to think on your feet in this job. You have to be able to make a good decision without having to ask the owner or manager what you should do. Some of these decisions you are already making without thinking about them. Then there are some decisions that you ALWAYS go to the owner or manager with.
For example, you get a walk-in customer for an oil change and the schedule is full. Most advisors will automatically either tell the customer now is not a good time, or, the good ones will make it happen and find a way to squeeze it in. Some advisors are always asking the manager or owner what to do in this situation. You know what to do!
How about when a technician gives you an inspection with barely anything on it? You know the car needs a lot, it has 100K miles on it and all he put on the ticket was the oil change and a brake flush. You make the decision to be an order taker and just sell what he gave you...or you hand it right back to the tech and say “that’s not enough, I need a full inspection to sell you hours”.
There are tons of little decisions like that you make every day. Those are the ones that add up to big months for you and your shop when you think about the sales impact that occurs when the right decision is made. But what about the bigger decisions?
Your techs are backed up with production, but the owner’s marketing is bringing in customers. Most advisors push off new customers from days to weeks out because the techs are so busy. The advisor may go to the manager or owner and ask what they would like them to do. I would challenge you to think about the overall purpose of what your shop is trying to accomplish.
We market to get more customers, but customers rarely come in at a comfortable pace. Our industry is ups and downs, with busy days and slow days. Rarely is it a comfortable steady flow of work. And customers are not concerned with whether or not you are backed up. They are looking to get their oil change done or the light on their dash addressed. If you can’t look at it now, another shop will, and those marketing dollars spent are wasted.
So your decisions at the helm of the ship matter a great deal. That’s right advisor, you’re steering this sucker!
So how do you accomplish the overall goal, to take care of the customers trying to get in the door? In the situation above, you have to give the techs time to do production, but also, they need work tomorrow and the next day. They need to inspect the cars coming in the door. So you make the decision to split the day in half. You talk to your foreman or if no foreman exists, the team in the back and you tell them the situation; that we need to take care of the customers coming in but also the ones already here. You want to focus on inspections in the morning and production in the afternoon. You will in turn have customers drop off for an inspection the next morning, or set up an appointment for them the next morning. This way the afternoons are free for the techs to produce what was sold. There are more details to doing this but I won’t go into it here…
The point is, a good leadership decision has to be made by you, the advisor. One that produces maximum results (by results I mean profitability) for your shop, for your techs, and for you! You make decisions like this every day. Whether or not they are good leadership decisions is up to you. How do you view your role in the shop? You are a manager, whether you like it or not. A manager of the workflow. Your people skills play into this in a big way as you deal with your external customers (general public) and your internal customers (the technicians and front staff). If you are looking to move up in your shop then these are the skills needed to accomplish this. The owner needs to be working on the business more than in the business. They are looking for their #2. Make your decisions based on what’s best for the customer and the shop. The owner will notice your leadership skills. They need someone like you to steer the ship, not blow holes in it.
Now is your time to shine!
For example, you get a walk-in customer for an oil change and the schedule is full. Most advisors will automatically either tell the customer now is not a good time, or, the good ones will make it happen and find a way to squeeze it in. Some advisors are always asking the manager or owner what to do in this situation. You know what to do!
How about when a technician gives you an inspection with barely anything on it? You know the car needs a lot, it has 100K miles on it and all he put on the ticket was the oil change and a brake flush. You make the decision to be an order taker and just sell what he gave you...or you hand it right back to the tech and say “that’s not enough, I need a full inspection to sell you hours”.
There are tons of little decisions like that you make every day. Those are the ones that add up to big months for you and your shop when you think about the sales impact that occurs when the right decision is made. But what about the bigger decisions?
Your techs are backed up with production, but the owner’s marketing is bringing in customers. Most advisors push off new customers from days to weeks out because the techs are so busy. The advisor may go to the manager or owner and ask what they would like them to do. I would challenge you to think about the overall purpose of what your shop is trying to accomplish.
We market to get more customers, but customers rarely come in at a comfortable pace. Our industry is ups and downs, with busy days and slow days. Rarely is it a comfortable steady flow of work. And customers are not concerned with whether or not you are backed up. They are looking to get their oil change done or the light on their dash addressed. If you can’t look at it now, another shop will, and those marketing dollars spent are wasted.
So your decisions at the helm of the ship matter a great deal. That’s right advisor, you’re steering this sucker!
So how do you accomplish the overall goal, to take care of the customers trying to get in the door? In the situation above, you have to give the techs time to do production, but also, they need work tomorrow and the next day. They need to inspect the cars coming in the door. So you make the decision to split the day in half. You talk to your foreman or if no foreman exists, the team in the back and you tell them the situation; that we need to take care of the customers coming in but also the ones already here. You want to focus on inspections in the morning and production in the afternoon. You will in turn have customers drop off for an inspection the next morning, or set up an appointment for them the next morning. This way the afternoons are free for the techs to produce what was sold. There are more details to doing this but I won’t go into it here…
The point is, a good leadership decision has to be made by you, the advisor. One that produces maximum results (by results I mean profitability) for your shop, for your techs, and for you! You make decisions like this every day. Whether or not they are good leadership decisions is up to you. How do you view your role in the shop? You are a manager, whether you like it or not. A manager of the workflow. Your people skills play into this in a big way as you deal with your external customers (general public) and your internal customers (the technicians and front staff). If you are looking to move up in your shop then these are the skills needed to accomplish this. The owner needs to be working on the business more than in the business. They are looking for their #2. Make your decisions based on what’s best for the customer and the shop. The owner will notice your leadership skills. They need someone like you to steer the ship, not blow holes in it.
Now is your time to shine!
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James DeVito
James has been working in the automotive industry for 10+ years. Over that time, he's worked in every front-of-house position - assistant, parts manager, service advisor, and general manager. Not being a "car person" himself previous to joining the industry, the journey to find success wasn't an obvious one. Looking back on that journey now, he's able to recognize what empowered his wins & what caused his mistakes. Now he focuses on helping other service advisors avoid those same mistakes, find their confidence, and discover a career in this industry that is built on sound foundations and realized through continued growth.

Melanie Schambach
Over the 11+ years she's been in the industry, Melanie has found success everywhere she went. She has worked in independent and dealer facilities - earning recognition at BMW as one of their top service advisors in the country. She's even worked as an adjuster for extended warranty companies, speaking with advisors on a daily basis to help get customer's vehicles fixed. Through all that experience, she's discovered what it takes to build a career as a top-level service advisor. With Sales Fix, she focuses on helping service advisors overcome their own limitations to reach their full potential.

Mike Tatich
As an owner of 5 successful repair shops in the Indiana area, Mike is no stranger to the daily pressures of an automotive repair facility. And while many owners start their career as a technician, Mike has spent all of his tenure in the front of house serving customers and mastering what it means to be a successful service advisor. After years of running shops and training his own sales teams, he knows what works and what doesn't. For 20 years, Mike has trained & taught service advisors all across the country. With Sales Fix, he aims to share that gained knowledge & expertise to help other service advisors level up and find their path to success.

Leann Dennis
After earning top sales recognition as a service advisor with Valvoline for nearly 6 years, Leann made the jump to independent shop owner and took her service advising to a whole new level. She's passionate about helping customer's see the value in their current vehicle and her sales were representative of that. After years of service advising, opening a second location and training those service advisors, Leann has joined the Sales Fix team to help other advisors learn how to translate their passion into profitable sales.

Trevor Lintzen
Trevor Lintzen has been in the service industry for 15 years and found success at every step of his career. After years in the service advisor seat he moved into store management. From opening a brand new store and building that new customer base to leading multiple teams in different shops, he thrives on the challenge of delivering high level customer service amidst the fast paced environment of a busy shop. Helping service advisors learn how to solve problems quickly and effectively is a focus in his training. Currently in a district manager role, Trevor focuses on supporting and training his shops to help them reach their goals and find success.

Guy Roberts
Guy Roberts began his career in the automotive industry in 2010 with Aaron Stokes’ company, Euro Fix, where he initially served as a Service Advisor. His strong performance led to rapid advancement, first to General Manager and then to District Manager, overseeing eight locations in the Nashville, TN area. When Aaron Stokes launched Shop Fix Academy, Guy transitioned to a leadership role within the organization, becoming both a coach and a key member of the leadership team. In 2019, Guy contributed to the development of Sales Fix, a training company focused on Service Advisors. Today, he serves as the Director of Sales Fix while continuing as a leader with Shop Fix Academy.

Kyle Martin
Trevor Lintzen has been in the service industry for 15 years. He loves anything fast and loves working on his Volkswagens. Since 2019 he has been with Tommy's Hi Tech and Tommy’s European in central Texas and is currently the District Manager. Customer
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Times are displayed in Central Time.