Scott Wintrip has helped over 23,000 organizations across the globe recruit and hire for a variety of positions. Wintrip works as a hiring and recruiting consultant, keynote speaker, and is the author of Sales Yoga and High Velocity Hiring.   

Wintrip says that hiring for any customer service job is unique because of the customer-facing nature of the job, but it’s especially unique in the automotive industry because it’s such an intimidating process for customers already.

“My wife is an example of this,” Wintrip says. “Every time she meets with the advisor, they treat her like she’s brain-dead. I know they hire good people and I bet they thought they made a good choice, but they probably didn’t spot this in the interview process. The hardest part is spotting people that will act like this.”

For a position like this, it’s not necessary to hire someone with industry background. In fact, it may be beneficial to think outside the box. Here are a few hidden gems that Wintrip says are worth looking at when shops are looking to fill a customer service rep role. 

Collection Workers:

This one surprises a lot of people, Wintrip says, but they have excellent phone skills and have developed an extremely thick skin.

“They tend to be good problem solvers—they don’t get rattled,” Wintrip.

Hospitality:

People who have a hospitality background have the customer service skills needed and are most likely just looking for more sane hours, Wintrip says.