Improving front-end processes will lead to more efficient, profitable repairs
I 've always been an avid model builder and am used to following the directions that come with most model kits. Generally, they're accurate and helpful when assembling a complicated model. So when I bought "some assembly required" furniture, I thought it would be the same. I was wrong.
The unit I purchased was complicated, and the directions were written in a language I didn't understand, had terrible illustrations and were incomplete. A project I assumed would be simple ended up taking most of the day with lots of trial and error. Because I bought this unit many years ago, the furniture manufacturers have improved their instruction booklets dramatically, and when I recently purchased another piece, I put it together easily and without incident. The company must have read the nasty letter I sent and made the needed changes to its process.There's a lesson to be learned here. If we improved our processes up front and provided a better, more complete repair road map, maybe our repair processes would go more smoothly as well.
What happens when a customer comes into your shop for an estimate or repair? Spend a few hours this coming week and watch the process. Even if you don't have a formal program in place, you still have one. It's probably not the one you should be using, but there's a process in place. You've developed one that's become habit.
We're all creatures of habit. Generally, we wake up and follow the same process every morning while getting ready to begin the day. You get dressed, eat breakfast and drive to work following a pattern you set. You probably put a little thought into it, but it allows you to make it through the day. Your results are just OK.
But in the current competitive environment, OK results aren't acceptable. Every potential customer who comes into your shop has to be thought of as important. You have to do everything in your power to make sure that potential sale becomes a customer. That can be accomplished by implementing standard procedures and processes in your office that are developed with this goal in mind, not something that morphs out of repetition.
The basics
The easiest way to understand what it feels like to be one of your customers is to become one for a few minutes. Walk in through your front door and observe your reception area as if you were seeing it through the eyes of a customer for the first time. Is your office clean, neat and organized? Does it smell like a fast-food place? Are there clean seating/waiting areas for your customers? As simple as this may sound, something as small as an unpleasant odor in your waiting room can drive away a potential customer.
The first process you'll need to implement is a program that involves cleaning and organizing your front office. Once this is done, make certain you put together a standard routine for keeping it clean. Whether you have a cleaning service, or you assign a specific job to every employee, your reception area should be clean and neat 24/7. Think about this from your customer's point of view by drawing on personal experience. If you walked into a dentist's office that was messy, dirty and smelled, would you trust them to work on your teeth? I've seen hundreds of examples of poorly thought-out and maintained waiting areas that cost shops work.
Your shop's look reflects your level of professionalism and ability. If it's messy and unorganized, the perception of the customer is that the repairs will be handled in an unprofessional manner as well. Design a cleaning schedule and maintain it. Don't allow your staff to keep a messy work area.
Refine and focus
After the shop office looks great, concentrate on refining the processes by first providing an estimate for a customer. After the estimate becomes a job, follow that job through to the repair process. Look at the sign on your building. It probably says "something body shop," or "something collision repair experts." I bet that it doesn't say "something estimate experts."
Your business is repairing damaged cars, not writing estimates, which are just a part of the repair process. The next step in refining your office processes is to make sure you and your staff remember to get the keys. The customers coming to your door don't need an estimate. They need their car repaired. In reality, your estimator needs to be more of a salesman than a technical expert. If you can train him to be both, you'll have a valuable asset.
Every office employee, even your customer service rep, should take sales classes, which generally are offered by all the major paint supply companies and are held several times a year for little or no cost to the customers. Take advantage of these classes. You also might want to consider Dale Carnegie type motivational classes.
When a customer walks in the door and asks for an estimate, follow a specific process every time. Every shop will have something a little different, but there should be a process that involves more than yelling back to whoever is available to come up and help the customer. This process should be simple but should give you and the customer the information each of you needs to be able to resolve the problem.
You don't need to do this alone and shouldn't. Sit down with your staff and discuss with them the classes they'll be taking and why they're important. Ask them for suggestions and start assembling the standard process of greeting customers when they walk in the door. Lay out a simple four- or five-step procedure that helps bring the customer from needing an estimate to scheduling a repair. If you receive input from your employees, they'll be more receptive and feel like they had a part in the process, assuring its success.
Set expectations
Capturing the repair is the main idea, but writing a complete technical estimate is the next most significant task. Obviously, all shops are faced with the very same issue when looking at a vehicle that cannot be disassembled. A poor or incomplete estimate will cause considerable delays once the vehicle is in the shop for repairs. Part of your office process must include letting your potential customers know that an accurate estimate takes some time. Try to schedule them for an estimate appointment. This usually is done if a customer calls before stopping in, which is highly likely. If you are a direct repair program shop, you usually have an assignment and are calling the customer to schedule an appointment for him or her.
Giving customers estimate appointments accomplishes several things. It allows your staff to provide them undivided attention during the appointment time, making them feel better about the visit and allowing you to get a more thorough look at the vehicle. If you tell a customer it takes approximately 30 minutes for an estimate, that's what they will expect. If you tell a customer to come in whenever, he might think you have an estimating drive-through and can spit out a repair estimate as they pass by your shop. Set expectations up front for the entire repair, starting with the estimate.
Scheduling estimates is easy, and most people think they need an appointment for one anyway. Don't be concerned that scheduling appointments will damage your business. Believe me, it'll improve it.
End of the beginning
Once in the shop, design a specific paperwork flow for the job. If you don't use a management system, look into buying one. When management systems were first implemented by progressive shops years ago, they were expensive. Now they're an affordable and indispensable tool for operating a shop at peak efficiency. A sound, modern system will help you with your paperwork flow and drive production in the shop. All of the aspects and benefits of clear, concise communication can be implemented effectively by using a management system and the reports they provide.
Morning release meetings, which are an essential part of effective communication, can be implemented with ease using any of the systems in the marketplace. Status update calls and questions about parts can be addressed and resolved easily.
I've heard for years that people run their shops just fine using handwritten lists and goal boards throughout the shop. Good for them. But no one can convince me doing things by hand or by the seat of your pants is more efficient than using a management system, which will improve communication, customer satisfaction and bookkeeping accuracy. Remember: always keep paperwork ahead of the repair, parts should be ordered through the system, all supplemental work and parts should reflect the repairs accurately, and paperwork should be completed before the vehicle is completed.
All good repairs start in the office. Much like the directions in the older do-it-yourself furniture boxes, new and improved systems will ease assembly, drive production and have a positive effect on customer satisfaction and profitability.
There are many facets involved in implementing streamlined or improved office processes. Involve your strategic partners to help you implement these types of changes. Most paint jobbers and suppliers have the ability to provide you with detailed standard operating procedures to follow. Don't hesitate to ask them. The more successful you are, the better they do. If you can't get any local help implementing your processes, contact me at [email protected], and I'll be more than happy to help as much as I can.
