Digital Dealer - June 2018 - 37

SIMPLY THIS BRETHREN, CONSUMERS DON'T
VISIT YOUR ESTABLISHMENT SO THAT YOU CAN
ASK THEM WHAT THEY SHOULD DO."
manuals (in the glove
box), manufacture and
other service manuals,
and literally tons of
materials published by
parts manufacturers and
users. To get a taste,
peruse tirerack.com
for instance, a bible of
usable tire info and data.
Speaking of tires,
according to safecar.gov
some 11,000 accidents
annually are caused by
tire failure, and recalls
are getting more and
more common they
stated. Their list of tire
issues included poor tire
design, tire de-beading,
tread separation, shredding, wheel explosions,
side-wall zipper failures,
poor construction, poor
manufacturing, blowouts, and failed tire
adhesion. When tires fail
or are installed improperly, roll-overs and frontto-rear accidents are
common results, along
with resulting broken
bones, head, neck, and
brain injuries, as well as
death. Uh, just a minute
coach, I need to run out
and check mine.

dependability, in a school
I attended, instructors
demoed a picture of
hundreds of core-alternators piled in a room. None
were malfunctioning,
and all were replaced
because of a slipping
serpentine belt which
didn't make a sound and
looked like new while the
grooves were completely
worn out. The only way to
test a belt for wear now is
to measure the depth of
the grooves with a petite
plastic measuring tool,
which you can get for
free at many parts stores.
The days of substantial
cracking and belt noise
are for the most part over
we were told.

Today's snake-looking
belts (hence the designation "serpentine") are
extremely important to
both safety and dependability. Regarding

WHAT TO DO
BATMAN

TAKE A BELT TO
IT BRO

AND WHAT HAPPENS

when a decrepit serpent
sash suddenly bites the
dust? Well, consider
that they often drive
water pumps (burned-up
engine), power steering pumps (help, I can't
steer), alternators (help,
it won't start), and other
components such as
the air conditioner. Keep
in mind that when the
engine eventually stops,
there isn't much stopping
power either.
I suggest every manager listen closely to the
customer presentations
of their ASM staff. I am

seeing important MPI-discovered needs closed at
less than a measly 20%
way too often. These are
"NEEDS," not "Wants."
The closing ratio in car
selling is better than that.
Needs have weighty
consequences and few
ASMs I am finding are
knowledgeable enough
to know them, let alone
explain them.
Consider doing some
research and starting
once-a-week 30-minute
training sessions with
your customer managers. Cover the basics,
especially the details of
maintenance what, why,
benefits, and consequences. Teach them to
use the assumptive close,
not the clumsy and weak
"asking close," which just
signifies that the request
was optional all along.
Have them be thorough
in their review and close
with "So, we will take care
of that today." You will be
amazed at the positive
results, and both the
patrons and their vehicles
will be far better-taken
care of. Remember that
consumers do not visit
your establishment so
that you can ask them
what they should do.
HERE'S A START ART

To get your short and
sweet training regimen
cranked up, I have a nifty

basic tire training workbook written in Excel
for you. I just finished it
and used it myself with
a great reception. Try
a session at least once
and you might find it
refreshing, enlightening,
and your troops will do a
better job handling your
potential tire liabilities
(smarty lawyers will
refer to your techs as
"the experts"). If you
would like a copy of the
Excel sheet, just email a
request to Ed@NetProfitGroup.com and put
on the subject line "Tire
Facts-Safety First Lefty."
ED KOVALCHICK has
traveled the world training
and consulting in fixed operations with manufacturers
and dealers. His extensive
background includes master technician status, independent shop owner, dealer
with all Chrysler & Nissan
franchises, and founder
of Net Profit Inc., fixed
operations consulting and
training. He is a graduate of
the University of Louisiana
and has served as state
president of the Automotive
Service Councils, and the
advisory boards of Wyo
Tech and Virginia College.
He has been a regular
columnist and conference
presenter with Dealer Magazine and Digital Dealer
since 1995. EMAIL: Ed@
NetProfitGroup.com.

D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

JUNE 2018

37
http://www.tirerack.com http://www.safecar.gov http://www.DIGITALDEALER.COM
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Dealer - June 2018
