Digital Dealer - January 2019 - 24

D E A L E R OP S & M ANAGEM ENT: Hir in g /Tr ai ni ng

By Katia Tikhonravova
Owner,
Corporation Clinic

7 Questions to
Ask When Hiring
a Customer
Service Trainer
The average customer
will see their automotive salesperson once every
three years. The same
customer will see their
service advisor approximately three times a year.
Relationships are either
built, strengthened or
destroyed in the service
drive. Building and maintaining positive relationships
with customers at the
service drive is the bread
and butter for the whole
dealership.
Relationships with
customers cannot be pur-

chased. Dealerships have
to put time and effort into
establishing and maintaining relationships with their
customers. These relationships need to be effectively
managed to develop a
consistent, positive, and
productive customer base.
Automotive services sell
themselves. Customers
know they need oil changes
and other maintenance/repairs for their vehicle, so the
question for them is really
where to take their car for
such services. The retention
of great employees is signif-

icant because the majority
of customers come to see
their service advisor, rather
than the dealership. If the
service advisor leaves, this
affects customer commitment to the dealership.
Depending on a few great
employees to pull the dealership up is risky. A smart
hiring system, providing
training and mentoring to
the employees, and an
effective compensation
package, are all methods to
create and maintain great
employees. Yet, even this is
not always enough.

When it comes to service
advisor training, unfortunately, it is typically limited
to the new hire training
content, which does not
describe how to navigate
and manage relational human patterns, systems, and
desires. Effective training
should also cover useful
information like the steps
involved in introducing a
service or product, phone
follow-up, and entering
information in the computer.
Hiring a customer service
trainer could set your fixed
operations department apart
from competitors and help
your dealership to better
navigate the complex world
of human relations. But,
there are many (unqualified)
self-proclaimed trainers in
the automotive industry, so
it can be difficult to identify
who is worthy of your time.
Worry no more! Below are
seven useful questions to
ask when looking to hire
a skilled customer service
trainer.
1. WHAT RELATIONAL
TRAINING DO THEY
HAVE? Many automotive

customer service trainers
come from the service drive
or car sales themselves.
On one hand, this is
great because they have
experience and understand
the service process. At the
same time, it is challenging
because their training
methods and materials
are often the same as
when they were trained,
which is often outdated.
Therefore, it is best to
have a customer service
trainer who specializes in
understanding relational

24

JANUARY 2019

D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M
http://www.DIGITALDEALER.COM
Digital Dealer - January 2019

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