Why Working Hard Doesn’t Always Pay Off

Motivational speakers would have you believe that simply putting your head down and working hard is the best way to become your best self. 

While there’s something to be said for work ethic as a service consultant, it’s not always the road to success. 

What Hard Work Looks Like

Consider the typical workday for a service consultant:

•    Start work bright and early. The goal is to write as many early-morning customers as possible, no matter how small, with the intention of selling them hard later in the day. 

•    Mid-morning, after the rush, scramble to get the cars through the shop before customers begin calling.

•    Call customers with estimates, trying to bump them from a one-line oil change to a profitable repair order. 

•    Take a short lunch or skip it altogether, aiming to snag that one whale RO scheduled for noontime. 

•    Continue selling ROs and putting out customer fires in the afternoon.

•    Review ROs with customers during vehicle pick-up until the sun gets low on the horizon. 

•    Go home tired and frazzled, dreading doing it all again the next day.

There’s nothing fun or overly profitable about a day like this most of the time, yet service consultants do it week in and week out until burnout. Worse yet, the customer isn’t the focus of the service at all. The service advisor’s ‘hard work’ might pay off today, but doesn’t ensure the customer will come back. 

Work Smarter, Not Harder

If the goal truly is customer service, earning a handsome living will certainly follow. It’s the way to work smarter instead of the typical rat race. 

Spend time focusing on each customer and their needs during write-up. Make the most out of each step in the process. 

•    Greet the customer warmly every time, not like the next number in the queue. It opens a dialogue. 

•    Perform a thorough walkaround WITH the customer every time. 

•    Don’t sell the customer services – instead, advise them of the best way to care for their car. 

•    Focus less on making the sale and more on making every customer comfortable and satisfied.

When you write fewer work orders and spend more time with each customer, you’re working smarter, not harder. This face time and an honest, caring attitude means your customers will not only spend money with you today but earn you their loyal business for man visits to come.