by SCOTT BRIGDEN

There are many reasons why this is such a struggle, and it can take a lot of training and outside-the-box thinking to get the story you need. If this is a struggle for your service department, make sure it is a priority for everyone because that story is worth everything to a customer.

A lot of trust is placed in a service department when we are asked to perform repairs for a customer. Their expectation is that when the machine is returned to them, the problems will be resolved and that your technicians took the time and care to do the repair right. When it is time to pay for the invoice, the work order serves as the value statement for the repairs performed. But how do we show value in our work orders? It can come down to asking a simple question: Does the story written justify the dollars we are asking for? Imagine being a customer and seeing that you were charged $ 900 to diagnose an electrical issue. The first thing you do is read to find out why it cost $ 900. I had a repair like this come across my desk, and the technician’ s comment was:“ Tested and confirmed issue, found a broken wire.” Now, is that a $ 900 explanation for what was done?

When it is time to pay for the invoice, the work order serves as the value statement for the repairs performed. But how do we show value in our work orders? It can come down to asking a simple question: Does the story written justify the dollars we are asking for?

A lot of trust is placed in a service department when we are asked to perform repairs for a customer. Their expectation is that when the machine is returned to them, the problems will be resolved and that your technicians took the time and care to do the repair right.

Getting that $ 900 story needs to be a priority. If your technicians do not write clear explanations of the work they do, then we need to train them. Find out what obstacles are stopping them from providing the details you need. Slow typers? There is voice to text apps. Bad at spelling? Assure them that they just need to get the information in, and you will get it cleaned up. Most often, though, poor stories are the result of two things. First, is that the technician was never trained on what makes a good story. I feel this should be done with all new technicians you hire in the first week. Show them samples of good and bad stories and set a standard up front. The second reason is that they wait until the end of the day or week to write their stories. The longer anyone waits to document what they did, the more detail will be missed or forgotten. Train your technicians to document their work throughout the day.

Now, once you get the details from a technician,

it is just as important that the work order is easy to understand and that care was taken to correct spelling mistakes, grammar issues, and clearly explains to the customer the value of the work done. I have worked with some fantastic service writers who had never fixed anything in their careers, but made sure a work order was done well. They went into the shop and asked questions to get more information. They would take the time to clean up the spelling and grammar on every work order, and they took pride in what a customer saw. They wanted to be sure that a $ 900 repair had a $ 900 story.

Sending out a work order lacking details or not making sure it is clear and easy to understand is like sending a tractor back from a major oil leak repair without cleaning up the oil from the leak. Make sure your work order reflects the value for the repairs; your customer deserves nothing less. EDM

SCOTT BRIGDEN is a trainer with NAEDA’ s Dealer Institute. Prior to joining DI as an aftermarket specialist and trainer, Scott held various training and leadership positions across several dealerships in Canada, and he currently manages a truck repair shop. He looks forward to helping dealers succeed by improving their parts and service operations.

TOP METRICS TO WATCH is an ongoing feature brought to you by the association’ s Dealer Institute to help dealers better understand key performance indicators and industry metrics to effectively manage their businesses.

SCOTT BRIGDEN, Aftermarket Specialist and Trainer with NAEDA’ s Dealer Institute.

44 EQUIPMENT DEALER MAGAZINE • U. S. EDITION