Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/243961
FOCUS PSB www.PowersportsBusiness.com Powersports Business • January 27, 2014 • 13 This issue: Service Department Next issue: Utility UTV Think strategically to improve the morale and profitability of your service department SEEKING SERVICE EFFICIENCY BY TOM KAISER SENIOR EDITOR Service departments are messy by nature, but their importance in terms of customer satisfaction and loyalty cannot be overlooked. While the front-of-the-house staff greets the customer and usually establishes the initial relationship, the service department is where that relationship is tested in times of trial. When customers bring in a vehicle in need of repair, will they leave overjoyed with your store, merely satisfied or take-to-the-web outraged? Aside from avoiding customer complaints or taking a hit on CSI scores, your dealership's service presentation helps or hurts customer loyalty. Your profitability, unit sales, referral business and overall reputation are on the line. There are also nuts-and-bolts issues like staffing and the physical layout of the service operation that are equally crucial, impacting efficiency, technician productivity and team morale. If your staff is wasting its time (or your own), job satisfaction will take a hit as the department's profitability suffers. We spoke with two dealerships recognized for their service operations, as well as industry trainer Valerie Ziebron of Yamaha Marine University, for their takes on making easy changes that will improve your service presentation from the inside out. TEAM WINNEBAGOLAND Single location Oshkosh, Wis. Tom Van Zeeland, general manager at Team Winnebagoland in Oshkosh, Wis., is the third generation of his family running a multi-line dealership that sells Yamaha, Kawasaki and P13x17-PSB2-Focus.indd 13 Polaris. It's a $10 million store located in a large facility built in 1995, where service consistently accounts for 10 percent of the annual bottom line, helping it attain Power 50 status by Powersports Business in 2013. The service shop has six lifts, five technicians, two lot technicians, a pair of service writers and a department manager. By adding an additional part-time service writer for more one-on-one time with customers, as well as extensive department-wide training in recent years, Team Winnebagoland is focused on building quality relationships with its service customers. Van Zeeland is admittedly a non-technical guy. His personality, combined with experience with his Spader Business Management 20 group and training with Gart Sutton & Associates (GSA), Sam Dantzler and Ziebron, has led him to focus the company's efforts on "the show" — crafting a presentation that gives customers a memorable experience when coming through the service department. "Every department is here to put on a show and give the customer the best experience," he said. That mindset has included focusing on every aspect of the experience — prompt customer greetings, installing an exterior camera so staff can help customers load and unload machines, bringing all unit buyers on a full tour of the business, carefully orchestrated hand-offs between departments, service walk-arounds to ensure all problems are caught before starting a repair and promoting its VIP maintenance program that has become a significant profit center for the business. "One of the things that we try to practice is to get out from behind the service counter, "Every department is here to put on a show and give the customer the best experience." —Tom Van Zeeland, general manager, Team Winnebagoland, Oshkosh, Wis. go out and take a look at the customer's unit, walk around, look for issues, pad their ego a little bit and tell them how cool their machine is, make them feel unique and special while you're out there looking at the unit, but also looking for opportunities to upsell," Van Zeeland said. "It's an extra couple of minutes that we get to build the trust with the customer, and that's really why this year we started with a third service writer." The VIP prepaid maintenance program has been adopted by approximately 30 percent of new unit customers, which is a significant increase in recent years. After recent training with Steve Dodds of GSA, Team Winnebagoland significantly improved the program's takerate by requiring all departments to speak with customers about the program. Any sales prices quoted include the VIP service package, helping to seamlessly integrate that purchase into the discussion from the first step. "The products we're selling right now are really getting bulletproof. We're not replacing pistons and rings anymore," he said. "Now we're trying to sell maintenance and one of the best ways to do that is through our VIP maintenance package. You get to sign up for five services before you even leave the door after you bought your unit." Another change has been the addition of a VIP lounge where service customers can wait for service in a comfortable environment. There's a kid's corner, Netflix-equipped TV hot , dog roller, popcorn maker and a refrigerator full of soda and snacks. Van Zeeland said the improved penetration rates with the service program — which the company has had for at least 10 years — is a result of a cultural change in the business that has happened within the past year and a half. Physically, the dealership is located in a relatively new, large space, yet the changes in products in that time have made the space less than ideal for the larger products customers are bringing in. "In 1995 when we opened this store, we were selling Kawasaki Bayou 300s and small cruiser bikes. Now we're selling 100-plus UTVs and jet boats that are 24 feet, so we could use more room," he said. "Ideally I'd love to have two lifts per technician — we just don't have the footprint to do that." The dealership's technician pay plans are outliers in an industry that's largely adopted efficiency-based incentives. In an effort to foster team spirit that remains a key part of the company culture, the entire dealership staff is paid hourly or by salary, with significant profit sharing at the end of the year for every employee. See Service, Page 14 1/15/14 12:00 PM