Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/306360
www.BoatingIndustry.com www.BoatingIndustry.com 16 | Boating Industry | May 2014 BY TOM KAISER R unning a service department isn't easy. Boats and motors are complex, curmudgeonly things that can confound the best technicians. Customers ebb and fl ow in lockstep, leaving stretches of downtime followed by an early-season crush when sum- mertime approaches. And then there are the debates of how to price labor, pay technicians and keep everybody busy during the off-season. At the end of it all, it would also be nice to turn a profi t. Far too many dealers run the service portion of their business at breakeven or a loss, hoping to minimize losses while maintaining the department as a crucial offering for customers, a necessary evil. While service may not exceed the revenue earned by selling major units, there are several concepts employed by top dealerships to consis- tently turn a profi t, improve customer relations, stay busy during the winter and boost the bot- tom line of the overall business. Service as the hub Located in rural western Vermont, Woodard Ma- rine is a 2013 Boating Industry Top 10 dealer, as well as the year's award winner for Best Service Department. Owner Lauren Woodard-Splatt has a fervent enthusiasm for service, and has com- bined creative marketing with an atypical team of technicians to build a service department that is the core of Woodard's overall business. "We call service our hub at our dealership, so everything revolves around that department," Woodard-Splatt said. "For us, if we didn't have the service department, we wouldn't be in business." For 2013, Woodard's revenue for service including parts on repair orders was approximately 25 percent of the company's total revenue, but it makes up 40 percent of its annual net income due to the low costs beyond paying technicians' salaries. Woodard-Splatt went to medical school before moving into the marine industry. She has a Dr. House-like enjoyment of diagnos- ing engine problems, and has taken a similarly clinical approach to running the dealership's service department. The company follows many modern industry best practices, and has established a few of its own along the way. Customers are given a personal touch, where a service team mem- ber — often Woodard-Splatt — will go over a boat at pickup with them to detail the repairs that were made, why they were done, show the old parts and give them a list of recommendations. It's all about presenta- tion, and the goal isn't to upsell the customer as much as it is to address any safety or warranty issues to build trust that begets future business. Each service customer is given a sheet includ- ing recommended repairs and other work that may be needed within the next six months — all including quotes for the work. Woodard-Splatt says nearly all of its customers call to schedule at least some of the items before the store checks in with them at a later date. "In the long run, we're getting the income from it, but we're not shoving it down their [throat] — we're not demanding it at the time," she said. "The boat is supposed to be a stress reliever, not a stressor, so our philosophy behind it is to hold their hand more so during the whole service pro- cess … than just saying you need to have this Service pros on building a knockout service department Menu prices provide certainty for Woodard Marine's customers, while also giving the company a 5 percent margin to cover minor additional repairs that can be done on the spot. P16x20-BI14MAY-Service.indd 16 4/17/14 10:30 AM