Fixed Operations
Lubrication As A Life Experience
By Ed Kovalchick
I just finished teaching two classes of service advisors in South Florida about service lane controls, customer education, proper repair order write-up and most of the standard fare. All handled the customers of one manufacturer's make.
During the workshop I asked each of some 35 students to carefully and completely detail what constitutes the lubrication portion of the well-known lube, oil, filter servicesomething they provide every day, and to literally hundreds of customers a year. Some immediately began snickering about lubing the customer instead, but everyone finally settled down to seriously defining this common process. The group ranged from people with 30 years of automotive experience to some with less than one year at the service advisor helm.
After some 10 minutes of watching smiling and laughing faces turn to labored concentration, I asked each to recite exactly what they had written down, no changes, no additions as we passed the torch around the room.
As they carefully reviewed their lists, it became apparent that none would match the other, and worse yet, none matched the manufacturer's clearly stated lubrication points as stated in the repair manual in the maintenance section.
I had asked everyone to bring a repair manual, and we opened these up to review the lubrication specifications. The "wows" and "gees" flowed freely during this review, and comments such as "our techs don't know this" were easy to hear.
I showed the class J.D. Power surveys that have clearly pointed out the embarrassment of results that explain that the customers perceive that the aftermarket personnel have more expertise than the dealer personnel. Not one of the students had worked outside of the dealership experience, and the shock was obvious.
Vehicle lubrication is a very basic maintenance operation. If dealer personnel are not familiar with the proper way to perform this simple task, it is certainly easy to conclude that many other items fall into the same category. I asked each person to request a pre-reconditioned used car to take to a local fast lube establishment to experience the expertise of their competition. I also asked them to visit jiffylube.com to review the professional approach taken by this formidable competitor.
It gets worse though. I asked the students if they had a technician working in their shop who they would not allow to work on their personnel vehicle. Everyone raised his or her hand.
As one student clearly put it, "I see the enemy and it is us."
Ed J. Kovalchick is CEO of Net Profit Inc, an international automotive manufacturer and dealer training and management-consulting firm located in Alabaster, Ala. Mr. Kovalchick is a featured speaker and instructor at conventions, 20-Groups, associations and other automotive related events worldwide. He is also a former six-franchise new car dealer and independent shop owner. ekovalchick@dealeronline.com
