New Series Published by Delmar Learning Offers Training Materials for Automotive Service Management
ALBANY, N.Y. & LAS VEGAS--Nov. 5, 2002--High quality, consistent and productive automotive repair service is a desire of consumers and automotive technicians alike.
Delmar Learning, a leader in educational resources for lifelong learning and part of The Thomson Corporation , today announced a new series of eight books that offers professional automotive technicians and shop owners the first comprehensive resource on how to run a successful automotive repair business. The Automotive Services Management series is written by Mitch Schneider, a leading automotive technician, writer, trainer, and award-winning shop owner.
The eight-book series will be the first product in the market to focus on providing automotive repair shop owners and those wanting to be shop owners with the necessary business and customer service skills to run a successful repair operation. The series covers three main topical areas: personnel management, business management, and sales and marketing. Each book provides a framework to help technicians make consistent, high quality, and productive service a part of every day shop operations.
"The purpose of the series is to help ensure that `great performance' is achieved every time a shop owner or technician approaches a regular or potential customer to deliver automotive service," comments Schneider. "That is the only way I know to create trust and ensure customer loyalty. And, great performance coupled with increased customer loyalty, trust, and operational excellence will almost always result in increased profits."
The policies and procedures found within this series can be applied to large or small repair shops. They can be carried out by the service writer, service manager, technician, office manager and lot person. According to Schneider, the key to success is not who does the job, but rather in ensuring that each critical task is completed accurately and consistently every time it is approached. This series provides the framework to make that consistency a reality for all shops and shop employees.
The first four of the eight-book series will be available in December 2002. The books cover customer relationship management, practical advice on starting a repair shop business, financial information and operational excellence.
Total Customer Relationship Management discusses the relationship that exists between the provider of the automotive products and services and the recipient of those products and services, and challenges technicians to question their assumptions to create a better service environment that is responsive and respectful to customers and clients.
From Intent to Implementation offers practical advice on the steps needed to move from technician to shop owner. It provides a roadmap to help professionals make their dreams of becoming shop owners a reality by providing information on the systems, technology, policies, and procedures required to do so.
Managing Dollars With Sense discusses the critical need for accurate and timely financial analysis. It clarifies the concepts of markup and margin and looks at critical metrics and key performance indicators. It covers the most popular method to price automotive products and services, affectionately called "Oreo Pricing" by the author. It also walks technicians through how to develop a business plan and provides them with a base upon which to build intelligent business decisions.
Operational Excellence defines operational excellence in terms of the automotive industry and explains how technicians can insure the customers' cars will be ready when promised and fixed right the first time. According to Mitch Schneider, series author, "Fixing the car right the first time is as much about understanding what your customer is trying to tell you when they are communicating their frustrations with the vehicle, as it is about proper diagnosis and professional quality work."
The remaining four titles, The High Performance Shop, Safety Communications, Building a Team, and Operations Management, will be available in 2003. Additional information can be found at www.trainingbay.com.
About The Thomson Corporation and Delmar Learning
The Thomson Corporation (www.thomson.com), with 2001 revenues of $7.2 billion, is a global leader in providing integrated information solutions to business and professional customers. Thomson provides value-added information, software applications and tools to more than 20 million users in the fields of corporate and professional training, assessment and testing, higher education, reference information, law, tax, accounting, financial services, and scientific research and healthcare. The Corporation's common shares are listed on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges . Its learning businesses and brands serve the needs of individuals, learning institutions, corporations and government agencies with products and services for both traditional and distributed learning. As part of The Thomson Corporation, Delmar Learning (www.delmarlearning.com) is the leading provider of lifelong learning products and services for the health care, technology and trades, and career education markets. Delmar Learning's market-leading imprints include Autodesk Press, OnWord Press, Singular Publishing Group, Milady and West Legal Studies.
About the Author
Mitch Schneider is a fourth generation mechanic/technician and is a frequent speaker at major conventions and meetings of automotive industry trade organizations. Schneider is also an award-winning journalist and is a regular contributor and senior contributing editor for Motor Age magazine. He provides commentary on the evolving relationship between service dealers, jobbers, warehouse directors and manufacturers. Schneider has also appeared on the TNN cable show "Truckin' USA" where he hosted the "Tech Tips" segment. In addition to operating the award-winning Schneider's Automotive for 22 years in Simi Valley, CA, he is also the president and founder of Schneider's Future-Tech, a service company specializing in conducting management seminars for automotive service dealers, jobbers, warehouse distribution companies, and manufacturers. Finally, Schneider has also served as automotive service dealer spokesperson for the After Market Automotive Parts Alliance, headquarters for Auto Value, AllPro & Bumper to Bumper and is still seated on their National Automotive Service Advisory Panel.