Service Advisors on the Run for Excellence

In many car dealerships, a service advisor, or service consultant, is the person who is most responsible for advising customers on which service, or maintenance, may need to be performed on a vehicle. The service advisor is often considered the liaison between a customer and the technician; and a service advisor is often the customer’s first and primary contact with a dealership’s service department. Service advisors are extremely important to a car dealership because many dealerships make a majority of their income through their service departments, as opposed to the actual selling of the vehicles themselves.

For many service advisors, the first interaction with a client will be on the phone or through an email request. During the initial contact with a customer, it is important for the advisor to correctly determine what type of problem the customer is having with the car. Once all of the information is gathered, the advisor will generally schedule an appointment with the customer. In some dealerships, service advisors are also encouraged to suggest additional preventive maintenance work to a customer. For example, a customer that is bringing in a vehicle to have the brakes serviced may be provided with a recommendation to have the oil changed as well, by the advisor.

Customers arriving for their appointments are often greeted by a service advisor. At that time the advisor will typically confirm the reason for the visit and may conduct a visual or road inspection of the vehicle. The advisor will then provide a written estimate of the work that may be required to the customer, along with estimated parts and labor costs. If necessary, service advisors may also make transportation arrangements for their clients, especially if the service that is required will take an extended period of time to complete.

The advisor is then responsible for providing the mechanic or technician with a description of the problem. For obvious reasons, it is very important that a service advisor is able to accurately communicate to the mechanic what may be wrong with the vehicle. If the customer needs to be contacted while the car is being worked on, for example if a vehicle needs additional service or repairs not detailed on the original estimate, the service advisor is often the person responsible for doing so.

Once the repair or service has been completed, it is generally the responsibility of the service advisor to notify the client. When the client picks up his vehicle, the advisor will explain the specifics of the work that was performed, go over the charges and answer any questions that a customer may have. In many dealerships it is also the responsibility of a service advisor to follow-up with a client after the service was performed, to ensure the customer’s satisfaction.

James Hughes Tuesday, April 9, 2013