Well some of you guys know me personally and some i have dealt with here, and as MINI owners i would like to know what you condsider the best attributes and worst that an advisor can have?

i have been given the opportunity to become a Advisor and i'm really considering the offer. I have been a MINI tech for almost 3 years and i really enjoy nmy job, but my desire is to run a shop down the line(besides getting a degree in mechanical engineering) and i would really need to learn the "computer/business" side of it all.

Right now i can pretty much tear apart an r50/52/53 and put it back together with no issues and as the r55/56 come into the shop, i'm learning much more about them... the only thing is that its not a challenge anymore is just repetitive....



So anyways , if i decide to become an advisor, what kinda recommendations do you guys have? i wanna be a great advisor and i would like to know what you guys love and hate about dealing with those guys?

Thanks!

 

Be honest...some people will be upset no what you need to tell them is the issue with the car, but if couch it or try to blow things off it will haunt you. Just tell it like it is.

 

Working on those people skills is a must. You'll need to learn how to deal with the unhappy/angry people.

There will be good days for that and bad days for dealing with people. I

've been in the customer service industry for over 15 years and know what it is like to have been literally screamed at by a customer because they were so PO'd...which isn't a fun thing...and I think they were having a really bad day too. Luckily, that only happend once!

Quite frankly it annoys me when I know more about a car when I'm talking to an advisor or car salesman. Makes me think that they don't really care about what they are doing and don't want to be knowledable. I haven't found this being of any issue with mini people and was more of a general observation of my other experiences.

I think your knowlege and what seems like passion for the Mini is a definite plus when it wil come to dealing with the customers and the mechanics.

Listening to the customer is probably the best attribute.

For frequent customers greet them by name.

Go the extra mile for the customer...make sure that car got washed...even if that customer only did an oil change.

 

1. Honesty. Owning and running a business for 8 years taught me customers are much more receptive to honesty than to lies. They will be more understanding to the truth than to a stretched imagination of the truth. If you don't know, be man enough to say, "I don't know, but I will find out and get back with you."
2. Call Backs. If you tell a customer you are going to call them back, do it. Even if all you have to say is, "I still don't have an answer, but I wanted to let you know I haven't forgot about you." That statement gained me repeat and new customers over the years. Customers like to know you haven't forgot about them and they will tell their friends.
I had a daily list of customers and issues that had to be addressed. Throughout the day, I would go down my list and make sure each customer/issue had been addressed. If not, it stayed on the list until it was addressed.

 

Try being an advisor and if you don't like it you can probably move back to being a tech.

I agree with what naffets said and would add keep working hard.
Most of the bad 'sales advisors' I have encountered were just lazy. Now that you know the car learn the parts system, the service scheduling and what will and will not fly with the dealership. When you can give customers this information you will both enjoy your job and be valuable to your customers.

 

Honesty and openness. You've seen threads in here where owners are pissed off because an SA was vague about costs, or whether or not mods were a warranty issue, or seemed out of touch with the mechanics.

Availability. You can't always be standing at your counter or desk. But you have to be available to your customers as much as you can, and return calls promptly as possible. How many angry threads have been in here about SA's who can never be reached, or won't return calls? See also point #1.

Knowledge. Explain things so customers will understand everything they need or want to know. Most of them aren't automobile literate, but they're not idiots either. If you aren't sure about an answer, take a moment to find out. Don't set off the customer's BS detector.

Service. Make the customer feel like you're going make their troubles go away, and then make sure that actually happens. You might have a line of people in front of you, but don't rush through things. Make each customer feel important. Because they are. Sometimes your company won't give you wiggle room on something, but when possible, be flexible if it's helps someone.

If you want an example of how NOT to do things, reference Mini of Mountain View.

If you want an example of how it works right, reference Niello Mini.

 

I would like to thank all of you guys for the quick and straight forward responses


As for me, i believe that honesty is the glue that binds friendships together. And even more so when money, safety and service is concerned. I will take that to the counter if my decision is to become an advisor. I would be taking a paycut, but i believe its worth it in order to advance within the company and provide great service for the mini owners.

The good thing is that i have had experience with unhappy custoemrs before(i worked for Continental Airlines as a dispatcher - man were those flight attendants hard to please!!) And i have been on both sides of the counter, as the person helping the owner of the car and as an owner myself, taking the car in for service at other dealers...

I know how annoying it is to not be able to reach the advisor(Dodge) and i know how appreciative i was when the advisor would call, just to keep me updated on the progress of my car(Honda)... needless to say i no longer own a dodge but a honda, along with my wife...

If anything else comes to mind, or some specific experiences please post them all

Thanks!

 

Have exceptional product knowledge, especially where new options and features are concerned.

As an example, I ordered my JCW with the enhanced Convenience Package that adds Comfort Access and Bluetooth prep in the armrest. I have an iPhone and my MA knew that when I ordered. I even asked about using the iPhone as a BT phone and as an iPod from the armrest snapin adapter and was told that would work.

Turns out that is incorrect unless you add the smartphone prep option. Neither my MA nor the sales mgr understood that until it was too late to change my order. I think the MA should have known this and "advised" me to order it for $100 after spending $1700+ for the rest of the package. To be fair, the sales mgr. offered to to order me a new car and put a rush on it, which I declined. Nevertheless, the "advise" part of it was lacking.

In the end. I bought an iPod Nano to attach to the iPod adapter in the console, and use the iPhone with the armrest snap-in adapter separately.

 

It's a good idea, but the Service Advisor is not involved with the car sales end.

 

My bad, I assumed he was talking about Motoring Advisor.

 

haha no problem
i don't think i would ever be a car salesman

 

Well to be honest, a good MA can have a pretty fun time of it.

 

joey1320,

I was an Assistant Service Manager for a Honda dealership for many years until I was injured which ended my career.

Anyway what I can tell you is that knowledge of the cars is very important which you already have.If you don't know something find out and then let the customer know.

Acknowledge the customer when they arrive and if you are currently busy with a customer tell them you will be right with them as soon as you are finished.

Keeping your customers updated whether if they are waiting for their vehicle or by telephone if they left the car.Plus call them when the car is done also.Your customers will appreciate that.

Always hand your customer your business card so they: 1.Know your name and 2. They can call you if needed.

Eventually you will build a strong customer base that will ask for you by name each time.

Finally listen and learn to help you become the best Service Advisor you can be.

 

I'd say the fact that you want to be a great advisor and are looking for ways to be a good one, probably means you have a good work ethic, which is key.

I think knowledge, honesty and being able to shrug off annoying people is probably the things you'll need the most. If you're willing to take the pay cut, I agree with someone above that said try it and if you don't like it, you can most likely be a tech again.

 

thanks guys

as a technician i take great pride on my work. I have made many friends over the years and i get a lot of customers who ask for me to fix their car when they schedule a visit... to me that is the greatest compliment a tech can receive.

i have averaged over 95% on my csi score at mini and i'm always looking to fix any problems the customers have with my service. I know that i have made mistakes, but i by learning from them, i have changed and become a better technicia. and that same attitude will also carry over to the counter.

my wife and i talked today and the decision was made to go for the position. yes it will be a paycut, but money is not the only thing in life. i always say that "the wealthy man is not the one who has more, but the one who needs less"... and for me all i need is a good/healthy - wife/family/friends and for the bills to get paid ontime and the rest will fall into place if you work at it.

I believe i can interact with people in a good way and help them along their ownership experience. not only that but i'll be able to help the new techs who come along and teach them, not only the right way to fix minis but also how to appreciate the owners and their business.

i have seen how new technicians go in for the hours... the whole "gotta make hours - gotta make hours" attitude and loose focus on the "Gotta FIX the car right" mentality and as an advisor i will be able to oversee their workmanship and work with them to correct it...

I'm excited is gonna be a couple of months before the changes take place but i'm really looking forward to them, thanks!!!

 

^^joey1320 that is excellent to hear and WE all wish you the best of luck!!

 

I am curious about what it takes to become a MINI tech???

 

Now there's a man I want to do business with. He's exactly right.

Also, another thing. Having been in the bodyshop/automotive business for 25 years, I would like to add one more thing in regards to call backs.

Though this pertains a little more to a bodyshop than the service end, there are times it applies.

If you see a customer's car is not going to be ready on the day promised, it is ALWAYS better to contact the customer and apologize that you are unable to finish the car when promised and then explain why.

Nothing upsets/pisses off a customer when they show up at the dealer only to find that they wasted the time to get there, perhaps take off work just to find out they can't pick up their car.

Or perhaps they were expecting to get their car because a)they really needed it (had plans) or b) just are like the rest of us... enthusiasts that want their car.

I have found that a simple phone call placed early even on the last day will show that you care enough to pick up the phone and contact the customer so they know what to or not to expect.

Most of the time, my customers thank me because they'd rather me take an extra day than to rush it to blow it out the door. (again, a little different because bodywork isn't quite a clear cut on a time basis)

Good luck, I think if you treat your customers the way you want to be treated as a mini owner, you can't go wrong.

Mark

 

Well i have been around cars all my life. My father and uncles were all into cars and my brothers and i were their helpers. By the time i was 7 years old i knew how to do brakes, oil changes and little stuff like that

So then i got into bicycles, along with my brothers. We would find them on the garbage or buy them for cheap(with our allowance) and take them apart, repair them, sand the frame and have our dad paint them(he worked for Dupont) and resell them... man we were like 8-10years old then and there was a time we had like 25 bike frames ready to be assmebled, we were just waiting for "customers" to decide what parts they wanted on them...


So anyways i went off to college after high school. I decided ot go for a Physics Degree but then i got into quarter mile racing. So i put every second of time into the cars that i had and out of nowhere decided to go for a career as a technician. I left college and registered at a technical school, graduated with honors and was hired by Acura instantly. I was with them for 3 years and then decided to give MINI a try... so here i am


I have had over 300hrs. of training from Acura, called IST(Individual Skill Training) in which you are on your own, just you and the car at the training center in Chicago. I have had about 220hrs. from BMW, also at their training center in Chicago(Schaumburg). MINI does it differently, they have classes and is a more a group thing. Plus my ASE certifications and the everyday experience from working on cars and taking them apart and learning from them... so thats what it takes to be a GOOD technician.

 

joey1320 I met you once a few years ago when I bought a set of mirror caps off of you. You even installed them in a minute! Then you spent 20 minutes giving me tips on the care & feeding of my new MINI.

My first & lasting impression of you was that you are a nice honest person who really knows his stuff. The fact that you post here helping people only reinforces that impression. IMO you have the demeanor to be an SA.

Now the question you have to ask yourself is... Is this the best thing for me & my family? Good techs can do very well. I'm sure SA's can too.

Good luck with your tough decision. I know if you decide to become an SA you will be a very good one.

 

Oh hey how are you???
I clearly remember our exchange and i'm really glad you still do

Yes, good technicians can make a decent living with a steady paycheck, but you put your body thru a lot and is not the cleanest job out there...And the biggest things is the room for career growth, there's not much at all. Once your pay is topped out(which i'm), you're only there for the hours, trying to clock as many possible, while still delivering great service.

Also one of the biggest things is having to compete with the other techs there. It can get kinda crazy when you have 3, 4 ,5 guys wanting to do one job and having to decide who gets it... it can get tiring when you see one tech getting the easy jobs, because the advisor doesn't trust that person with the harder electrical problems and such... i can definitely do without all that drama

It's really hard to move to another department and make the same kind of money, thats why you see a lot of older technicians, who have been at it for 20+ years, and kinda hate their job, but can't do anything else, still there... just counting their days to retirement... i DON'T wanna be that person. I love working on cars but i can't see myself at age 55 still there...

So might as well try something else now, which will help if i try to move up to run a shop down the line... and i can deal with people 1 on 1 and grow within the company.


So how's your MINI doing? Any issues?

 

Well it seems to me that you have answered that question already.

I recently lost my best friend to cancer that was work related. He had mesothemiola caused by years of asbestos exposure from doing brake jobs & clutch jobs on British cars.

Now asbestos has been removed from brakes & clutches, but that was too late for him. He was a mechanic & shop owner until he was 64. As he got older that work really took a toll on him. Just as he planned to retire & enjoy life he was struck down. Sometimes life is just so damn unfair.

You are a very smart person to consider what life will be like for you down the road. Many people do not & then wish they had made different decisions in the past or took an opportunity that was offered long ago.

Go for it joey1320.

I'm doing well, enjoying my life & my family & friends.

My MINI has been doing well with the exception of a few hiccups as it nears the end of its warranty. All in all its been a great car that I plan on keeping for a long time.

I was thinking of you today as I lubed my hatch hinges. Thanks for that tip! Man those things sure are weak looking.

 

i'm really sorry about the lost of your friend.
i love the fact that bmw doesn't believe in resurfacing rotors. when i was in acura, after a day of doing brake jobs, i would blow my nose and all this black gunk would be coming out... sorry i now is gross... i know that has to have an effect on my lungs and throat... i know it...

but thanks for the support. i'll take all of your comments with me as a reminder of what to do/not do...


ps:chuck i got the pm from your friend about the lighter, i'm looking into it

 

be professional, be on time, return phone calls and emails promptly, be a straight shooter with yr customers, and y'll have it covered.

 

Thanks but i'm not going to be a car salesman, but rather a Service Advisor