Special Orders (again)

[Farfinator]

Gerry,
Prepayment on S.O.P's can be sticky as pointed out for customer pay, so we simply recorded credit card info to cover our butts, particularly on Keys, and painted mirror covers etc. We then had the option to simply run it though and mail the stuff if the shipping wasn't a big factor. But generally commitment by card was good enough to move the part.
Most effective in moving the warranty stuff ordered by service was implementing a system that held the advisors "ACCOUNTABLE!!" I set up a job stack report that printed out S.O.P.'s by advisor in descending order of date, complete with contact#s, part#s & descriptions etc. A copy was provided to the advisors and service manage along with a similar listing of B.O. components every morning. Aged stuff was highlighted as critical. Each advisor was required to date and time each SOP line and submit by days end. It was very clear in a short time who was not making calls! And the problem was immediately remedied.
As for policy debates with repect to return charges for SOP's, I would tread lightly. I can certain recall a good number of times cars were held over cause a part got cross shipped, was damaged in stock, was missing on the shelf, showed up too late, missed the VOR, etc and cost service both stress and a rental. I advocate tracking trends. Examine for careless techs, or advisors. If a "Real" excessive problem exists, take action, if not nickle and dimeing is probably not worth it.

[jdpetey]

Question? How do GM dealers deal with the 30 day return policy on mechanical parts ordered via CSO when all the GM district reps insist that everything be ordered via DRO?

It's a catch-22! They want you to order everything via DRO, yet you can't return the parts without penalty unless it was ordered via CSO!!!

So now,(hypothetically), I have a mechanical part that the customer hasn't returned for, warranty or not, that would most likely warrant returning, but now I can't because it wasn't CSO'd. How does this make sense? Only for GM I would surmise.

So, if you create two orders daily, one DRO, and one CSO, your not ordering efficiently, accoding to GM.

How can you accomplish both, returning CSO's and yet maintaining the "CORRECT" order balance at GM's request?

Any thoughts?

jdpetey

[Richard]

Regardless of what your rep says, order ANYTHING you are doubtful of "CSO". Don't let the rep run your store!! You are accountable to your owner/GM, not your Rep....make SURE your owner/GM knows your rep is pushing you to order your parts which SHOULD be ordered "CSO", especially things that are returnable under the GM s/o return policy!

For the record, we order the parts, the service advisors are respondsible for contacting the customer to come back.

We have all customers prepay S/O's. No way would I order a piece of trim without getting the money up front.

We do not charge the service department anything for parts that aren't picked up.

On another thread, there is talk of losing the parts split, which I am all for! It would be a huge relief to me, especially since I pay for 1/2 of a warranty clerk, 1/2 of a cashier, 1/2 of a service porter, and 1/2 of a service operator (part time), all this on TOP of giving up half my profit!!

[This message has been edited by Richard (edited 05-16-2001).]

[Daryl]

The true answer is there is no really right way, but the only way which will work is one which you establish a set standard of doing business and stick with it. At our dealership we have adopted a prepayment policy on all items under $300. If it is a shop customer, we provide a quote to the service advisor for any part(s) not in stock. This quote is then passed along to the customer by the cashier when they are picking up the vehicle. If they choose to order the part (as suggested by the advisor during follow up) than the cashier forwards the quote to us and we roll that item into a pre paid SOR (ADP special order). Meanwhile the customer hasnt been inconvienced because they were cashing out anyways, the cashier had totals (from quote) and by the time the transaction is complete - the bill and sor forms have been printed....TA DAAAA. Works great for us, in four years only a handfull of people have complained about pre-payment. Most I believe understand pay now or later, whats the difference - and when you make it quick and easy, the customer is sure to happily go along with the process.

As for warranty repair items and special orders. Believe me if everyone on the team gets involved it will work. Advisors calling first is the best idea, (gives them a chance to schedule)- besides, the more people and phone transfers a person goes through directly effects how they perceive their level of service - or rather how much your service values their business. Dont feel awkward for calling warranty customers. If you 'bug' them, they will come.

[PARTSQUEEN]

Hi All -
After years of trying to figure out the
SOR nightmare, I finally adopted a policy
that seems to work well for us. (I can't take the credit - this came from Mike Nichols)

Any non-warranty part must be paid for in full in advance. Period. The ONLY exception is if the car is staying overnight.

If the vehicle is still in warranty, the advisor is given part #, & availability
along with order priority for each #.
The advisor makes the appointment before the part is ordered. Each advisor is responsible
for creating their own SOR's indicating the
appointment date (and yes we do spot checks.)

When the customer picks up the car we give him a card with a pulloff sticker that he can put on his calendar (just like when you go to the dentist).

By making the advisors responsible for getting the customer back in, we have reduced
our OVER 30 DAY SOP's by MORE THAN 75%!!!!

IT WORKS!!!!
Parts Dept is happy cause we don't have to return so much stuff.

Svc. is happy cause they make more money.
(more cars coming back in)

Customer is happy cause he gets a neat little sticker to put on his calendar!!

In my humble opinion, the SVC MGR and the PARTS MGR must have the same goals -
keep customers happy while watching the bottom line. We have to be a team. After
all, the Service Dept is my best customer.

Happy Selling!
Joani




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It's just a job, not a life, Enjoy today for tomorrow it's gone!! Joani