No sales from quick lube rack

[69mach1]

we do on the average 20-40 daily oil changes on our quick lube rack , we dont seem to be selling up from this , and thinking about ending it which could have a impact in our business
any ideas, thoughts,payplans, incentives, anything. we are going to meet next week to resolve or stop
thanks in advance

[TBord]

Develop a system. A process. You know, that dirty four letter word... A Plan!!!
1) IF you guys are going so fast to meet a time schedule (XX minutes or it's free), they may not have time to do a thorough inspection
2) Do they have an inspection sheet on every vehicle?
3) Do the advisers try to pre sell maintenance on a schedule (factory)?
4) Do they have a formal menu and price guide with all everything loaded in system with specific op codes?
5) Does parts have parts kits to match the maintenance op codes that would be the most popular?
6) Is selling maintenance part of every one's job description... as in "Condition of Employment"?
7) Are customers informed ahead of time that an inspection will be done on their vehicle and "can I have a number I can reach you on TODAY"?
8) Is every one trained to perform their particular jobs.
9) Now, last of all address pay plans for advisers, technicians and parts people. Any good one will do.
Tom Bordelon

[btk]

I have to agree with tbord, I had the same problem when I got here, the first thing I did was move the express lube temporarily into the shop next to my shop foremans-they trained the express lube kids what to look for, with the down turn in the economy, they were more than willing to help once they realized how much missed work was going through the lube racks. I do track recommendations now and they are continually monitored for proper recommendations, I also only let them work on cars that have less than 50,000 miles-above 50,000 miles they go into the main shop.I quickly realized after taking over this shop that this was one of the main areas that I could have an immediate impact on ti increase gross-we are up 20 % in cp gross and the majority of that increase comes from the express lube racks-stay focused on it.

[thecurrent]

Have the lube techs perform a "walk around" on every vehicle they put on the rack. Just like the service lane walk around. The order or process can be something like this once the vehicle is parked and ready to be racked and lifted. Pop the hood, check fluids, inspect belts, hoses, or any other signs that repairs are needed. Once vehicle is up and while the oil is draining, start walking around the underside. Shake every wheel as you walk past them for wheel bearing or steering/suspension issues. Once the tech has made it all the way around, he can take this information to the service advisor who then can advise the customer of any needed repairs. This works well especially if every tech/ writer are on the same page. It worked extremely well for me. By the time you have the techs inspection to the customer they have only been waiting a short time and are more inclined to repair/purchase any needed maintenance. Since everyone hates to sit in a waiting room for an extremely long time, they key is to perform the inspection and get it to the customer asap. You might have to play around or brainstorm a bit on the details to accommodate your shops policies and procedures.
Hope my 2 pennies help! Good Luck!

[GMFXDOPSMGR]

I have an upsale spiff for all the techs and the quick service techs. I pay $2.50 / flat rate hour SOLD. This has to be verified & signed by the advisors. The tech turns in and ASR (addition sales report) to me each pay period. It helped produce $893583.00 in additional sales in 2009. That was 5828 additional repair hours that we might have missed if I did not have this incentive. Sure we would have sold some, but I believe the additional spiff helps them look harder. The lube rack produced 2315 hours of the upsales. The upsale work resulted in a great year for our shop. We netted over $400,000.00 in a year of termoil, bankruptcy and uncertainty. We are starting the year out better than last year. At our last service meeting for the end of the year in December, I gave the top 5 techs an addition bonus for their production of upsold work. My top 2 techs had a combined upsale total of $333000.00 in business.

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Tom Edwards