NEED YOUR HELP

[DANPARTS]

I have been given the task of manageing the service dept until a new Service Manager can be hired.I have been the parts manager in this store for a little over 5 years. Besides eveyone being upset that the prior Service Manager was let go is their anything I should watch out for I don't want to get caught with my pants down.

Thanks Dan

[Whiner]

I can only assume you are at a small store, otherwise an advisor or someone else would step up. Given that assumption I would do several things, including but not limited to:

1 - Find out exactly why the previous SM was let go.

2 - Once #1 is explained to your satisfaction make sure you have a handle on that situation so it doesn't get worse. Otherwise you may be following him out the door.

3 - Sit down and discuss what happened with your shop people (techs, etc). Explain your position is temporary and you would like to maintain a good working relationship. All parties need to understand that you now have more than one job to do and it will be VERY difficult for you to do both of them well.

4 - Make sure everyone knows, understands and REMEMBERS the day you took over. After a few weeks you don't want to be blamed for something that happened before you came on board.

5 - With #4 in mind run some system reports and find out the status of things. How many open repair orders are there and where are they? Are the warranty claims closed, submitted and paid? Stuff like that.

I am sure there are a lot of other things that far smarter service managers can tell you. But keep in mind you have got to take care of the customers, hopefully your techs and others that are upset will keep this in mind.

One more thing, you might want to get everyone on the same page about what your public explanation of the previous managers exit is going to be. There could be laws in your area regarding discussions about former employee terminations. Once your upper management agrees on what to say stick to it - and keep it short. Nothing worse than repeating the same long story 20 - 30 times a day.

OH YEA - GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!

[Old Irish]

That's quite a question ! We'd have to break up the answer into three volumes

In all seriousness, though, it might help to know....

How long before a replacement shows up? Two weeks? Two months? Six months?
If just 2-3 weeks I reckon an already well-running service department with good processes in place can sustain itself pretty well without too much help. If you are roughly familiar with the daily routine tasks the SM did then you can make sure those don't fall thru the cracks.

Is there a senior service advisor at the desk who you can rely on to help? ("Senior" might not be the right word....but you know what I mean). If so then you might not have to do much more except be there when some of the more difficult "judgement call" decisions need to be made or to intercede in putting out a couple fires.

Cheers
DD

[PHoskins]

Dan,

The 1st thing would be to sit down with your GM or DP(the Boss) and find out what there expectations are. From there I then would possibly proceed on to some of the other beneficial comments you have recieved,based upon what you are told.

[Ted13B]

Been there, done that, and it was the toughest six weeks of my life, but I learned a hell of a lot...enough to make me happy to be back in the parts department afterward! You'll soon have a line of techs at the door, asking for the raises they deserve, but were never given by the previous manager. Listen to their complaints, but explain this is a temp position, and they'll have to talk to the new manager when he arrives. Run every report you can find, and try to figure out what they mean. If you've never worked in service before, you'll have plenty of questions. If you're factory rep is OK, don't be afraid to call and ask questions. Be ready for a stack of phone calls, you won't believe how many customer problems you'll be dealing with, but as head of parts and service, you can get things done! That's the one thing I miss, being able to grab a part, and a tech, and say "Drop everything, take care of this car." The biggest headache can be payroll, deciding who gets how much, open and closed RO's, WIP...Keep a positive attitude, and you'll come out of it with a greater knowledge of service management.

[KevvyG]

I to was put in this uneviable situation. My tip...don't show fear!! Let them know that you are there temporarily, but you are still the man. You are going to have things coming at you from all sides. Well it may seem overwhelming, don't be pressured to make a decision. Give yourself time to look at the situation and then come back with a solution. I had customers showing up telling me how I was going to paint their truck for free, etc, etc......Put these people in their place. Explain your situation and tell them that you are going to have to get the full story and you will get back to them. Easiset way to keep the techs happy is to keep them working. Hopefully you can rely on one of the people in Service to be your wingman, keep the shop loaded and deal with the bleeders as they show up. Some are going to try and take advantage of you, and that's not fair because you didn't ask to be put in that position. Do NOT be pressured into making any decisions that deep down (via common sense) you know are BS!! If they see you getting rattled, it will open the floof gates, so take a deep breath and give it a good think before any words leave your mouth. Best of luck to you!! P.S. I couldn't wait to get back to Parts fast enough!!