DIAGNOSTIC PAY

[meangreen4019]

HELLO EVERYONE I WAS HOPING FOR SOME ADVISE.I JUST TOOK OVER AS SERVICE MANAGER AT A FLAT RATE SHOP AND FIND THE TECHS HAVE BEEN SPOILED FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS.IF WE QUTE SOMEONE A HOUR TO DIAGNOISS A COMPLAINT THEY FLAG IT FOR THE HOUR NO MATTER HOW LONG IT TAKES.FOR EXAMPLE IF IT ONLY TAKES .2 TO DIAG A COMPLAINT AND I EST A HOUR THEY WILL FLAG A HOUR.THIS MAKES IT TOUGH TO SELL THE REPAIR WHEN YOU HAVE SUCH A HIGH DIAG CHARGE.MY FEAR OF PAYING STRAIGHT TIME ON DIAG IS THAT THEY WILL SIT ON THE TICKET.HOW DO THE REST OF YOU PAY THE TECHS FOR CK OUT?

[Doug]

Age old story....you're not alone on this. Flat rate techs will take every opportunity they can and I'm not sure that I necessarily blame 'em. It can be tough keeping things under control unless you really sit on your tech all day long.

I make the techs write a warranty-type story on customer pay tickets to justify their diagnosis flag time. That, and a few backflags, helped somewhat.

Next, I simply told thet guys that if they wanted me to cover their time on the really tough problems then they would have to be honest and fair on the easy ones. Pretty soon everyone fell in line....for the most part.

I caution you to avoid dropping the hammer too hard. I would focus on the most flagrant abuses.