eliminate cashier?

[btk]

I am considering eliminating the cashier position in our dealerships and opting to have the service advisors and the parts department cashier their own ROs and/ or invoices. I already know many dealers who have had success doing so. Just wondering if any one on the forum has done such and any pitfalls or success you have had with it(better active deliveries, customer satisfaction) etc..
Thanks in advance

[Gran Sasso]

Kind of depends on how high volume both departments are. Both sides are going to whine like crazy, but unless you have people lined up at both counters, at all times, I can see no reason why they can't cashier themselves. We have been without one for about a year, and I never find myself saying "Gee....I really wish I was paying someone else to do these twenty parts counter tickets a day"

[GMFXDOPSMGR]

I have not had a cashier at our stores for about a year now. At 2 other stores I combined the cashier position with other positions in the office. At my current stores, the advisors invoice the RO, but one of the office ladies accepts the money. This is the way our Corp Controller wants it done. It does save a "salary" and it makes for a more "ACTIVE DELIVERY" for the customer with the advisor going over the RO and prices. Less problems at pickup. We have 6 advisors.

[This message has been edited by GMFXDOPSMGR (edited 04-11-2007).]

[texaslp]

Security of cash would be my biggest concern. Are you going to have several advisors and several parts personnel working out of the same cash drawer? Who will be responsible if it comes up short?

Also a clever person could collect one amount from the customer then reprint an invoice for a lesser amount and pocket the difference. The cashier is usually locked out from those computer functions to prevent this. You might feel like, I know all of my ee's and I'm not worried about that. Okay, but what if you have to hire someone new?

Our cashier is part of the office and it's not conveniently located for service customer's. I've tried to suggest that our advisors collect payments by check at least but have had resistance. Interesting to hear other dealers are doing this.

How do you handle credit card payments? Do you have one machine for parts and service? Who balances and closes the daily batch?

[bth94131]

Depends on the layout of the store as to your options. Does your current cashier do Service only or Service & Parts? If it is logistically possible, I do like the Accounting office to handle both Parts & Service. Would be more focused on what is best for the flow of the customer then eliminating one of the lowest paying positions in the dealership.

[FixedManager]

I see the elimination as an invitation to theft. Unless your dealership is very small The potential for loss is huge.

Do you really want the same person who is supplying the product and creating the invoice to also take the monies and account for them. It can create the illusion of a lack of professionalism. Also do you have the time to account for each and every Parts and Service invoice every day?

In the words of Benjamin Franklin "Penny wise and pound foolish".

[dcpdave]

our cashier also has several other duties besides just cashiering, so it is still a nessessary position for us. our advisors perform the active delivery process while the cashier does the money/credit card part. works well for us because the advisor doesn't have to interrupt the explanation process to collect the money.

[2wheels4me]

We haven't had a cashier in several years. The parts dept has their own cash box which they balance everyday. The service writers each have their own telecheck and credit card machines. The warranty admin has a petty cash box for the rare cash payer. Warr admin does the service deposit but each writer is responsible for accuracy. With a little training it works very well. Besides, have you ever heard a cashier trying to explain a multi-line service invoice to a customer?

[the hammer]

JUST FROM THE PARTS END OF IT WE HAVE BEEN DOING IT FOR YEARS I BALANCE THE DRAWER EVERY MORNING AND WE ARE RARELY SHORT I THINK WE WERE OFF BY 20.00 ONCE WE START OUT WITH 50.00 DOLLORS IN THE DRAWER EVERY DAY SERVICE DOES THE SAME IF THEFT IS AN ISSUE WHO IS MORE LIKELY TO STEAL AND ADVISOR MAKING 50K A YEAR OR A CASHIER MAKING 7.50 AN HOUR?


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YOU DONT HAVE THE WRONG PART YOU HAVE THE WRONG CAR!!

[WCOCKRELL]

I "eliminated" the cashier over a year ago and turned it over to the advisor. I have 7 advisors handling 12-15 customer pay ro's/day. Can't believe I ever did it any other way. Great Success. Certainly all the things others have said about watching the cash, checking for ro reprints to ensure there's no collect and reinvoice going on, etc are true but didn't you have to monitor the cashier too? Maybe not for the reinvoicing but for other cash handling. I still have a late pickup cashier from 7-9pm but an advisor handles the bulk of the transactions. I see the move as much more of a customer service issue than a cost cutting measure. It is a Customer Satisfaction homerun! You can not hedge on the decision. Once you decide to go for it you can not look back. The advisors will be resistant to the cahnge and will want to see it "fail" and may not put the best effort forward at the start. They have to know this is here to stay so you need to be part of the solution for any problems in the implementation because going back to the old way is not an option. Good Luck! /w