Practice Makes Perfect in The Service Lane
When I tell service managers and advisors to “role play” best practices in the service lane, I am often met with some eye rolls. Adults can feel uncomfortable “pretending” and do not necessarily understand the value of role playing customer interaction situations. But once I move past any initial hesitance, my auto dealer clients are able to see that practice makes perfect in the service lane!
Why is Role Play Important in the Service Lane?- It is a Coaching Tool
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- Service and Fixed Operations Managers set the standard for customer service. Role playing allows service advisors to understand the manager’s goals and receive feedback on how to meet those goals through customer engagement.
- Role play all aspects of the customer experience with your team, including meet and greet, understanding the customer needs, explaining next steps to the customer, maintenance recommendations and delivery of the vehicle when the customer is finished.
- Role play is a great way to get new advisors up to speed or provide helpful feedback for advisors who have room for improvement.
- It is important for seasoned advisors as well! Use role play scenarios to reinforce best practices and recognize great techniques.
- Try role playing with some of your top performers in a group setting to let other team members learn from them and begin to adopt their techniques for customer engagement.
- Service and Fixed Operations Managers set the standard for customer service. Role playing allows service advisors to understand the manager’s goals and receive feedback on how to meet those goals through customer engagement.
- It Prepares Staff for Difficult Situations
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- Role playing customer objections or common customer frustrations can help your team feel ready to effectively handle these conversations when they happen.
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- Practice through role play allows your service team to think about what needs to be said before the heat of the moment, so the words come easily and confidently when needed. Your team members will thank you when they are able to handle a difficult situation calmly!
Want to take it one step further? Video tape the role play sessions and watch them with your employees! This allows them to see what you see, and critique their own performance with you.
Contact me today to learn how role playing and other techniques can improve your fixed operations performance!
President, BestAutoPros
P.S. Check out my other blogs for more service department tips!
Image courtesy of Salvator Vuono at freedigitalphotos.com