Car owners want their vehicles serviced as fast as possible. However, shops may only have so much capacity. This is a concern that auto shop owners must address, especially as the number of customers tends to increase in the summer as customers prepare their vehicles for road trips. Also, this is the time of the year when auto shops have to deal with air-conditioning work and car overheating.
As with other businesses, auto shops experience a decrease and increase in customers, usually unexpectedly. Also, they experience unexpected staff turnover and illnesses. When a shop is overstaffed or understaffed, it will lose revenue because of inefficiencies. Fortunately, auto shop owners can plan for these unexpected changes to make sure they are always at peak efficiency. If you are one of them, here’s what you can do:
Automate Scheduling
Getting as many customers as possible on the books early will smooth out your schedule. Consider offering to schedule future appointments for customers when they check out. Invest in Prostop autoshop scheduling software to schedule future service appointments for customers. This makes sure the schedule stays accurate, updated, and organised. The software can be set up to automatically confirm customer appointments and give reminders. This way, your staff don’t have to spend so much time on the phone. Instead, they can focus on customers in the shop. Because the appointment schedule is stored electronically through an application, you can easily access it and plan the staffing schedule accordingly.
Ensure You Have Enough Certified Technicians on Hand
Based on how busy your shop you expect in a given period, you need to make sure there are enough technicians available to manage the workplace. To prepare your shop for a business uptick, think about having a solid hiring process. This includes having a strong connection with possible certified technicians you can call on when you must hire quickly.
Increase the Productivity of Your Staff
To reach your business’ full revenue potential, make sure your staff members work efficiently. At the end of every workday, measure productivity at the shop level and individual levels. You can use an electronic timesheet to determine how productive every technician is.
Moreover, to ensure your staff knows your expectations, set technician and service adviser productivity goals. To motivate your people to reach productivity goals, offer incentives based on their performance. Bonuses can be given by groups or individuals to motivate them to share productivity best practices with each other.
