Consistent pricing, better processes build trust

During the recent business downturn, service department officials at Hansel Auto Group in California had time to take a deeper dive into the capabilities of a Dynatron Software platform, purchased late last year to ferret out overlooked business opportunities.

One of the revelations: Patterns of inconsistent pricing for the same kinds of work, such as oil changes, at the auto group's nine rooftops in Petaluma and Santa Rosa north of San Francisco.

Eliminating those discrepancies, as well as enhanced training on processes for service advisers, could result in six-figure revenue increases at each store, says Michael Weldon, director of fixed ops.

Consistent pricing — both internally and compared with prices charged by independent shops — affects more than just profitability. It also hurts credibility, Weldon says, if customers compare prices.

"The COVID-19-related downtime afforded us the opportunity to circle back and look at everything we've purchased and our processes," Weldon says. "We've purchased a ton of computer products and driveway aids over the years."

At many shops, some products get pushed aside.

"So like a kid who has too many toys, we took things out to look at them again," he says. "No one looked at that capability before [in the Dynatron platform]. I'm not taking any pride in the fact that we're first doing it now… it's what every business should be doing all the time.

"But when a pipe is always carrying plenty of water, you don't worry as much about holes in the pipe."

The software also is helping service managers identify inconsistencies in service-adviser presentations. For example, service advisers tend to stray from the company's walk-around process when things get hectic, but a training component in the Dynatron system is helping to correct that, Weldon says.

"We're trying to get them to slow down," he says. "It's important for our writers to do a thorough walk-around with customers — build a relationship so they're more at ease.

"That way they don't feel like you're trying to sell them something when you offer service recommendations or repairs."

Overall, the data analysis and the training component provided by the Dynatron platform now has service managers "engaging in their businesses, not just running them," Weldon says. "They're doing an exceptional job.

"COVID-19 has created a terrible situation, but it's also provided a great opportunity to concentrate better on what we do best."