Personnel Files By Alex Baylon
LIKE A BOSS… Undercover Boss
D
o you remember when the Undercover Boss TV show came out? When the show first launched in 2010, I remember thinking it was the coolest concept ever. What a great way for company leaders to not only understand their business, but to see it through the eyes of the employees and customers. Because it feels like we all are doing more with less these days and we need to refocus on our business after the past year. What do I mean by that? Well… since the Pandemic started, we have dealerships lay off employees, make due with skeleton crews, do business by appointment only, make vehicle delivery and pick up viable options, provide curbside pick-up and more. Now that things have started to go back to somewhat normal, we all need to do a little undercover work. What policies and who do we bring back? If the new normal is having records sales month after month while slashing employee overhead, it is time to see what is necessary. What I’m talking about is how this overwhelming amount of business is being handled by most shops with less than 100% staff. We all know units are flying out the door and the sales department is selling everything they can get their hands on. With that said, how are all these new customers being treated? How is your sales staff handling the incoming call when a customer is asking for a new unit? Hopefully they are not saying, “good luck finding one,” and hanging up! Is your staff educated on how to handle these calls and customers? This is where you come in as Undercover Boss. You can call yourself or ask a friend to call for you but make some inbound calls to your sales department. Have a plan in place and know exactly what you’re asking for. Be prepared with follow up questions and anything else you want to know since you know your own process the best (or should know it best).
64
On a side note, after visiting a few dealerships and talking to the dealer principals about the boom, I have a couple different answers that are worth sharing. I asked if they are outfitting the units with accessories since customers are buying just about anything you put in their face. One dealer said “No, we don’t have time — we are selling faster than we can get them, and we have about 21 deposits waiting for units.” Certainly understandable. But when I asked the next dealer the same question about accessorizing, his answer was 180-degrees opposed: “Absolutely! Especially right now when the demand is so high. We don’t make any units live until they are accessorized with a minimum of wheels and tires, maybe a windshield, and lightbars on our UTVs.” I felt it was important to share that gem with you because in my opinion Dealer #2 is doing it right. Especially if you are having to pay close to retail to source scarce units. Ok let’s get back on track. The Parts Department Here is another place you can go undercover and learn the processes that your team has in place and find out if it’s to your satisfaction. While it’s much more involved and time consuming to find a disguise to fool your employees, you or your friend (not working at the shop) can simply pick up the phone and check inventory on a non-popular item you have in stock. See if they take the time to look for it and verify inventory. Ideally, they find it and invite the customer to come down to the shop and pick it up. Are they putting a sense of urgency to the retail customer to come pick it up? Are they asking to pay for it over the phone to be ready for pick up when they get there? Whatever your process is, are they following it? Also call a few days later and check inventory on item(s) you don’t have in stock and see how your employees respond. A little undercover work now can pay off in aboveboard dividends down the road. Some customers have been out of dealerships for more than a year and we all need to find ways to bring them back! Service Suggestion Service Department is another place to check in with. Have a plan on the exact conversation you want to have with the service department, be prepared with questions that might be a curve ball to them. Are they following company policy? Are they offering excellent customer service? Are they answering your questions / problems with acceptable solutions? Finding techs has always been problematic… to the point where we just say “that is why we keep them in the back with the machines rather than interacting with customers. So what if you can use your time as an Undercover Boss to make some changes in the service department?
