PERSONNEL FILES

By Alex Baylon

LIKE A BOSS…

Undercover Boss

Do 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). 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?

I saw this snippet posted on LinkedIn this morning is it really makes sense… if a tech has too much baggage and is keeping your service department from being shipshape consider this from the Marine Retailers Association… hey, I’m not too proud to learn from other success stories:

“We pay the tech’s next month student loan payment for each successful month they complete in our shop.” – From “Golden Nuggets to Developing Marine Techs” TechForce Foundation. Student loan debt can be a burden for many in the workforce. Did you know it’s possible for you to help your developing techs — especially those within an apprenticeship program — in this area while they are contributing at your dealership?

For more MRAA workforce resources and other “Golden Nuggets” like this, created in partnership with TechForce Foundation, go to: https://lnkd.in/e7WYXqT

Bottom Line

When was the last time you spun some wrenches in the service department or worked frontline sales? Have you ever pretended to be the customer? Have you called other dealers with the same questions? These are great ideas to catch a glimpse of a company’s organizational culture.

Engage with your employees and show them your results, like they have done on the TV show for the past 11 years. This is not an exercise to give owners and managers a pass to come down on employees, but rather to learn how to improve.

Right now, more than ever, it is a critical time to offer the best customer service you possibly can as we want/need all these new customers to stick around powersports… and to bring our old customers back to “normal” and into our stores again.

#PROfile

MIJ Industry #PROfiles

Dealernews is honored to work with Motorcycle Industry Jobs to recognize the people who make up this great industry. “When you start reading the Industry #PROfles, you will notice that 80-90% of them get their start at a motorcycle dealership,” says MIJ founder Alex Baylon. “The dealers are on the front lines and have always been the heart and soul of the industry. Without motorcycle dealerships, most of us wouldn’t be where we are today, so part of our message is always going to be ‘support your local motorcycle shop.’”

In addition to recognizing industry pros, Dealernews is also working with MIJ to create a job ticker tape of the latest positions opening in the industry at the Dealernews.com site. Check it out at: www.dealernews.com/Industry-Jobs

“Tell us your story,” adds Baylon. “We would love to feature you! Click here to fill out the questionnaire:

www.motorcycleindustryjobs.com/industry-profiles/

MotorcycleIndustryJobs.com founder Alex Baylon has been hiring and firing people in the powersports industry for 25 years.

Currently with a major distributor, he has also been with Dragon Alliance, Ceet Racing, MX GP Services in Europe, Acerbis USA, Motonation/Sidi Boots and Scott USA. He started MIJ as he saw a need in the industry for people who are passionate about the motorcycle industry to have an employment outlet. The motorcycle industry like many others has always recycled employees from one company to another and it has always been done by word of mouth. MIJ allows companies in the industry to post their openings and give others in and out of the industry a chance to apply and insert new blood and fresh ideas in the many opportunities in the motorcycle industry.