anyone here an automotive service advisor?

[03c0upe]

I was thinking of taking this course at automotive training center. Anyone working in this position? Curious about wages and how good that school is as well.

[Nvasion]

that school is crap.... their automotive program isnt even icbc certified.

[civic_rice]

im a SA in a diesel shop. being a SA can make anywhere from $15-30 an hour but most are salary. plus you can get profit sharing and bonus from meeting goals. My boss was tempted to send me to this course just to say we had someone go through it, but we looked at the course and realized how much of a waste it would be

[03c0upe]

Originally Posted by Nvasion

that school is crap.... their automotive program isnt even icbc certified.

What other school is there that provides this training? and what you mean isnt icbc certified? for making damaging estimates?

Originally Posted by civic_rice

im a SA in a diesel shop. being a SA can make anywhere from $15-30 an hour but most are salary. plus you can get profit sharing and bonus from meeting goals. My boss was tempted to send me to this course just to say we had someone go through it, but we looked at the course and realized how much of a waste it would be

Did you get in to SA without training?

[Klobbersaurus]

nothing to know about being an SA other than know what your talking about and customer service, sometimes if you use really big words and dont know what your talking about, the customer will get confused and agree to do the work haha

[civic_rice]

That I did... Actually got offered either that or mechanics through a bcit auto skills competition back in highschool which I did well in. My current boss was my judge
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[alex.w *//]

don't do it

basic customer service and basic automotive experience will land you a job in that field

[haymura]

i did the service advisor in automotive training centre. its a fuckin waste of money and time. they teach you things like "how to interact with ppl", "organizing your files", etc..
it seriously felt like elementary class. Sure you get a certificate but its not accredited or ICBC certified. Please save yourself the money and time. Dont take it! it doesnt get you a service advisor job any easier. Most dealerships know that course is a joke.

[BallPeenHammer2]

I'm an advisor at the moment, and I will tell you: DON'T take the course.

[falcon]

I don't know why anyone would take a course. I just learned everything as I went along. It's easy.

[monkeywrench]

Originally Posted by falcon

I don't know why anyone would take a course. I just learned everything as I went along. It's easy.

^This, although I've never been through the course myself and don't plan to.

I just started, knowing nothing about advising, but slowly learning the principles and theory. Its a position where your decisions really reflect how well you handle situations. A simple mistake and the consequences will never be the same. lol seriously.

[!SG]

i made the switch from shipping/parts advising to service advising.

ive been thrown into express service advising. as for the course, i did look into it myself, but decided not to at this time as real time first hand service advising has proven more useful. im sure the course will teach some aspects which i havent touched upon yet, but ive had years of experience at small independant shops before and thus, some of that knowledge was transferable. its just learning the computer system, and the dealership rules which make it hard.

ive been at it since the beginning of the year. its a trade off being an express service advisor. you dont have to learn as much, though there is still plenty to learn, compared to the extensive amount the "regular" service advisors have to know, but the trade off being, you open and close twice the number of work orders.

so my company splits it from main shop, to express service shop. express handles all the regular maintenance items, basically anything that can be done within a reasonable amount of waiting time.

normally, on avg, as the newb there, ive been opening anywhere from 5 to 10 work orders a day. ive seen my 2 co workers do easily 15 a day without breaking a sweat.

its been an exponential climb in learning. my parts knowledge helps quite a bit when explaining to customers why they are getting something done. my overall experience in customer service has helped me work with customers a lot better.

in all honesty, ur best bet is to learn off of another service advisor that is willing to teach and be patient. for me, if u explain why, instead of just showing me the key strokes, just a couple times, i will get the idea, and thus learn.

some of my job duties, opening work orders, checking warranty, checking last visits, doing a general visual inspection, price quotes, booking appointments and most important, always ask the customer what their concerns are. even if they arent car-literate, it is their car, and they know if something feels out of norm.

what i noticed different from parts is all the little details that you have to keep track, eg, calling customer when car is ready, writing down notes... etc.

if u get the position, give it a try, its not for everyone as customer service is gotta be top priority, but its also a good overall work experience.

[monkeywrench]

Originally Posted by !SG

i made the switch from shipping/parts advising to service advising.

ive been thrown into express service advising. as for the course, i did look into it myself, but decided not to at this time as real time first hand service advising has proven more useful. im sure the course will teach some aspects which i havent touched upon yet, but ive had years of experience at small independant shops before and thus, some of that knowledge was transferable. its just learning the computer system, and the dealership rules which make it hard.

ive been at it since the beginning of the year. its a trade off being an express service advisor. you dont have to learn as much, though there is still plenty to learn, compared to the extensive amount the "regular" service advisors have to know, but the trade off being, you open and close twice the number of work orders.

so my company splits it from main shop, to express service shop. express handles all the regular maintenance items, basically anything that can be done within a reasonable amount of waiting time.

normally, on avg, as the newb there, ive been opening anywhere from 5 to 10 work orders a day. ive seen my 2 co workers do easily 15 a day without breaking a sweat.

its been an exponential climb in learning. my parts knowledge helps quite a bit when explaining to customers why they are getting something done. my overall experience in customer service has helped me work with customers a lot better.

in all honesty, ur best bet is to learn off of another service advisor that is willing to teach and be patient. for me, if u explain why, instead of just showing me the key strokes, just a couple times, i will get the idea, and thus learn.

some of my job duties, opening work orders, checking warranty, checking last visits, doing a general visual inspection, price quotes, booking appointments and most important, always ask the customer what their concerns are. even if they arent car-literate, it is their car, and they know if something feels out of norm.

what i noticed different from parts is all the little details that you have to keep track, eg, calling customer when car is ready, writing down notes... etc.

if u get the position, give it a try, its not for everyone as customer service is gotta be top priority, but its also a good overall work experience.

Express SA? I'm guessing you work at BMW dealer correct?

[!SG]

yup.

officially been in the service department since the beginning of the year.

officially been a service advisor since jan 17th. when started opening work orders and handling customers on my own.

it is a very very very steep learning curve in that having a lot of the services covered under warranty means we have to get the right operation code + the correct story and writting. if any of that is wrong in any way, the warranty gets rejected. even though we have warranty officers, with 11 total service advisors, and the main shop being booked 3 weeks in advance, that is A LOT of work orders per day they go thru. we do our best to help them out by being correct.

even though i am only express, this means i only handle oil changes, brakes, filters, bulbs, tires, basically anything that can be done within a 2hr span of time, there is still plenty for me to do. i dont want to be a burden on my 2 other express co workers, so im putting in extra time on my own to learn and be more efficient. we see EASILY 30-35 customers through express a day. its such a large number that is scares the crap out of me somedays how busy and popular this dealership is.

[monkeywrench]

Originally Posted by !SG

yup.

officially been in the service department since the beginning of the year.

officially been a service advisor since jan 17th. when started opening work orders and handling customers on my own.

it is a very very very steep learning curve in that having a lot of the services covered under warranty means we have to get the right operation code + the correct story and writting. if any of that is wrong in any way, the warranty gets rejected. even though we have warranty officers, with 11 total service advisors, and the main shop being booked 3 weeks in advance, that is A LOT of work orders per day they go thru. we do our best to help them out by being correct.

even though i am only express, this means i only handle oil changes, brakes, filters, bulbs, tires, basically anything that can be done within a 2hr span of time, there is still plenty for me to do. i dont want to be a burden on my 2 other express co workers, so im putting in extra time on my own to learn and be more efficient. we see EASILY 30-35 customers through express a day. its such a large number that is scares the crap out of me somedays how busy and popular this dealership is.

Yeah 30-35 sounds like a heck lot of customers if that's JUST for your express line. That's about how many customers we have a in a day and it's gotten quite quiet these past few days where I am. And over there you guys use Reynolds, not sure if it's different from ADP by a lot.

Yeah the biggest thing to worry about is putting lines as warranty or customer pay. Checking whether the maintenance is covered under warranty or is just customer pay is quite a feat. Messing up and you're gonna be in the manager's office for a lengthly conversation.

Wow Jan 17th? I started working up front Jan 27 lol but not really working alone with my own desk just yet.

[need2speed]

Was a sa for 2 years, started out as the warranty guy then worked my way up. If you can't deal with customers bs this isn't the right job foe you.
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[!SG]

so from what i've learned, all service advisors get a base pay of sorts, and some sort of bonus. bonus is based on sales i assume, but many factors can affect that. your customers may also get a call or email or mail to rate your performance.

so far, its been tough, i was thrown right in, opening up 10-15 work orders a day. sucks that i still don't know everything to help me do my job, but that comes with time and coming to the situation (you wont know what you may need to know until you are put up into that situation!)

its a trade off, being an express advisor means i deal with mainly maintenance. oil changes, brakes, filters, wheels, tires. so a lot of it is repetative, but doesnt make it any easier when you have to do all the research behind each customer minutes before they arrive, or in the few minutes they arrive from the time they actually come see you. and that you are opening and closing work orders. more time is needed when you have to find the customer to inform them that there was additional problems found on their vehicle. but that doesnt make a regular advisor's job any easier. they have to know so much more aspects to the whole car. so thus less customers per day, BUT more extensive work and knowledge.

i assume it gets easier as i learn more and become faster.


yes, at bmw we use reynolds. never used adp, but heard its got its benefits over reynolds as reynolds has its benefits over adp in certain aspects.

[BallPeenHammer2]

Originally Posted by !SG

i made the switch from shipping/parts advising to service advising.

ive been thrown into express service advising. as for the course, i did look into it myself, but decided not to at this time as real time first hand service advising has proven more useful. im sure the course will teach some aspects which i havent touched upon yet, but ive had years of experience at small independant shops before and thus, some of that knowledge was transferable. its just learning the computer system, and the dealership rules which make it hard.

ive been at it since the beginning of the year. its a trade off being an express service advisor. you dont have to learn as much, though there is still plenty to learn, compared to the extensive amount the "regular" service advisors have to know, but the trade off being, you open and close twice the number of work orders.

so my company splits it from main shop, to express service shop. express handles all the regular maintenance items, basically anything that can be done within a reasonable amount of waiting time.

normally, on avg, as the newb there, ive been opening anywhere from 5 to 10 work orders a day. ive seen my 2 co workers do easily 15 a day without breaking a sweat.

its been an exponential climb in learning. my parts knowledge helps quite a bit when explaining to customers why they are getting something done. my overall experience in customer service has helped me work with customers a lot better.

in all honesty, ur best bet is to learn off of another service advisor that is willing to teach and be patient. for me, if u explain why, instead of just showing me the key strokes, just a couple times, i will get the idea, and thus learn.

some of my job duties, opening work orders, checking warranty, checking last visits, doing a general visual inspection, price quotes, booking appointments and most important, always ask the customer what their concerns are. even if they arent car-literate, it is their car, and they know if something feels out of norm.

what i noticed different from parts is all the little details that you have to keep track, eg, calling customer when car is ready, writing down notes... etc.

if u get the position, give it a try, its not for everyone as customer service is gotta be top priority, but its also a good overall work experience.

You don't happen to work at BJ, do u? =) If so, may I ask who u are? I used to work there =)

Also, I miss Reynolds..... T________T. I've been on adp for about 2 years now.....still miss R&R so much....

[!SG]

i thought it was common knowledge i started working at brian jessel over a year ago.

everyone knows me as Shoei

[jaemc]

Originally Posted by need2speed

Was a sa for 2 years, started out as the warranty guy then worked my way up. If you can't deal with customers bs this isn't the right job foe you.
Posted via RS Mobile

hahaha totally agree with you sometimes dont you feel like a "human punching bag" at times? theres people that love to shit on you cuz they think youre some magical doctor that can fix everything when they tell you the concern... being a service advisor def. takes alotta people to people skills.

But theres are alotta nice customers too, over time hopefully you'll build a relationship with the customer and sometimes it definitely is rewarding.

[!SG]

so ill chime in my almost 2 months as an service advisor.

good customers are awesome, they understand, and absolutely dont mind going the extra length to make sure their experience was awesome.

bad customers believe u should treat them like a god, and when it comes time to review, if you had to tell them they needed to pay something to get their car fixed, they will pay you back by a bad review. had 1 bad review from a customer because i told him he needed new tires, they were bald and with the wear on the tires, needed an alignment.

as a service advisor, it doesnt matter what our appointment office tells the customer, 2hr job, they will still request to have it done within 1/2 an hour.

also got screwed over as the car did not go back to them as clean as they liked. its a free car wash and vacuum, coming in for service doesnt entitle to a free spa =/

other than that, i believe i am working with one of the best teams ever. they have offered to help, and even stepped in to help, but its my nature to take on the job myself, until i have to absolutely need to ask for help.

im just surprised im hanging in there as long as i have so far...

[03c0upe]

^Whats the pay like?

[Klobbersaurus]

Originally Posted by !SG

as a service advisor, it doesnt matter what our appointment office tells the customer, 2hr job, they will still request to have it done within 1/2 an hour.

i hate it when you sell a bunch of work and they demand it gets done by a specific time even tho it would be rushed only to call them when its ready at their wanted time and have them say they will pick it up at the end of the day

i like it when a customer tells me off and says they will never come back and then they show up again but avoid me, told a customer once that i remembered him cuz he was the one that told me off and said he wouldnt come back

[!SG]

30-35K pre bonuses depends on experience

after bonuses, can get to around 50-55K, all relative to experience.

full fledge advisors, with bonuses, can get up to around 90K, if u are really really good.

Originally Posted by 03c0upe

^Whats the pay like?

[!SG]

i dont mind, i just dont like it when customers twist words.

the good customers know we are just out there to look out for them. i treat a customer exactly like how i would like to be treated. after all, i drive a car too, and need servicing too, so i would not treat any one any less than i myself want to be treated.

there are going to be days which you just wish it will end, then there are days where customers write you an email back to say thank you and that they have written a letter to your superior to express their gratitude.

some managers are really good at motivating everyone. what i like best about the team where i work, how they adopted me into the crew. what sucks is being thrown in and expected to run. im the type that needs to know why, as thats how i learn, being told to do something, but not explained why, just makes me more confused.

im doing my best to keep up, not there to impress, but i dont like being the weakest link even if i am the newb.

so far since begining of march, im up to 121 customers/ work orders, so 9 working days...

Originally Posted by Klobbersaurus

i hate it when you sell a bunch of work and they demand it gets done by a specific time even tho it would be rushed only to call them when its ready at their wanted time and have them say they will pick it up at the end of the day

i like it when a customer tells me off and says they will never come back and then they show up again but avoid me, told a customer once that i remembered him cuz he was the one that told me off and said he wouldnt come back