An automotive service company offers services on the proper functioning of a vehicle. An automotive service manager oversees a dealership’s daily operations and staffing, approves processes and procedures, budgets, and directs sales activities. They establish employee protocols at the workplace, track progress or activities, and ensure customer satisfaction. They also plan, set objectives, strategize, and measure sales, determining the training needs of their employees and closely monitoring the company’s direction. A high level of organization is needed to handle all these tasks. A good manager will develop an automotive service manager daily checklist as one of their tools of trade. A checklist is a list of tasks that need to be done at the company, and someone needs to physically check every day to ensure they’re done. It’s much easier to check the state of various moving parts daily. In this article, we’ll see what an automotive service manager daily checklist looks like.
1. Have All Equipment Ready
In an automotive service company, to start every day smoothly, you must implement several standards of operation. Such companies’ garages run specialized and sophisticated machinery meticulously primed for accurate results. As a manager, ensure systems are in place that guarantee the safety of your workers and the longevity of such machines. A good automotive service manager daily checklist will include a quality control checking system conducted on all running machines, either before the beginning of work hours or after work hours before closing the garage.
To begin with, the company needs to procure machinery from reputable brands. Do your research before buying a piece of equipment and get reviews from other users on the product’s qualities. This is helpful because you get high-quality, durable machinery that offers long service. Once you have the right machine, the next task is to know how to use it.
Follow this up by getting a qualified mechanic to operate it and provide the services you are there for. If these are in place, the manager has already done half of their work and can rest relatively easily the rest of the time. An appointment schedule is essential in managing an automotive service company. Knowing what jobs are coming up tomorrow is a significant advantage to the company and its engineers and mechanics.
This is because preparations can be made to deliver the services on time and in a more organized fashion. With a work timetable, you can store away in your pallet rack storage machines that won’t be needed for the task. This clears up space in the garage and minimizes potential hazards. Pallet racks are perfect because you can stack them vertically, which is another space saver. They’re also easy to handle and move around, especially if you own fork trucks.
2. Invest in a Roadside Assistance Team
Roadside assistance is among the services you should offer as an automotive service company. Vehicles break down or are rendered immobile for one reason or another, and sometimes, this happens while on the road. This can be a frustrating experience, to say the least, and a frightening one in some cases, especially if it’s a recreational vehicle rental. As a manager, create an automotive service manager daily checklist that will include checks to ensure your clients are always calm by the roadside since they can trust your response team to bail them out.
Conduct daily checks to ensure someone is always at the roadside emergency response line. This individual should be trained in emergency response and understand the protocols to follow depending on the client’s needs. Some causes of roadside breakdowns or unintentional stops include a flat tire, either due to a tire burst or slow puncture, a dead battery, a mechanical breakdown, or when the car runs out of gas. Adequately prepare to deal with any of these scenarios.
For freight company clients, there are several measures you can take to ensure you’ve completely covered all potential roadside incidents. Agree with your client to share the digital freight itinerary, so you can monitor each vehicle’s distance, speed, and general performance. It’s added data to your client file. Have your technicians install custom gadgets that monitor different areas of the vehicle’s inner workings to give them even more data. This is instrumental in informing proactive measures for preventing certain incidents. It provides them with crucial information necessary for help, such as delivering heavy duty towing on time.
3. Expand Your Knowledge Base
As a manager, you should be as well-equipped as possible. This means whatever opportunity you get to improve yourself and your knowledge in the field, you should take it. Including it in your automotive service manager daily checklist is a good way to ensure you’re actively doing this. So, one of the areas you must be competent in is arithmetic.
You must be able to calculate discounts you’ll be offering your clients, commissions you’ll be giving your staff, and interests your financier will charge you. You also need to know the arithmetic around quantities like percentages, areas, and volumes; this is important for procurement and consumption. Knowledge of basic geometry and algebra will at least provide a basic bearing on how your engineers, mechanics, and technicians work.
An automotive service manager can collect accurate information, properly analyze it, and draw the correct conclusions. Such a manager will successfully manage and grow an automotive service company because they’ll be looking to take advantage of every opportunity they get out there. One of these opportunities is leveraging the services of complementary businesses with theirs. As a manager, look for partners and associates you can work with to give your client the ultimate experience. The advantage of associations like this is that you don’t have to invest in the service your associate provides.
Negotiation is another skill a manager can advance; this is one area where it’ll be handy. An automotive service company can liaise with an ATV rental company to offer their clients an off-road outdoor experience at a subsidized fee. Or it can be used to gift your loyal customers.
4. Offer All Kinds of Repairs
An automotive service manager manages the building, rebuilding, reconditioning, and repairing of motor vehicles; it is more than just an auto repair shop. By definition, a client expects to get a solution to any problem with their car. As a manager, ensure you provide the solution they’re looking for. The best way to approach your automotive service manager daily checklist to ensure you’ve covered everything is to start with the basics.
A basic service and car maintenance session must follow certain procedures. List them on your automotive service manager daily checklist, including checking the motor oil and other important fluids like the brake fluid, the coolant, the transmission fluid, and the engine air filter. You’ll also need to check the cabin air filter, belts, and hoses. Next, test the battery, lights, and other electricals like the AC. Inspect the brakes, check tire pressure, do wheel balancing and alignment, check the windshield wipers, and replace them if necessary. Finally, thoroughly wash the car and steam it if possible.
Once you’ve covered the basics, your list can evolve into the more specialized, niche services that will make your company stand out. Some specialized services you should consider offering include collision services, paint jobs, custom refurbishments, and custom car builds. Other services that’ll set you apart are grinding, body kit fitting, body fabrication, and turbo installation.
Consider offering engine upgrade modifications and add-ons such as hydraulic system installations and repair, spare part fabrication, and body reinforcement services. These include interior reinforcement for racing cars, exterior frame reinforcement for off-road and all-terrain vehicles, and vehicle body reinforcement installations. These latter services can protect a car against gunfire. A crucial service you must offer is tire care, which includes puncture repairs. Always replace a worn tire with a new car tire; trying other hacks to get around it may be the cause of a bad accident.
5. Understand Auto Insurance
An automotive service manager must thoroughly understand how vehicle insurance works. Insurance costs are increasing, and you need to understand why this is the case. Your clients will gain confidence in you and your services if you explain why they’re paying such high car insurance premiums. This information is out there and relatively easy to find, so include a segment in your automotive service manager daily checklist that monitors your clients’ auto insurance coverage and suggest ways of making it work in their favor.
Insurance companies use certain markers to set premiums for different types of insurance. Monitor these markers and gather as much data as possible to negotiate better terms for your client. Some of the markers insurers use to rate one’s insurance so high include location, meaning where you live has a direct influence on your insurance; marital status; your age; and gender, although some states prohibit the use of gender to determine the cost of insurance; education and occupation; garage parking and your credit history.
A thorough knowledge of how auto insurance works puts you in a better position to provide your clients with an informed answer to the question, ‘Why has car insurance become so expensive?’ One of the reasons is climate change, which has resulted in more unpredictable weather, thus increasing the risk of vehicle damage. Inflation is an obvious reason as prices of services and products rise in response to inflationary economic changes.
The 2019 coronavirus pandemic affected supply chains, posing challenges in producing and delivering car parts. Scarcity usually results in higher prices for the few available products and services, which happened during the pandemic as demand for auto parts outstripped supply. Advise your clients on how to get the best rates from their car insurance company.
Tell them why buying the right car is important; advise them to take advanced driving courses to improve their standing as drivers. Impress upon them the crucial importance of driving carefully to avoid incidents that could require the intervention of their insurance company. Remember, the number of claims a client makes affects their insurance premiums. Advise the client why maintaining a good credit score is critical. With such in-depth knowledge about auto insurance, you can show your clients how to choose the right coverage and deductible.
6. Keep the Garage Clean and Organized
An automotive service manager understands the importance of a well-organized working space. It’s their responsibility to ensure procedures are followed, and including this task in the automotive service manager daily checklist is a must. This should be a routine daily activity, especially in high-activity areas like the company garage.
The advantages you get from a clean, well-organized garage include increased safety around the garage for your team and customers and increased fluidity while working in the garage, thus increasing productivity. It also results in less waste, which reduces operation costs, minimizes mistakes by team members, and, in general, provides a pleasant working environment for all. It’s been shown that a clean and organized environment positively impacts workers’ attitudes and productivity and increases quality control. Regular cleaning reveals areas to be looked into, for instance, the need for a garage door repair.
To achieve the results they’re looking for, a progressive automotive service manager hires a competent car garage manager to manage operations, specifically in the garage. One of the measures a car garage manager will take is proving their competence in properly organizing the workspace. The garage is a workspace with high foot traffic, so keep things off the floor to allow free walking space. Add epoxy floor coatings as they are durable and extremely hard to chip.
The car garage manager must work to reduce time wasted during peak operation times. This is achieved by planned garage organization and employing techniques like mobile carts and workstations for easy accessibility. Optimizing processes can be achieved by segmenting the garage into repair stages. You should also have a designated area for frequently requested repairs and jobs. The garage manager can strictly follow the automotive service manager daily checklist.
The automotive service manager daily checklist is an indispensable part of an automotive service company. Given all the areas a company must be vigilant on and its wide service offering, it’s virtually only possible to work efficiently with a checklist. A good automotive service manager understands the importance of conducting checks daily, starting individual clients in almost all areas of operation to ensure the smooth running of operations.
