According to the RV Industry Association, 8.1 million U.S. households own an RV. But there's only an estimated 17,360 RV service techs in the country. Considering the extreme difference between these numbers, your team must be readily equipped to finish repairs efficiently. With the right tools and resources, technicians can shift more of their focus to delivering quality service and strengthening customer loyalty. Let's dive into some ways you can support your dealership's technicians:
1. Streamline Responsibilities
Making day-to-day responsibilities as seamless as possible helps your team members get jobs completed faster.
Specialize Technician Roles
Assigning repairs to your technicians based on their strengths and expertise produces greater efficiency throughout your service bay. For example, if you have someone with expert RV electrical knowledge, you should designate them for any electric-related jobs. By giving technicians the types of jobs they’re experienced in and allocating your team proactively, you’ll simultaneously improve your dealership’s productivity, employee satisfaction, and repair event cycle time (RECT). Using a dealer management system (DMS), you can determine job assignments easily with just a click of a button, keeping your team up to date and ready to go at all times.
Reduce Manual Administrative Tasks
Leverage digitization and automation to prevent your technicians from being tied down to administrative work, like manually logging technician hours. For example, with a DMS, you can record repair information seamlessly and maintain a single record of all your data. By minimizing paperwork and tedious, manual tasks, your technicians will have more time and energy to complete repairs and maximize revenue potential.
2. Identify Inefficiencies
No business operation is perfect. There's always something you can address that would solve an issue or make a process easier and more enjoyable for your employees.
Review Processes
It’s important to evaluate your current processes and procedures periodically to find areas of improvement. Identifying bottlenecks and addressing any operational gaps is vital to maximizing employee productivity and operational efficiency.
Gather Feedback
The only guaranteed way to know how your customers and employees feel about your business is to hear directly from the source. Regularly request feedback from your technicians and customers. With clear responses, whether positive or negative, you can see where your strengths and weaknesses lie and begin enhancing the areas you need to improve. Demonstrating a commitment to addressing your customers’ and technicians’ comments will make them feel heard and valued, ultimately increasing their trust and loyalty in your business.
3. Invest in Training
Whether your team members have significant tenure or are relatively new, employee training is crucial for successful operations. Your staff must be equipped to confidently carry out their responsibilities.
Cross-Train Staff
While specializing technician roles can do wonders for productivity, you should still ensure technicians can handle multiple types of common repairs. Cross-training will be especially important when a technician must handle a common repair job outside their specialty. This will prevent jobs from standing idle for too long and reduce wait time for your customers.
Provide Ongoing Technical Training
The RV industry is always adapting to new policies or technologies. To keep your technicians’ performance in tip-top shape, ensure they’re up to date on any new systems, tools, and repair techniques. Staying informed and educated helps your team work more efficiently and accurately. By staying proactive with technical training, your dealership can strengthen its reputation as a leader in RV maintenance and repair.
Offer Customer Service Training
When technician training first comes to mind, you probably think of the technical skills mentioned above. However, a successful dealer operation also delivers consistent, outstanding customer service. Be sure to review company protocol for customer service and solidify employee knowledge on how to handle various situations, such as informing customers of stalled repairs due to out-of-stock parts or shipping delays.
With training sessions focused on customer service practices, your team will be prepared to provide positive and professional experiences for customers, leaving a good impression and increasing their satisfaction with your dealership. Additionally, staff will be well-trained in de-escalating any conflicts and finding a resolution for the customer.
Conclusion
When you dedicate resources and adjust processes to support your service technicians, your team will be more productive and feel appreciated at your dealership. Maximize your service department’s success by streamlining responsibilities, identifying inefficiencies, and investing in training today!
