Curing the Fixed Ops Hangover
What a party it was! We showed up, had a great time, talked excessively, drank a bit too much, stayed out far too late and were glad that we did it.
Glad, that is, until the next morning when we woke up and had to face reality. Now, our head hurts, our body aches and we don’t want to go to work! The only reason that we actually get out of bed and go to the office is that we are afraid of the consequences if we don’t. We resign ourselves to the mantra, “Just make it through the day.”
Hangovers aren’t just post-party events—they happen in Fixed Ops, too.
The idea of “just making it through the day,” can occur in any aspect of our lives. You’ll often see this attitude pop up in Fixed Ops departments after month end.
Think about it. At the beginning of the month, does your service department get off to a sluggish start? I’ve typically found that work in process is low. The team is feeling the “hangover” effect of closing repair orders while looking for those last dollars to finish the month. Many dealerships have a light appointment schedule around this time, too, as they pushed customers into those final days.
Reacting to this environment, employees just want to take a day or two to catch their breath. As a manager, you can just feel the entire department is coasting. It’s as if they too, have also adopted the mantra, “Just make it through the day.”
What causes the Fixed Ops hangover?
If you were to review the typical advisor’s monthly sales on a weekly basis, you would find that the sales aren’t spread out evenly. Rather, the advisor sales distribution curve usually looks like this in a four-week month: 15% the first week, 25% the second week, 25% the third week, and 35% the fourth week.
It’s a cycle that feeds on itself. And whether this uneven workload is caused by the month-end hangover effect or a combination of it, along with the advisors not closing tickets until the end of the month, is a major problem.
Stopping the Fixed Ops hangover ...
So, how can a manager stop this monthly hangover? I recommend motivating your service advisors with a “fast start” spiff. This could be a monetary bonus or another reward to any advisor who hits a pre-set objective for the first seven calendar days of the month. The idea is to keep your department rocking from the very first day of the month, rather than losing the first couple of days while everyone relaxes after the close.
The spiff can be set at different levels for various types of advisors; you can set different goals for the main shop and express, rookies and veterans, as long as they must work to achieve it.
No matter what goals you set, make sure they are challenging enough that the “just make it through the day” attitude cannot pay off. This spiff can also be incorporated with your technicians’ compensation. Be creative, and jump out of the starting blocks strong—right from the very first day of the month!