I am quite sure that most of you reading this post will agree that life is sometimes to hectic and we all need a break from working the excruciatingly long hours demanded of our time by this business, Saturdays being no exception. Personally I hate Sunday shopping, I believe Sundays are a day to spend and reconnect with family. Saturday is also the day that everyone in the automotive repair industry wishes they had off as well.
Saturday service is unfortunately a MUST for most dealerships as the mindset of consumers is such that if you are closed on Saturdays, your customers will just go elsewhere for routine servicing and minor repairs. The reality is this, if your customers go elsewhere and like the service they receive, they might not come back to your establishment.
Due to the hectic pace of life, commutes to and from work, balancing the needs of family, work and the upkeep of the household and the family automobile have become a daunting task. There just are not enough hours in a day to accomplish all the tasks that life presents to us. Therefore, Saturdays in most households is spent cleaning, shopping, fixing, finding and yes, taking the family vehicles in for service. Let’s face reality, Saturdays may be the only day some people have to get their vehicles routine servicing done or repaired due to a breakdown.
Some of you might say, “Saturdays are not profitable” and you may be right due to your unique circumstances, demographics and your offerings in services to your customer base. Unfortunately when you are closed, your customers are going other places to fill the need. The damaging factor is that when your customers go elsewhere they are being up sold in most cases and you are missing out on opportunities. Plus, the truth is that most vehicles out there have at least one to two other issues that could potentially become bigger repair jobs for your facility.
I treat Saturdays as the loss leader day, meaning we are open for all types of work yet we cater to those in need of routine servicing. Routine servicing doesn’t add to the building of bottom line GP, albeit the courtesy inspections provide the tool to up sell and create GP potential. Monday callbacks of Saturday declined services usually reap benefits in booking future mechanical repair appointments.
If you implement Saturday rapid lube service by having two C technicians working together on each vehicle you can turn around an oil change in 30 minutes or less including the courtesy inspection. Once the inspection is complete the advisor can attempt to up sell the additional found items and turn the repair over to an appropriate technician to facilitate the repairs. This is how you can turn your average Saturday into a rewards Saturday! If the customer declines the repairs your BDC should be calling these customers off your declined service log and book them back in for a future repair appointment.
The return of declined calls that book appointments is usually between 25% and 45% in most cases. Therefore Saturday service can be a benefit IF you formulate processes to sell more work and follow up on your declined services. You MUST be prepared to do what it takes to keep your customers at your facility!
To keep moral higher on Saturdays and to give your employees something to look forward to, try having breakfast at break time for your service employees, bagels, donuts and coffee can go a long way to keep spirits high as well as profits. A little bonus can sometimes go a long way in promoting team as well as putting a little zing in everyone’s step.
The best dealerships in the world recognize that Saturdays are a necessity yet they also realize that rewarding their employees with major holidays off, speaks volumes. Major holidays are a time especially set aside for families and friends, giving your employees these days off during the year will not only energize your employees it will ignite more passion in them upon their return.
My fear is that we are heading for Sunday service in the near future and this I oppose as most people in this industry work exceptionally hard the full six days we are currently open. Sunday service will surely help in providing gross profit to struggling stores yet we have enough employee burn out with the hours already logged in the average work week.
Make Saturday profitable and continue reaping the rewards of a closed Sunday!
David
