Toyota's reorganization of dealer service process

[The Critic]

From what I understand, Toyota is encouraging their dealers to adopt the Toyota Express Maintenance Program. Here is more info about it:

http://toyotadriverseat.com/pr/tds/PRN-toyota-express-maintenance-transforms-202489.aspx

http://dealer-communications.com/service/convenience-good-for-your-customers-good-for-your-shop/

In my conversation with one of the advisors I know at a Toyota dealer which has gone through this change, his Level 1 techs do the minor services, basic 30k services, and other scheduled maintenance work. Level 2 techs, supposedly do tires, brakes and even timing belts!

The main shop is then reserved for warranty work and open-ended repair work and diagnostics.

In a way, this is a good thing for new techs since they have more exposure to more cars. However, this also means that if your car only sees the dealer for scheduled maintenance and normal-wear items (i.e. no repairs), the car will never see the hands of a master tech - all of the work will be done by the Express Maintenance dept.

I know that at the Toyota dealer I use most often, only their oil changes go to lube techs - everything else goes to a line tech or master tech. I guess this may soon be changing.

Thoughts on the dealership/shop environment? mechanicx?

 

[eljefino]

I bet the lube techs are more than ready.

 

[hounddog]

I bet the heavy lines techs unless paid big bucks will get po'd real quick. They and reasonably so, get tired of seeing the techs that can ONLY do brakes and tunes. The EASY work. While the really sharp,smart techs get all the brain teasing,headache hard [censored]. Then stand around with a thump up their butt waiting on another [censored] busting hard repairs while the ones with no brains do all the easy work. Been there,seen it many times in many shops. It will cost you your best employees.

 

[salv]

This is the normal orginizational structure for a dealership service department. It is nothing new.
No dealership wants to pay a technician $20+ per hour to do oil changes.

 

[Hokiefyd]

My local Toyota dealer has used that structure for a long time. In fact, they have a separate set of bays for the "Level 1 work", right next to the service entrance. The main facility is around back, and most customers don't see it. I was back there once, and whew...it was clean as a whistle. You could eat off the garage floor.

 

[Roadkingnc]

That setup is to maximize profits, the more qualified techs get the warranty work and dont get the maintenence unless they upsell it. Good for the managments paycheck but the qualified techs suffer. I know because after 25 years Im ready to find another field to work in because of it. The customer doesnt get the same quality of service for thier money. I see loose wheels, screwed up brake jobs and shoddy work from it all too often.

 

[GROUCHO MARX]

Does this mean that the service writer will no longer recommend unnecessary work?

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: GROUCHO MARX
Does this mean that the service writer will no longer recommend unnecessary work?


They will be selling harder if anything, since there are two eyes versus one to look for upsells.

Besides, in my book, you can almost always make a case for an upsell. It is about how you present it to the customer, as many upsells are subjective. Heck, I follow the same line of thought in my line of work and when I am doing car work for any friend/co-worker.

 

[mechanicx]

Most techs want to do the pricy upsell maintenance work and non warranty work.

 

[SteveSRT8]

The whole system is screwed up badly. The flat rate book started it all years ago!

ETHICAL upselling is fine, and usually is of benefit to the client. The problem is when you tie a tech's income to upselling it can simply become a given.

Payroll should always be structured against the quality of the work. We pay big bonuses around here based on client's reviews of their tech.

 

[antiqueshell]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
The whole system is screwed up badly. The flat rate book started it all years ago!

ETHICAL upselling is fine, and usually is of benefit to the client. The problem is when you tie a tech's income to upselling it can simply become a given.

Payroll should always be structured against the quality of the work. We pay big bonuses around here based on client's reviews of their tech.


And yet....all those high level executive manglement [censored] hats can't figure out what you just posted above.. Disgraceful.

 

[Scott_Tucker]

Flat rate is a scam for anyone involved except the shop owner. It should be banned. It encourages highly unethical business practices.

I think the shop should be divided like this.

1. The apprentices do the 'easy' work such as oil changes, changing tires, and basic maintenance services (that don't require many tools).

2. The heavy duty techs do the manual labor intensive such as pulling a transmission, changing a timing belt, engine repair, etc.

3. The master/diagnostic techs do all the diagnostics. They do the more complicated repairs and manage the other techs. For example, if diagnosis of a transmission determines that the transmission needs to be removed for teardown and inspection, the heavy duty tech would pull the transmission and give it to the diagnostic tech, who would do the teardown and diagnosis.

Dealerships usually have enough diagnostic work to keep a couple of techs busy. It requires a lot more experience and education so they should get paid more than the other techs. However, in the flatrate system, it is the opposite. The guys who slam engines in and out the fastest without regard to quality are the ones who make all the money. While the diagnostic guys starve from lack of work and poor hours paid per job.

This is generally how all shops breakdown anyway. The trick to success is to not allow a tech to do a job beyond his ability, yet allow him the chance to do ever more complex jobs and increase in rank.

I was offered a job at a honda dealership and they had recently went flatrate. I asked in the interview if work was divided like this and they said, no it wasn't. Everyone was dispatched every variety of job and did it whether they were good at it or not. This leads to a lot of misdiagnosis and actual hours worked far exceeding book time. I declined. Jobs should be dispatched per specialty.

 

[hounddog]

Dispatching per specialty the vehicle can take DAYS to get finished. I worked import shops for years that for the most part the tech cleaned the ticket. I worked domestic shops that the techs couldn't clean a ticket. Pain in the rear. Takes much longer and vehicle gets past around,in and out way more then a tech fixing the vehicle no matter what it needed. Found more legitimate work then you could ever imagine. Just had to look. No need to sell things that didn't need doing cause most of the time had a hard enough time getting done what was really needed. On imports I averaged 2.5 hours a ticket. On domestics it was 1.5 or so. Warranty work was 6% to 10%. Rest was customer pay. Different brands had different owner mind sets. Makes a huge difference in the way they care for a vehicle. You keep feeding experienced techs brain teasers and hard junk they'll walk. One of the first things I'd when taking over a service dept was to get rid of the 30 minute oil change. Still did 'quick lubes' but took the guarantee 30 time out of the equation. Mistakes drop drastically stopping that burden. Plus I dislike a drive on ramp for such. Hinders looking the vehicle over. Manufacture wants a drive on and 30 minute. No money in it doing it that way.

 

[MrCritical]

The flat rate is about as much a scam as Maroney stickers.

If you can find someone who will repair your car for less time than the flat rate, good for you. We congratulate those who don't pay MSRP for their cars, so what's the difference?

Somwhere, somehow, "profit" got to be a dirty word in this country. Last time I checked, overhead for running a service department hadn't gone down one cent.

Focusing on "flat rate", MSRP", "Sale Price", ect, is all smoke and mirrors, anyway. There's still "additional dealer markup", "doc fees", "lot fees", "hazardous waste disposal", "shop supplies" and plenty of other stumbling blocks to add to the equation.

The best price for the highest quality repair using the best parts is still your best deal, regardless of what the flat rate is. Worrying about anything else on your part is ridiculous nitpicking. If someone charges you less labor hours but more per hour for the same job, who gave you the best deal? What does it matter what the car cost the dealer? Your ONLY concern is who will make you the best deal on it (and give you the best service after the sale).

 

[hounddog]

I've worked many techs that could earn a decent living on warranty flat rate. It is their BEST customer. I earned my living the same way. Made more money then most of my customers bringing cars in.

 

[The Critic]

Scheduled an alignment with this dealer for Wed. My usual advisor there said it'll be done by the "level II" techs in Express Maintenance.