“Ask Jim” is an ongoing question-and-answer series with Jim Roche, Xtime’s senior vice president of marketing and managed services, on the pressing topics and issues within the fixed operations world.
Question: What % of my RO’s should I be inspecting?
Answer: Every vehicle that comes into your service department should have an inspection completed — no exceptions. You already know this for cars you haven’t seen in a while — that’s a no brainer, so let’s deal with the most common situations where inspections get dropped: newly purchased vehicles and vehicles that were recently in for service.
Newly purchased vehicles: in these instances, you’re laying the foundation for the future, or as a friend of mine says, you’re “selling the green”. When you review an inspection report that has no significant problems, you’re enhancing your credibility with the vehicle owner. In the future, when there’s an issue, that credibility will help you close the additional service request (ASR).
Recently in for service: you cannot possibly know where that vehicle has been, or under what conditions it’s been driven. So, even though it may have been in your shop just last month, performing a new inspection shields you from any liability and also helps to “sell the green”.
Don’t miss Jim’s session, “Turn One-Time Visitors Into Lifetime Customers” at DD25 on Tuesday, October 16, 2018! Improve customer retention and reshape the typical dealer experience.