Job Details

The Service Manager is responsible for running the Department. S/he will operate the department at maximum production, controlling costs, building a loyal clientele, maintaining good employee relationships, setting, and obtaining sales and profit objectives, and maintaining service records. The Service Manager will work with the Parts Manager, Warranty Manager, and the Fixed Operations Manager to achieve these goals and perform and/or assign the duties listed below.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Management-related:

• Forecast goals and objectives for the department and strive to meet them.
• Strive for harmony and teamwork with all other departments.
• Prepare and administer an annual operating budget for the service department.
• Attend managers' meetings as requested.
• Meet with the Dealer/Fixed Operations Manager at least once a month to review current service department performance, set future performance objectives, promotional activities, or any other critical matters.
• Cooperate with all other dealership managers and, when necessary to resolve conflicts, request the involvement of the next higher dealership authority.
• Establish and maintain good working relationships with vocational and technical schools to enhance personnel recruitment activities.
• Serve as liaison with factory representatives.
• Account for all documents; ensure that none are missing.
• Maintain reporting systems required by general management and the factory.
• Perform other specific assignments as directed by dealership management.
• ''Must be legally and technically able to safely operate Company and customer-owned vehicles.
• Must be insurable by Company insurance carrier.
• Conduct and document ongoing refresher safety training within the service department.
• Must conduct periodic self-inspection for hazard assessment within the service department and recommend and document action needed and action taken.
• Ensure that service department employees follow safety policy and practices and that they report all accidents immediately.

Personnel-related:

• Hire, train, motivate, counsel, and monitor the performance of all service department staff.

Direct and schedule the activities of all department employees.

• Provide technical assistance to employees as needed. Conduct meetings with department employees to discuss activities and problems of mutual interest.

• • Maintain a current service department organizational chart.
  • Upgrade and maintain employee morale by providing advancement opportunities and promot­ ing from within whenever possible.
  • Train backup personnel for every position in the service department. Be firm but fair in all decisions and solve problems by taking positive action.
  • Strive to increase the production and earnings of every service employee.
  • Ensure that all service department employees arrive and depart at established times and follow company policies.
  • Take daily attendance of the service department employees.
  • Report to management any circumstances that compromise the integrity of the dealership. Properly document employee behavior that may result in punitive job actions such as termination.
  • Monitor technician's payroll records.
  • Create and review with every service employee a written job description.
  • Conduct semi-annual reviews to appraise performance and recommend compensation plans and adjustments.
  • The Fixed Operations Manager has the final authority on reviews and compensation.
  • Assist all subordinate service management and sales personnel in all phases of their job descriptions when overburdened or when sickness an9'or vacation occurs.

Financial-related:

• • Monitor technicians' payroll records.
  • Maintain up to date Comeback log and Technician Production and Efficiency logs.
  • Understand and monitor the service section of the dealership's financial statement.
  • Create and control budgets for personnel and other expenses normally administered by service management.
  • Maintain support personnel staffing at no more than 2 support persons to 3 productive technicians.
• • Strive .to maintain as a percent of labor sales the profit and expense guidelines set forth by management. (70% GP I <45% Total Department Expenses I 20% Profit)
  • Assure proper repair order flow to satisfy warranty/dealership/business office requirements.
  • Monitor the effective labor sales rate on a continuous basis.
  • See that the dealership receives full value for time and materials purchased.
  • Obtain competitive bids on all tools, equipment, sublet repairs, supplies, etc.
  • Collect accounts receivable for service work.

Customer Relations-Related:

• • Establish and maintain good working relationships with customers to encourage repeat and referral business.
  • All customers promptly and give fair estimates on costs and time required for repairs and maintenance.

• Handle all customer complaints tactfully, promptly, and with genuine concern for the customer’s problems.
• Train the service writing (ASM staff) to promote customer satisfaction.
• Train the service writing (ASM) staff to tactfully handle customer inconveniences, misunder- standings, and complaints.
• Ensure that common courtesy is shown to all customers by every service employee.
• Ensure that every employee exhibits pride of workmanship.
• Make every reasonable effort to make vehicle service a pleasant customer experience.
• Ensure that Toyota Touch standards and Ford Standards are maintained.

Sales-Related:

• Generate and continually strive to increase labor sales.
• Set individual and total shop sales objectives.
• Plan and execute an ongoing service advertising program
• Provide the material support necessary to sell service.
• Control the performance of the department using these tools: Daily Operating Control, efficiency and productivity control, comeback reports, warranty reports, telephone surveys, and monthly forecasts.
• Monitor repair order trends, such as number of repair orders completed, number of items per repair order, dollar sales per repair order, dollar sales per service advisor, etc.
• Ensure that proper service sales techniques are being used.
• Ensure that customer inconveniences, complaints, and misunderstandings are dealt with fairly and quickly.
• Determine staffing requirements.
• Monitor dispatching to maximize efficiency of shop.
• Hire and maintain a technical production staff that can perform all types of mechanical repair and maintenance work on the products that the dealership sells.
• Ensure that all the necessary shop equipment is in proper and safe working condition.
• Obtain and maintain control of the special tools necessary for the repair and service of the vehicles the dealership sells.
• Keep abreast of new equipment and tools and recommend purchases.
• Schedule training as necessary to properly repair and service all the vehicles the dealership sells.
• Review flat rate flagging practices on a periodic basis.
• Break down estimates into labor and parts before job is started so that repair technicians are aware of time allowances. Ensure that customers' service files are up-to-date and are readily available for reference. "
• Follow up on parts department orders to ensure parts availability.
• Quality-check completed jobs.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Ability to read and comprehend instructions and information. High school diploma or the equivalent.
• Two years of experience in an auto repair facility.
• College degree and factory training credentials. One year of supervisory experience.
• Excellent communication, supervisory, and managerial skills.
• Ability to operate the department at a profit per dealership guidelines.
• Must have valid in-state driver's license and have and maintain an acceptable, safe driving record and safe driving habits to drive both customer vehicles and a demonstrator vehicle. (No adjustment to compensation if s/he does not qualify to drive a company vehicle.)
• Be a team player with impeccable honesty and integrity.