I’ve become a millennial! It happened without my knowing
what was happening. My reason for saying this is that I’m changing part time
jobs again. After almost a year at Toyota of Knoxville, my body is aching from
the walking on concrete all day long. If I could survive that one thing, no
change would be necessary. My time at the place has certainly showed me that
the service department employees work hard to please.
Nothing is any better than getting reacquainted with a best
friend. Billy Hayes is the Director of
Service at Toyota of Knoxville, and as
I’ve discussed many times before, we coached our sons in baseball for years and
developed a strong friendship through it. The best part of my job there was
I knew Billy was a good body shop business man. What I
witnessed firsthand is that he simply has exceptional skills that make him one
of the strongest business leaders around. He works to keep employees happy. He
is a member of management, but Billy is never afraid to jump in to help
porters, service advisers, or body shop technicians. On more than one occasion,
he’s rolled up his white shirt sleeves and fixed a vehicle problem.
I also learned that the folks who work in the service center
are some of the hardest working individuals in any business. Service advisers
spend much of their time writing up orders and answering customers’ questions
and complaints. Oil techs and mechanics work tirelessly to provide services
that please customers and to diagnose and fix problems with vehicles. The
mechanics attend classes to earn certification in multiple areas. A car owner
can feel a bit more at ease that his or her car is under the care of someone
who has the experience and skills to solve problems.
I worked as a porter, a fancy name for a car mover. My
buddies and I began work around 7 a.m. and worked long hours. The job doesn’t
sound that difficult, does it? You’re right…to a degree. However, porters move
cars to different areas of the property for work, then they move them to the
car wash, and then they bring them out for waiting customers. By the end of the
day, a porter who works hard can walk as much as twelve miles without ever
leaving the Toyota lot.
Another surprise concerned customers. Many are kind folks
who are patient with the staff and find ways to occupy themselves as services
are being completed. An astonishing number of customers arrive at the center in
a bad mood, and that negative attitude grows while they wait. I’ve watched too many
people verbally attack employees over prolonged waiting time, even though the
vast majority of complainers didn’t have appointments. Some irate individuals
accuse workers of stealing possessions in their cars and maintain those accusatory
tones even after video proof contradicts their statements.
Dealerships are driven by surveys. Called CSI’s (customer
service index), these surveys are sent to folks who have visited the dealership
for service. The kicker with these tools is that they aren’t fair at all. If a
person finishes his visit at the center, thinks he’s received average service,
and gives a score in the 70’s or 80’s, he has unwittingly assigned a failing
score. Anything below a 90 is a terrible grade, and most of the time, an
acceptable CSI score to management in the company is 100. Try to remember that
the next time you grade a dealership’s service department.
I know that mistakes happen when car services are provided.
That comes when humans are working. However, a customer who loses his temper is
making a bad situation worse. A better approach would be to talk with the
service department manager and to come to some kind of understanding. Maybe a
better solution would be for the customer to go to a different dealer.
All in all, I’ve gained a healthy respect for the folks who
take care of cars. They work hard and try to provide excellent service. From
now on, I’ll be much more patient and understanding of what is going on at the
places where I shop. As for the workers in the Toyota of Knoxville service
center, I salute them and the work they do and say thanks for your kindness to
me. I’ll miss you guys.
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