BlackIceLSC
Registered
Many who frequent the forums know I love to write....hell, it's part of my current "job description" = SERVICE WRITER.
But I am in fact a SERVICE MANAGER by actual title.
I deal with people/customers/vendors/employees day in and day out. I've had it.
In today's world, there is a general lack of CUSTOMER SERVICE pretty much anywhere you go. Yet I strive to provide the best service possible. It's just in my DNA.
The problem is, many folks out there are not used to receiving such quality care. You'd think they'd appreciate good service, a warm friendly smile, and a general "I care about your needs" attitude from my company, yet they almost don't recognize it. They want good service, and remind you constantly "how bad the other shops are" yet when we provide the very service they complain is missing, they don't recognize it. But you can bet they'll call you on it the instant it isn't provided!
I'm tired of the lack of the "accountability" from my employees. I am fed up with the fact that it all ends up back on me.
The tech's are good...VERY good. They are well-paid and know it. My flat-rate techs make more at our $1.3M annual shop than they ever did at the dealership level. They shop is clean, with quality equipment, convenient location, excellent hours and benefits. They tell me how much they love their job, so it's not like their environment is to blame.
I work 50+ hours a week, am a salaried employee with benefits and a decent commission/bonus program on top of my salary. I do not "sell stuff they dont need in order to make a buck". My bonuses are based on profit margins and staff efficiency, not "sales sales sales".
I swore in 1997 when I walked away from a service writer position that I'd never do it again but when I was laid off and looking for work in 2012 I found this job. Hired on the spot as a Service Manager, things seemed rough from the start. The last clown left a mess for me to clean up and I did just that. We increased business every year from $800k /yr in sales to last year's $1.35M. Not too bad for a small mom and pop auto repair shop in a small town.
We are booked 3-5 days in advance, and are a full service shop. We write 10-25 repair orders daily...some are simple oil changes/tire rotaions while others are complete engine replacement and major interval services (like 60k/90k/120k, etc).
Folks seem to have no problem spending money to keep their cars on the road but being the front man who has to take all the blame or deal with a repair that didn't go well (parts failure, added repairs needed, etc), it gets old.
Folks out there don't realize a CHECK ENGINE light can come on for almost a hundred reasons. Fix one of them, explain there are other reasons it can come back on in the future, yet I still deal with "I paid you $340 to turn off my CEL, and it came on 2 weeks later. I feel ripped off"
Fixed an evap code on a Chevy Silverado, and a week later the CEL is back on for misfire code...I can explain it in great detail, yet their ignorance yields to dissatisfaction. It isn't common, but a punch is a punch....get hit in the same spot enough times, and it starts to hurt.
I'm tired of people. I am tired of dealing with the public. I am at my wits end. They pay is good, the commute is tolerable, the atmosphere is great and the "personalities" of my employees is fine...I generally LIKE the folks I work with and work for. But it is being over-shadowed by the BAD.
My advice to others was always "when the bad outweighs the good, it's time to move on"
Looking to those who read my words, for advice....
Looking for a career change. Need a certain amount of income to meet my current budget and lifestyle but most of all....I need my inner-happiness back.
I don't like SALES....to me that is defined by "talk other people in to spending money and based on their decision, I might make some too"
Convincing other people to open their wallet or go further in to debt is not what I want to do for a living. especially since I generally do not like the public.
I am not good with strangers, I am more of a homebody/recluse. How I wake up every day and go to work where I am the FRONT MAN who smiles and greets strangers daily, and then has to talk them in to trusting what I say, and get them to BUY in to what I tell them is BEYOND ME.
They trust me until someone else makes a mistake or their car acts up again, and then I am to blame. Not what I call A CAREER any more.
I'd like to write....research products or cars/vehicles and then write about them. I've sent in works to publishing companies, yet without a degree from a 4 year school, I am just a dreamer...some of my TECH TIPS have been published by car magazines but there's no bankable income in that.
They'd rather hire a journalist who can write about a car rather than a car enthusiast who can type.
Any words of advice out there? They say "it's not what you know, but WHO you know" and right now I'm hoping for someone who might be able to get me "in" somewhere.
What do you folks do for a living? Does anyone here really LOVE THEIR JOB? You know...they always say "if you love your job it isn't work".
I'll check back from time to time....maybe someone will suggest something that I haven't thought would be my cup of tea.
Until then, thanks for letting my words enter your minds...
But I am in fact a SERVICE MANAGER by actual title.
I deal with people/customers/vendors/employees day in and day out. I've had it.
In today's world, there is a general lack of CUSTOMER SERVICE pretty much anywhere you go. Yet I strive to provide the best service possible. It's just in my DNA.
The problem is, many folks out there are not used to receiving such quality care. You'd think they'd appreciate good service, a warm friendly smile, and a general "I care about your needs" attitude from my company, yet they almost don't recognize it. They want good service, and remind you constantly "how bad the other shops are" yet when we provide the very service they complain is missing, they don't recognize it. But you can bet they'll call you on it the instant it isn't provided!
I'm tired of the lack of the "accountability" from my employees. I am fed up with the fact that it all ends up back on me.
The tech's are good...VERY good. They are well-paid and know it. My flat-rate techs make more at our $1.3M annual shop than they ever did at the dealership level. They shop is clean, with quality equipment, convenient location, excellent hours and benefits. They tell me how much they love their job, so it's not like their environment is to blame.
I work 50+ hours a week, am a salaried employee with benefits and a decent commission/bonus program on top of my salary. I do not "sell stuff they dont need in order to make a buck". My bonuses are based on profit margins and staff efficiency, not "sales sales sales".
I swore in 1997 when I walked away from a service writer position that I'd never do it again but when I was laid off and looking for work in 2012 I found this job. Hired on the spot as a Service Manager, things seemed rough from the start. The last clown left a mess for me to clean up and I did just that. We increased business every year from $800k /yr in sales to last year's $1.35M. Not too bad for a small mom and pop auto repair shop in a small town.
We are booked 3-5 days in advance, and are a full service shop. We write 10-25 repair orders daily...some are simple oil changes/tire rotaions while others are complete engine replacement and major interval services (like 60k/90k/120k, etc).
Folks seem to have no problem spending money to keep their cars on the road but being the front man who has to take all the blame or deal with a repair that didn't go well (parts failure, added repairs needed, etc), it gets old.
Folks out there don't realize a CHECK ENGINE light can come on for almost a hundred reasons. Fix one of them, explain there are other reasons it can come back on in the future, yet I still deal with "I paid you $340 to turn off my CEL, and it came on 2 weeks later. I feel ripped off"
Fixed an evap code on a Chevy Silverado, and a week later the CEL is back on for misfire code...I can explain it in great detail, yet their ignorance yields to dissatisfaction. It isn't common, but a punch is a punch....get hit in the same spot enough times, and it starts to hurt.
I'm tired of people. I am tired of dealing with the public. I am at my wits end. They pay is good, the commute is tolerable, the atmosphere is great and the "personalities" of my employees is fine...I generally LIKE the folks I work with and work for. But it is being over-shadowed by the BAD.
My advice to others was always "when the bad outweighs the good, it's time to move on"
Looking to those who read my words, for advice....
Looking for a career change. Need a certain amount of income to meet my current budget and lifestyle but most of all....I need my inner-happiness back.
I don't like SALES....to me that is defined by "talk other people in to spending money and based on their decision, I might make some too"
Convincing other people to open their wallet or go further in to debt is not what I want to do for a living. especially since I generally do not like the public.
I am not good with strangers, I am more of a homebody/recluse. How I wake up every day and go to work where I am the FRONT MAN who smiles and greets strangers daily, and then has to talk them in to trusting what I say, and get them to BUY in to what I tell them is BEYOND ME.
They trust me until someone else makes a mistake or their car acts up again, and then I am to blame. Not what I call A CAREER any more.
I'd like to write....research products or cars/vehicles and then write about them. I've sent in works to publishing companies, yet without a degree from a 4 year school, I am just a dreamer...some of my TECH TIPS have been published by car magazines but there's no bankable income in that.
They'd rather hire a journalist who can write about a car rather than a car enthusiast who can type.
Any words of advice out there? They say "it's not what you know, but WHO you know" and right now I'm hoping for someone who might be able to get me "in" somewhere.
What do you folks do for a living? Does anyone here really LOVE THEIR JOB? You know...they always say "if you love your job it isn't work".
I'll check back from time to time....maybe someone will suggest something that I haven't thought would be my cup of tea.
Until then, thanks for letting my words enter your minds...