TIME SAVERS AND MONEY MAKERS

摘要

Information fixes cars today, and one key component of that is the information we obtain from the customer ― the person who drives the vehicle every single day and who knows which of 10 rattles is really the bothersome one. Yes, it takes extra time to gather all pertinent information up front, but there is no bigger time-waster than providing a tech with vague or incorrect information. For example, a customer recently came to see us because he was concerned about "a rubbing noise from underneath" his 1997 Saturn SL2. Although he said it sometimes worsened over bumps, that was the extent of the information he offered. The responsibility fell on me to quiz him further. I would rather spend an extra five or 10 minutes narrowing the scope of the problem at the front counter than risk a vague repair order wasting a second of a technician's valuable time. When I thought I had all of the details entered into our shop management system, I suggested taking a test drive to be sure we were both hearing ― and trying to eliminate ― the same noise. It wasn't until then that he said, "Oh, it's not making the noise now." Oh. That's a critical bit of information. I'm glad I asked. But how many times have we all traveled down the long, windy road to a diagnosis because we forgot or neglected to ask the one question that triggered a response of crucial details?