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Implementing the Cattle Prod Philosophy

What to do when laziness takes over the service drive

I once had a dream I was a fly on the wall of a Service Manager�s office. He was on the phone with an automotive consultant discussing his struggles at implementing service lane controls at his dealership.

Here�s what I heard:

(Sarcastically) 'I know I�m going to hear about it from animal rights advocates, but I think it�s time we return to using the good old fashioned cattle prod again. I just can�t think of any other way to get our Service Advisers off their fannies, out of their cozy little offices and onto the service drive to greet our customers.'

(Pauses to listen) 'Yeah, Yeah I�ve told them about the impact that the greeting has on customer satisfaction. And I�ve shown them how the walk-around with the customer can increase hours per RO significantly, but they just don�t want to listen. I guess the stools or the chairs their using are a lot more comfortable than I thought. Or maybe it�s the coffee! Yeah, that must be it. The coffee is so good that they refuse to take their hand off the cup.'

(Pauses to listen) 'Yes! I do have one adviser who is doing it right. His CSI and hours per RO have increased more than the others and the customers love him. But when I bring it up in staff meetings, the others just make jokes about how much of a brown-nose he is.'

(Pauses to listen) 'Adjust the pay plan? Well that is one idea. And you�re right about the fact that the location of their wallet is in the same place that I�d use a cattle prod if I could legally get away with it. But I�d rather they just realize how bad it is to sit in the office and wait for the customer to come to them.'

'Isn�t there some way I can get this message across without messing with the pay plans?'

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