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Special Order Parts Return Process Options - Part 2
by: David Dietrich
This is Part 2 in a five-part article.
III. Process for Pre-Scheduling Special Order Parts
Customers are sometimes required to make a return visit for a special order part. A way to address this issue is to pre-schedule an appointment for the customer’s return.
Pre-scheduling requires coordination and execution on behalf of both the Parts and Service Departments. A key to success is for the Service Advisor to obtain a commitment from the customer regarding a convenient date and time for them to return for installation. This commitment can be obtained during the call to inform the customer that their vehicle is completed or upon the customer’s arrival, depending on your active delivery system.
Establishing an understanding of all the different types of orders that are available and the days on which they are ordered and received is essential. For example, there may be a stock order, a daily order, and a critical order—the verbiage and time frames may differ depending on the manufacturer. The Parts Manager may wish to educate the service management and advisory staff in an effort to avoid confusion on the details of each order type. The entire pre-scheduling process may be performed manually or through the computer system if the computer is capable of handling this function.
Let us begin first with the manual transition. Upon determination by the technician that a part must be ordered, the technician may hand carry the appointment card to the advisor for a date to be completed. The advisor enters the completion date on the card and returns it to the Parts Counter for processing of the order. An order is not placed until the advisor informs the Parts Department of the appointment date. Documentation is advisable to eliminate the “he said, she said” syndrome. This date should have already been agreed upon with the customer and advisor.
The appointment needs to stand out on the appointment log, perhaps with a yellow highlight. One consideration at this point is the creation of a repair order for the purpose of charging the special-order part. This technique is most applicable to the pre-scheduling process because a time and date have already been determined for installation. As well, there is a repair order already generated prior to customer arrival which would expedite installation. A minimum grace period of at least one day should be considered in case an unexpected delay is encountered. If all appointments were scheduled on the computer, then perhaps highlighting this appointment on the computer would be a way. Every day the advisor should look at the next day’s appointments to ensure that all parts have been secured. In the unlikely event that there is one that no notification was received from the parts department, the advisor should contact the parts department for clarification. It is possible that one could fall through the cracks however if there is a check and balance in both the parts and service departments, embarrassment should be minimal.
Naturally, from a communication standpoint, the Parts Department has its responsibilities as well. Once the order form with the appointment date has been received the order should be placed to match the appointment date. If you use the color-keyed special-order form, reserve one copy for the alphabetical file and one copy for the appointment date file. As the parts are received, the copy pulled from the appointment date box may be given to the advisor for receipt verification. The alphabetical copy can remain until the part is secured for installation. Each day the assigned party in the parts department should check the next day's appointment box to ensure all copies are gone which would indicate that all parts have arrived for that day’s appointments. If a part was unable to be obtained, the advisor should contact the customer to select another workable date. Should the part be involved in a back-order situation, a commitment will need to be made to follow up with the customer, by phone, e-mail, or whatever method of communication is selected.
Another good practice, even though an appointment was pre-scheduled, is to contact the customer one day prior to the appointment. Naturally, the purpose is to reconfirm. In the event of a no-show appointment, every effort should be made to contact the customer by phone, e-mail, pager, or whatever means was agreed upon. This minor step can have a heavy impact on the special-order parts in the bins not picked up. A meeting with all parties involved from both departments is critical for success prior to the technique being implemented.
In many cases, the special-order parts orders are set up in the computer by themselves. In this case, when the part is receipted, the status is updated from “ordered” to “received.” Now a service advisor or parts person can inspect the status at any given time with little obstacles in their way.
As with any technique or concept, there can be assets and liabilities. From an asset standpoint, here are some of the reasons for setting an appointment at this time:
- Setting an expectation level for the customer
- To avoid the process of receiving the part and then contacting the customer
- Less time between the order and the installation
- An improved chance of getting the customer back in for the installation
There could be resistance to installing this process due to these possible liabilities:
- The fear of a breakdown in communication.
- The parts department’s failure to notify the service department of referrals, and backorders.
- The part didn’t show up for one of the above reasons and the customer showed up because nobody called them.
An effective game plan with all party’s commitments is essential. As the saying goes, if we do what we have always done, we will continue to receive the same results.
IV. Service Advisor Contacts the Customer for Installation When the Part Arrives
One of the more traditional ways to handle the special-order part process is with an advisor contact upon part arrival. After the order is placed, the advisor normally contacts the customer to inform them of a part being placed on order. This notification normally takes place at the same time a call upon job completion would be made and or at the time of pickup. With this technique, it would be advisable to have a stamp that indicates that a part has been ordered. Of course, the stamp or sticker would be placed on the customer's copy.
From the parts department perspective, a party within this department is responsible to notify the service advisor that is responsible for the order when the part arrives. One way that this can be done is using the standard 4 or 5-part special order. One of the copies goes to the advisor for notification. Another way could be using computerized forms if the special-order part system is utilized with the computer system. This screen is accessible to most individuals and the advisor can print a copy at their will.
This all leads up to the customer notification upon part arrival. The preferred method by many customers is a personal phone call to a daytime phone number for the customer. However, depending upon the individual, a pager number or e-mail address may be considered. Just as reassurance, a postcard may be mailed by the parts department. As is the case in most instances, the process only works as well as it is followed and inspected. A similar focus on special order parts on the shelf is advisable as many dealerships focus on open repair orders. It is not abnormal for an open repair order list to be given to an advisor daily and an update expected at the end of each day, if not daily then weekly. Why could one not expect the same from the special-order parts bin?
From a complete Service Department Assessment to targeted Classroom Service Advisor Training options, I am here to assist you with all of your Fixed Operation improvement custom-tailored to your specific needs. For more information feel free to contact me anytime at (205) 329-3735 or daviddietrich@m5ms.com.
Continued next week in Part 3! |
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