Glad I'm not a service advisor

Brad Clayton · October 29, 2011

I can’t help but think that Powerstrokes can sometimes be a customer relations nightmare. This fellow brings his truck to the shop for service it is equipped with a 6.4 liter power plant. The owner simply requests an oil change and fuel filter replacement. After the service is performed the truck will not start. The source of the problem is determined to be a inoperative fuel pump. The pump hasn’t been working for who knows how long and when the filters were removed the fuel system lost its prime.

Now the service department has to explain this to the person who only understands that his truck was running fine and he drove it to the shop and now he can’t drive it home. I liken the situation to trying to up sell a battery. I imagine it is a tough to sell someone a battery when they drove the car to the shop without any issues, eh? Like I said, I’m glad I’m not a service asvisor.

Jim Warman · October 29, 2011

A customer will drive his truck and say to himself "ooooo, this thing isn't running too good".

He will continue to drive it and it will develop some "new" problems... some he might notice - some he wont.

But - the truck will still start and it will still move....

Eventually... the truck either wont start or, if it does, it wont move. This is when you get the truck. From here it is all downhill.

You will make a quote for getting the truck to start and move. The SA will get approval for that. Once you get the truck to start and move - all the other problems begin to manifest themselves.

Some techs go as far as getting pissy with the SAs... from here this story goes downhill. Customers are famous for saying "I didn't think that mattered" all the while we are busy (us and the SAs) getting pissed at each other. We stop functioning as a team.

Some techs blame all the evils of humanity on "them useless, SAs". Some of us give all the help we can to them. The aren't techs and they DO ask all the questions we ask them to... but if a customer insists "he'll know it right away", what is the SA to do?

Not only am I smart enough to not be an SA... I think you should take them donuts for Monday coffee....

Sidebar.... many years ago a customer brought me a F150 with a laundry list of concerns. "It ain't that check engine light" sez he... "it was on for two years before it started running this bad".