BY Tina Drayson, Operations Manager, CCM Here at CCM, we recently closed our doors on a Friday at all three sites to have a bespoke training day with The Garage inspector, Andy Savva on Customer Excellence. I did not have much resistance from the staff; They were told it was compulsory to attend! Why, you might ask, did all the team attend, surely its only for the Front of House staff? We believe that everyone plays a part in the customer journey, not just those that speak with them. We gave Andy a list of issues that we wanted covered in advance so he could incorporate that into his training day. What a day it was. Brainstorming The day started with a brainstorming exercise, where everyone was asked to note on post-its, three things that they did not like or found difficult about their job. Brainstorming this way gave all the staff a safe environment to be honest without fear of rebuttal. Often in team meetings, you have those that speak the loudest and others that say nothing. Plus, it gave the leaders the opportunity to hear what their staff felt, instead of being presumptuous. During the day, it became apparent how hard the role of Service Advisor is, something that maybe the technicians were not aware of. We discussed the customer journey and all the touch points along the way, from the initial contact, job allocation, diagnosis, approval, quality control right through to the follow up. After plenty of engaging discussions and lots of banter, we realised how the technicians could assist the front of house in making the customer journey a more focused and smoother experience. Skills We discussed our listening skills and how our tone of voice and body language give more to the listener than the words we speak. This applies to our customers, suppliers, and our colleagues. Active listening is of huge importance in everyday life so imagine in a customer’s journey if that is not applied. Next on the agenda was our selling skills, but hang on, we are not salespeople, are we? Yes, we are! Lots of techniques on how to upsell and cross sell, what the features and benefits are, dealing with push back and of course closing the sale. This was just one area that highlighted where the technicians could assist; Sharing their knowledge with front-of-house by informing them what else needs to be done. Mystery shops Unknown to all the staff, we had the pleasure of some mystery shops. Though some were uncomfortable to hear and there were some cringe moments, the learning we took away from them was tenfold and believe me, Mr Savva pushed back and was not an easy customer. By this time, the whole team were totally absorbed and the ideas that were being suggested were really thought provoking. The day ended with another brainstorming session but this time about good, positive things. Like the first one, great for the leaders to see what they are doing well. The whole day was engaging, driven to our needs and it was clear the amount of effort and energy that Andy put into delivering this course. The feedback from our team was incredible. Make an investment in your team; Get Andy on board to deliver this. You will not regret it Feedback from CCM team members “Thoroughly enjoyed the training with Andy. This is the second time I've been to this course. Once again Andy was very engaging and informative, and I have come away with some new ideas to put into practice. Thank you for arranging the day.” “Very good day, am a bit surprised that the company shut all three sites for the day.” (this was from a new member of staff) “Surprised and impressed, better than expected. Took a lot of information in.” “Really good and well presented. Thought that it would not really be for the techs but learnt a lot. Cringed a bit 14 AFTERMARKET MAY 2024 BUSINESS www.aftermarketonline.net AN INSPECTOR CALLS What happened when the Garage Inspector Andy Savva visited CCM for a bespoke training day
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