Dealership Service Advisor

[Blue Dog]

This was posted on another forum that I'm a member of.
Would pay to keep this in mind next time you have your car serviced at a dealership.
There is no reference as to what the dealership was, or the vehicles sold/serviced.

"A good mate of mine just got laid off

His role?

"Service Advisor".

That's right, the person behind the counter at a dealer service center who YOU trust to tell you what needs to be done to your car right?

Reason for being laid off?

"Failure to meet SALES targets".

Yep.

That's the reality of the industry.

Expected to upsell beyond what the customer actually "needs", including tyres whether they are needed or not."

[ratter]

Was he asked to sell things that were unnecessary or he was not pushing hard enough on reported items?

[Franco Cozzo]

When I was working at a dealership they incentivised sales, essentially we'd have cars come in for servicing and then the sales advisors would attempt to upsell A/C deodorise, power steering flush, injector clean etc.

We were doing that sorta stuff on cars with 40,000km on the clock

If we got more than $10K sales per day (Monday-Friday) through the service department we'd all get bonuses.

[commodorenutt]

At a Subaru dealership, I was told I "needed" an injector clean at the first service/inspection. When I questioned why, I was told "so it cleans out all the manufacturing debris."

At the 2nd service they filled the washer bottle with soap & put a bottle of injector cleaner in the tank. Tried to bill me for it. Showed them the paperwork where I wrote "no deviation from standard service items without written authorisation" - he protested about the injector cleaner, and pushed the opened (with about 1cm missing) bottle of washer soap towards me on the counter. I stood my ground & refused. He said "well it's in your car now, you have to pay for it" and I told him, it wasn't authorised, and you can go get a straw & suck it all back out.

Ended up winning that one - only paid for the service, but had to keep writing on the job sheet every time, and verbally reminding them several times when handing over the keys.


At least at Ford they didn't hard-sell like that. They actually asked "is there anything more you want us to do?" - the only suggestion usually being wiper blades. I let them price up the tyres as it would have been more convenient at the 60k service to have it all done together, and they said "no need yet, but here's the price" and did them at the 75K service for the same price as the local tyre place (I later found out they simply run the car down there & they do the job anyway - but I may as well have them do the running around).

I have to say, out of the various new cars I've had over the last 20 years, the Ford service guys have been the best of all of them. Toyota were quite good too, but still tried on the upsell tactics.

[Blue Dog]

Originally Posted by commodorenutt

At a Subaru dealership, I was told I "needed" an injector clean at the first service/inspection. When I questioned why, I was told "so it cleans out all the manufacturing debris."

At the 2nd service they filled the washer bottle with soap & put a bottle of injector cleaner in the tank. Tried to bill me for it. Showed them the paperwork where I wrote "no deviation from standard service items without written authorisation" - he protested about the injector cleaner, and pushed the opened (with about 1cm missing) bottle of washer soap towards me on the counter. I stood my ground & refused. He said "well it's in your car now, you have to pay for it" and I told him, it wasn't authorised, and you can go get a straw & suck it all back out.

Ended up winning that one - only paid for the service, but had to keep writing on the job sheet every time, and verbally reminding them several times when handing over the keys.


At least at Ford they didn't hard-sell like that. They actually asked "is there anything more you want us to do?" - the only suggestion usually being wiper blades. I let them price up the tyres as it would have been more convenient at the 60k service to have it all done together, and they said "no need yet, but here's the price" and did them at the 75K service for the same price as the local tyre place (I later found out they simply run the car down there & they do the job anyway - but I may as well have them do the running around).

I have to say, out of the various new cars I've had over the last 20 years, the Ford service guys have been the best of all of them. Toyota were quite good too, but still tried on the upsell tactics.

"Tried to bill me for it. Showed them the paperwork where I wrote "no deviation from standard service items without written authorisation" - he protested about the injector cleaner, and pushed the opened (with about 1cm missing) bottle of washer soap towards me on the counter. I stood my ground & refused. He said "well it's in your car now, you have to pay for it" and I told him, it wasn't authorised, and you can go get a straw & suck it all back out."

Classic!

[commodorenutt]

You should have heard the chuckles from others in the "waiting room" area beside the counter.

One lady actually told me outside that she thought you had to accept all the add-on crap they up-sell, and thanked me for opening her eyes.

[BENT_8]

Service advisors are lower than salesmen if you ask me, blatant thieves from experience.
Worst thing is, burn them and you will pay the price in time if you return.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by BENT_8

Service advisors are lower than salesmen if you ask me, blatant thieves from experience.
Worst thing is, burn them and you will pay the price in time if you return.

Industry standard tax, price depending on attitude at counter

[pottery beige]

i still want too punch the limey little lying f in the head from maughn thiems

been over ten years

hes probs in a telstra shop nows

[GO FURTHER]

My pet hate at Ford dealers (but probably applies to other car brand dealers as well) on scheduled service intervals is they don't actually do half the stuff listed and printed on the service invoice you get!

Let's face it.... Most scheduled services, apart from changing the oil and filter are only checks, inspections and fluid top ups rather than replacing anything.

The tasks performed on a scheduled service interval and stated on your invoice are a standard "copy and paste" job, and does not necessarily mean that those tasks have actually been done to your car.

For example on my 45,000Km service;

1. "Inspected cabin air filter" - Well, after the service, I dropped the glove box and the filter still had leaves and twigs in it!

2. "Rotated wheels" - Well that wasn't done either... Wheels with identifying gutter rash were still in same position!

3. "Inspected and lubricated bonnet, door hinges and catches" - Well I could see no new white Lithium grease or other new lubricant on any of them!

These are just some of the examples that are listed but don't actually get done, I'd say on many services.

Needless to say... I never took my car back to that Ford dealer again!

[GTLEGEND]

This is the reason I left service advising about 15 years ago, I could not bear to rip "mum & dad" owners with stuff they did not really need. Yeh the upsell money was ok, but I wanted to sleep at night with my morals.

I was lucky enough to work as an advisor before all that stuff came into play when the dealership was still owned by an individual and it was like working in the family business. As soon as they were bought out by a big group, all the KPI's targets, bottom line stuff etc came in to effect. They were ripping people off blind, I quickly saw the effects as it went from a dealership booked out for weeks sometimes to nearly a ghost town.

Some people may not stand up to others at the counter, quietly pay the bill but guess what, they never came back..I saw it all with my own eyes and the frustration caused me to step down from the position. Money was not everything, and I used to look at the poor mothers picking up their car with a hefty and normally unnecessary bill, thinking how would you feel if that was your mrs or mother!!

Enough said..

[Franco Cozzo]

There is natural distrust for all of us involved in the industry.

Doesn't matter if its the first time you've been approached by the customer, I notice women come in with hubby or boyfriend or Dad and let them do the talking.

Naturally suspicious, industry is full of cowboys, unregulated and unlicensed industry full of lowly paid morons.

You pay peanuts you get monkeys, thats what happens when its a free for all.

Do 4 year apprenticeship, buy thousands of spondoolies worth of tools, physically damaging work, exposure to carcinogens for less than $20/hour.

$20/hour doesn't buy or attract outstanding members of society.

[Big_Daz]

One of the things I loved about having fully maintained vehicle as part of my old salary.. Obviously with regards to servicing its all paid for by the lease company..

Would get a call from Holden (car was VE Series 2 Omega) sometimes (usually from advisors who didn't read the paperwork) telling me about some extra or other that "was really important I get done". I just told them its a lease car through interleasing so you need to speak to them if its important.. Usually followed by a few seconds of silence followed by "well, I guess you could get away without it"...

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by BAXRSIX

My pet hate at Ford dealers (but probably applies to other car brand dealers as well) on scheduled service intervals is they don't actually do half the stuff listed and printed on the service invoice you get!

Let's face it.... Most scheduled services, apart from changing the oil and filter are only checks, inspections and fluid top ups rather than replacing anything.

The tasks performed on a scheduled service interval and stated on your invoice are a standard "copy and paste" job, and does not necessarily mean that those tasks have actually been done to your car.

For example on my 45,000Km service;

1. "Inspected cabin air filter" - Well, after the service, I dropped the glove box and the filter still had leaves and twigs in it!

2. "Rotated wheels" - Well that wasn't done either... Wheels with identifying gutter rash were still in same position!

3. "Inspected and lubricated bonnet, door hinges and catches" - Well I could see no new white Lithium grease or other new lubricant on any of them!

These are just some of the examples that are listed but don't actually get done, I'd say on many services.

Needless to say... I never took my car back to that Ford dealer again!

I sued to work for a Toyota Dealer here in the north of Adelaide. One morning this bloke rolls in with his 100 series Cruiser at 7am for a major service, repack hubs etc. etc. supposedly a 10hr job I was told.
Cruiser sat in the yard all day and about 4pm an apprentice grabs it, chucks it on a hoist, drops the oil and filter, removes the wheels and leaves it there.
Around 4.30 the owner rolls in, see's the cruiser on the hoist and enters the service dept.
Service advisors tells him its a big job and shouldn't be much longer. A tech puts a new filter on it, refits the wheels, lowers it and fills with oil and puts it back in the carpark then hands the keys back to the service advisor.
Service advisors says that'll be $1000+GST thanks and the customer coughs up...

[RegSpec]

Reading through some of these stories gives me a giggle after some of the stuff I saw during 16 years working at a major Sydney Ford dealer....
For sure, there were some who were rorted on a regular basis (but no different to Holden when I spent time there as well, they were just as bad).....
One thing I did notice though.....the private punters were nothing compared to what we used to rort from the manufacturers under the guise of " warranty claims"....
I shudder to think how much we scammed from Ford (and GM) under the pretext of warranty claims.....
In the mid 80's, as most would know, XF falcons were notorious for leaking rear main seals......seems whenever we got one with even a hint of a leak (or no leak at all in some cases) the dealer would charge for transmission R&R plus a sump gasket, plug seal and a rear main seal.....check the customers oil, send him on his way and bill Ford for the rest.....
Another common ruse......customer brings in new F100-250 auto.....pan gaskets used to leak......fit new pan gasket......then bill Ford for complete trans rebuild plus fitting!.....a job worth nearly two grand back then....
I could go on and on.....but you get the idea.....we had to achieve a set "budget" for warranty claims and they didn't care how they did it....
This culture across the dealer network must have cost Ford millions over the past few decades.....
Point I make is that dealers not only rort the customer whenever they feel they can get away with it......they think nothing of bending the manufacturer over when they get the chance too....

[ratter]

Originally Posted by BENT_8

I sued to work for a Toyota Dealer here in the north of Adelaide. One morning this bloke rolls in with his 100 series Cruiser at 7am for a major service, repack hubs etc. etc. supposedly a 10hr job I was told.
Cruiser sat in the yard all day and about 4pm an apprentice grabs it, chucks it on a hoist, drops the oil and filter, removes the wheels and leaves it there.
Around 4.30 the owner rolls in, see's the cruiser on the hoist and enters the service dept.
Service advisors tells him its a big job and shouldn't be much longer. A tech puts a new filter on it, refits the wheels, lowers it and fills with oil and puts it back in the carpark then hands the keys back to the service advisor.
Service advisors says that'll be $1000+GST thanks and the customer coughs up...

That dealership needs to be taken to vcat, fair trading or what ever body in your state

[commodorenutt]

I had issues with one Ford dealer not doing certain things specified in the schedule - and also ignoring my pleas that something was wrong with the noisy belt tensioner (logged since the 60K service). On one occasion they had the hide to tell me they sprayed WD40 into it, and it made it quiet.... that lasted 24 hours!

It failed at 103K, dropping the serpentine belt, and taking out the water pump pulley (dealer wasn't convinced until they went to refit the new belt & found the tensioner all floppy). Turned out the alloy casting that's supposed to hold the spring wasn't formed properly, and the squeaking was the spring working away at what little was left in there, before it had too little left to hold the tension, releasing it.

I went to a different dealer than usual - the closest one when it happened. They spoke to Ford CRC on my behalf, and explained the history. Ford covered it under warranty as goodwill, because it had been reported since 60K, and again at 75, and again at 90.

That dealer also checked the coolant - supposedly changed recently, and said it was as old as the hills. So they did that for me (I was allowed to watch), and some other things that were dubious as well. I made it clear I wasn't paying for additional items, as I can do them myself now it's out of warranty, and he just smiled & said "no probs, we're backcharging the other dealer for the work they haven't done. We make more $/hour from that backcharge than we do on a warranty, so we're happy to explore & find anything we can."

It was the first time I was made aware that one dealer could screw another - although in my case it was justified, and as the car had been serviced from new to 90K at the same dealer each time, and had never been anywhere else until that failure, it was a clear cut case.

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by ratter

That dealership needs to be taken to vcat, fair trading or what ever body in your state

Too late, sold out to a bloke from up north who cleaned up the act quick smart.
This particular example took place back in 2001/2

Mind you, that was just one example, it wasn't uncommon for twice as many services to be booked than time and staff available, many would walk away with not even an oil change completed but a receipt and stamp in the book.
So long as they got a quick wash, vac and windows by the service rat they were none the wiser.

[sbutler]

I suppose this is why the likes of our sponsors & dozens of other great shops are getting our business, & we are leaving the dealers in droves.

[GO FURTHER]

Service "rip-offs" are happening not only in the auto industry but also in other white goods and electronic industries such as washing machine, fridge, air conditioning and computer repairs to name a few.

In many of these fields, especially where the average consumer has limited knowledge of the workings of these appliances, service people are charging for parts that don't need replacing.

The "one man" band self employed ones are the worst in my experience, and they have realised that their income is limited by the number of working hours and their hourly rate, so much more income can be generated by marking up unneeded spare parts a 100 or more percent.

So they become lazy... Work less hours but make up for it in bogus and fictitious parts not needed.

Take an outdoor air conditioner on a house roof for example.... The customer is not going to get up on the roof and check what work was done.

Serviceman might find the problem to be a simple broken fuse....

But tells the client it needs an expensive part or re gasing, etc.
Suddenly a $2 fuse and $70 call out, becomes $400 or more.

Unfortunately, this is what the service / repair industry has become.... Liars and cheats!

[ronwest]

Originally Posted by BAXRSIX

Unfortunately, this is what the service / repair industry has become.... Liars and cheats!

Not all but there's certainly enough of them out there.

It's not a recent phenomenom either.

I knew a guy (no, not me) 40 years ago who serviced air compressors on-site.

His party trick was take aluminium filings with him and when he'd drained the compressor oil, pour the filings in the tin, swirl them around and take them up to the customer with a "looks like trouble" story.

His customers were panel shops or carpentry shops, etc, who had to have air.

The gent would dash back to his workshop, load up a compressor and hire it to the establishment for the "repair" period.

From there, he'd remove the pump, take it back to his shop, pressure wash it, paint it, and a week or two later take it back with a bill for $1500, or so.

Nice bloke...

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by BAXRSIX

Unfortunately, this is what the service / repair industry has become.... Liars and cheats!

One of the joys of living in a country town is that word gets around, and the good tradies get work by word of mouth.

[MDS69]

Originally Posted by BAXRSIX

Service "rip-offs" are happening not only in the auto industry but also in other white goods and electronic industries such as washing machine, fridge, air conditioning and computer repairs to name a few.

In many of these fields, especially where the average consumer has limited knowledge of the workings of these appliances, service people are charging for parts that don't need replacing.

The "one man" band self employed ones are the worst in my experience, and they have realised that their income is limited by the number of working hours and their hourly rate, so much more income can be generated by marking up unneeded spare parts a 100 or more percent.

So they become lazy... Work less hours but make up for it in bogus and fictitious parts not needed.

Take an outdoor air conditioner on a house roof for example.... The customer is not going to get up on the roof and check what work was done.

Serviceman might find the problem to be a simple broken fuse....

But tells the client it needs an expensive part or re gasing, etc.
Suddenly a $2 fuse and $70 call out, becomes $400 or more.

Unfortunately, this is what the service / repair industry has become.... Liars and cheats!

One or both of the current affairs programs every now and then run sting operations where they create a fault in an appliance or car and get it looked at by various trade related companies to see who is honest and who isn't.

A way to combat some of your items raised is if the client has the fore thought to request the replaced parts be returned.

[glimmerman]

I used to work for a fleet leasing company, we had our own department who handled all the vehicle services, all were mechanics and when a dealership would call up or a mechanic would call up claiming things needed to be done they had to justify it and have it approved by our own mechanics before it was authorised, they were a bunch of people all paid a good amount of money to just argue with service departments and other mechanics all day and keep them honest, so you can imagine just how much ripping off is done when we employed an entire department around 30 staff all on atleast 60k a year just to save money from rip offs.

Sent from my Blade S6 using Tapatalk

[chookaradley]

20 years as a mechanic with a large motoring organization and I can proudly say never have I or any of my colleagues earned 1 cent on upselling or finding things wrong with a car that dont exist. Dont get paid bonuses, never have. It is a scurge on the industry.