- Over 80% of lost revenue on repair orders is due to the oldest 10. This program addresses this fact and places them as a target that cannot be ignored. The Target Ten open orders will be on a report from the DMS identifying the oldest 10 open orders. The information will be filled out every Monday and reviewed by the entire team during the week. The mission is to do whatever is necessary to close these orders. Most manufactures now expect warranty to be processed within a month so any orders on the list over a month should be considered uncollectable. This doesn’t mean to forget them or other open orders on the DMS report.
- Best practice is to close repair orders BEFORE the vehicle is picked up. If a special order part is involved an appointment should be set before the customer leaves the dealership four days out. This order might remain open during this timeframe. If the special order part is customer pay the special ordered part should be paid for by the customer including diagnostic portion of the labor. Internals should be treated as any other customer and closed before vehicle leaves the shop. Many internal orders not processes never get charged to the vehicle for accurate pricing in the sales department.
- Management must review progress on these orders including General Manager, dealer principle, and the service and parts manager.
- I challenge your dealership to place a focus on the Target 10 orders and reduce your loss in policy and uncollectable repair orders.
Rob Gehring is the President of Fixed Performance
Be sure to “like” Fixed Performance on Facebook!
