How Service Advisor Training Prepares You For Successful Customer Service
Technical skills aren’t the only necessary competencies for the success of an auto shop. In order to ensure client satisfaction and loyalty, customer service should be a chief concern. If you’re considering a customer-facing position like a Service Advisor within an auto shop, you’ll want to know what excellent customer service looks like and what kind of training you’ll need to develop the skills you’ll need to provide value for future customers. What do service advisors do? What customer service skills should service advisors master? How can service advisor training help you to develop your customer service skills and advance your career? Below, discover the answers to these questions and learn all about how customer service relates to a role as a Service Advisor.
What Do Service Advisors Do?
In auto shops, service advisors are typically the liaison between auto technicians and customers. They must have excellent customer service skills in order to help drivers find the right solutions for their unique needs. In addition to being the go-between for customers and auto technicians, service advisors are responsible for greeting customers that come into the shop. They create a friendly environment where customers feel comfortable asking questions and expressing their concerns.
Service advisors use their technical skills and active listening skills to determine what automotive services suit each customer’s needs. They then book appointments according to their professional assessments. In addition, they estimate costs, verify insurance, determine accurate timelines for repairs, and clearly communicate the needs of each customer to technicians. Throughout your service advisor career, a deep understanding of vehicles and the automotive industry, interpersonal skills, and excellent communication will be crucial to your success in performing these duties.
What Does Successful Customer Service Look Like?
Even if you’re highly knowledgeable in your area of expertise, in a customer-facing role like a service advisor, it’s important that this comes across to the clients you’re dealing with. They should feel confident that you’re capable of providing them with the answers they need. How can you assure your clients and customers through your behaviour? Well, excellent customer service is a multi-faceted skill. For example, non-verbal communication is just as important as verbal communication when dealing with customers. Smiling, making confident, friendly eye contact, and maintaining a pleasant tone of voice all go a long way in assuring customers that you care about their needs.
When interacting with your customers, it’s also important to remember that they might be in some distress when they seek out automotive services. Perhaps their car troubles are happening at an extremely inconvenient time, or they might be worried about finances. It’s important for service advisors to be able to intuit the emotions of their customers and empathize accordingly. This not only calms them but also establishes a positive rapport. When speaking to customers, be sure to validate their emotions and use ‘we’ in order to let them know that they’re not alone with their problems.
Launching a Successful Service Advisor Career
If you love helping people but are concerned about your ability to juggle all of these customer service best practices, there’s no need to worry. Customer service is made up of a highly specialized set of competencies, and it doesn’t often come naturally to most people. That’s why seeking service advisor training from CATI is a great way to build essential customer service skills. In our Service Operations program, students are taught the fundamentals of customer service and receive hands-on, in-shop training to equip them with the experience they need to step into their future roles with confidence.
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