If one wonders why car repair prices are so high, or if they just feel as if he or she is being ripped off, an easy target to focus on in the automotive industry is the leadership. If a business or industry has an issue, always look to its leadership. Automotive service managers are an especially interesting study given that most are incompetent.
What’s strange is that there are no licensing or training requirements for service managers. There are no schools or college courses for automotive service management. Anyone is eligible, regardless of ability, experience, or ethical practices. This is particularly remarkable given a service manager’s power and influence in a very lucrative industry.
What’s frightening is that this leaves the service customer at the mercy of a service manager who lacks even the fundamentals of management.
A McDonald’s manager is likely to have significantly more management credentials than an automotive service manager!
Most service managers rose through the ranks of the service industry. They learned a lot of insider tricks, but not how to set guidelines, protocols, and accountability structures to produce an honest, well-run service center.
In fact, I’ve seen service managers stick their fingers in their ears and sing la, la, la, la, la because they didn’t want, or know how to respond to their customers being ripped off by their own employees–I am not kidding!
A point to remember when questioning whether or not your auto repair costs are trustworthy; service managers lack the critical business management skills to keep the service customer from getting ripped off by their own employees.
