Unlocking Dealership Efficiency with Mobile Technician Remote Service
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For modern automotive dealerships, efficiency is the name of the game. Dealerships are constantly seeking innovative ways to optimize their operations, reduce overhead costs, and provide exceptional service to their customers. One of the key solutions transforming the industry is the Remote Service integration with the use of Mobile Technicians. The concept of Remote Service is rapidly becoming a new trend in dealerships, and it is worth analyzing how the technology streamlining these processes can unlock new levels of efficiency and revenue.
It's essential to understand the challenges that traditional service models have posed for dealerships, related to workshop capacity planning and service scheduling by providing added flexibility and reducing the need for customers to physically visit the workshop. Remote Technician Services, enabled by platforms like Carmen, have emerged as a game-changer for dealerships. This innovative approach leverages technology to streamline service operations and enhance overall efficiency:
Dealerships can only service a finite number of vehicles within a specific time frame. Managing the scheduling of service appointments and ensuring an efficient flow of work can be complex. Scheduling conflicts, bottlenecks, and delays can occur, leading to decreased productivity and customer dissatisfaction.
Mobile technicians can increase the capacity of the workshop by allowing service advisors, BDC staff and most importantly, customers making their own appointments online, to schedule service at the customers' locations. This can help optimize the usage of resources and reduce the load on the workshop.
In order to be efficient the dealer needs the ability to divide their area of operations in sections and offer service in these sections on selected days, thus reducing travel time between appointments. With the use of an automated mobile service routing solution such as Carmen, mobile technicians can be dispatched to multiple locations in a single day, following optimized routing and reducing travel time and cost. This can increase the number of service requests handled by the workshop. Dealerships are no longer bound by traditional business hours. Remote Technician Service enables them to extend their service hours, potentially operating 24/7 to accommodate customer needs.
“Mobile service is 90% preparation and planning. The secret to running an efficient remote service is to automate the planning, preparation and dispatch, which in turn reduces the workload of in-house staff to 10%.” - Jack Gardiner, CEO Carmen
Skilled technicians, equipment, or specialized tools, can hinder the smooth operation of a workshop. It’s important to ensure that each technician’s ability is associated with operations and to manage the number of appointments booked for that skill-level technician.
Operating a traditional service center with a large staff and physical space comes with substantial overhead costs.
This scheduling and dispatch process for both in-store and remote service is automated with Carmen’s patented capacity management software.
By adding mobile technicians the need for a physical service center for selected services is eliminated and dealerships can significantly reduce overhead costs, including facility maintenance and staffing expenses. Utilizing lower paid B and C level technicians, often at the beginning of their career path allows for higher margins and therefore, higher profitability.
Example: Minor software update which pays 0.2 labor hour
Traditional scenario: Customer drives the vehicle to the dealership, upon arrival is greeted by a porter who checks in the vehicle and then escorts the customer to the advisor, who writes up a repair order and escorts the customer to a waiting area. Advisor gives the porter a tag number and a copy of the repair order. Porter then drives the vehicle to the shop staging area. Technician retrieves the vehicle from the staging area, moves to the workshop and completes the operation, including the multi-point inspection. Technician then moves the vehicle to the completed area. Porter retrieves the vehicle and proceeds to the clean-up area for wash and vac. Once cleaned, the vehicle is parked in the delivery area and the paperwork and keys returned to the advisor. Advisor closes RO, collects payment if applicable, and walks customers to the vehicle. Result: vehicle has been at the facility for 1.5h, 5 employees have touched the vehicle. Total revenue generated is 0.2h.
Mobile technician scenario: Mobile technician dispatched to the customer home, completes the multi-point inspection and the minor software update and proceeds to the next appointment.
Customer convenience and their behavioral cost of doing business are paramount, yet customers may need to wait at the dealership for service, leading to lengthy wait times and potential disruptions to their daily routines.
With Remote Service, dealerships can offer a convenient service directly to the customer's preferred location. Whether it's at their home, office, or another location, convenience is at the forefront. The Customer should be able to make an online appointment for mobile service. Services available to be performed at the customer’s location should be clearly presented to the customer and limited to operations that can actually be performed remotely.
Faster service delivery: Mobile technicians can respond to service requests more quickly, reducing wait times for customers. This can result in higher customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Greater flexibility: Mobile technicians can work outside of normal business hours (if applicable), providing customers with greater flexibility in scheduling service requests
Remote Technician Service prioritizes customer convenience, which will lead to higher customer satisfaction and loyalty, driving dealership CSI and NPS scores dramatically upwards.
NHTSA issued 1,050 recalls in 2022, a staggering 60% increase from 2012, affecting over 30 million vehicles in the United States. Handling recalls and service campaigns can be a logistical challenge, especially when dealing with such a high volume of vehicles.
According to Ford Dealers, it is estimated that over 70% of recalls can be performed by a Mobile Technician. Carmen platform can automatically detect and handle recalls and service campaigns, optimizing technician allocation and ensuring timely completion.
We've streamlined the process for your customers, making it as effortless as possible. Now online, with the convenience of your dealership's website service booking page or with the Carmen Service mobile application, customers can easily book a Mobile Technician to perform required services at their home or place of business.
Carmen ensures a hassle-free experience by verifying the customer's preferred service location and confirming whether it falls within the operational area for mobile technicians. To make it even more user-friendly, operations that can be performed by our mobile technicians are clearly marked on the customer interface. This way, customers can effortlessly select only the services available at their chosen location, simplifying their booking process.
Mobile Technician Service optimized by Carmen software is a game-changer when it comes to servicing fleets, unlocking significant revenues and efficiencies for dealerships and saving their customers time and money. This powerful tool extends beyond traditional servicing by offering on-site maintenance and repairs for fleets right on the customer's lot, significantly reducing technician travel times. This not only benefits fleet operators by minimizing vehicle downtime but also presents an opportunity for dealerships to generate additional revenue.
Carmen's smart scheduling and automated technician dispatch ensure that maintenance and repairs are performed precisely when needed, preventing unexpected breakdowns and costly delays. By servicing multiple vehicles in one place on the fleet customer's lot, dealerships can optimize their technicians' time and resources. This efficient approach allows dealerships to capitalize on economies of scale, servicing many vehicles in a single location while reducing travel costs and time-consuming commute between appointments.
Additionally, Carmen's data-driven approach helps businesses easily address potential issues with their fleet. This approach not only saves money but also ensures that fleet vehicles remain in top-notch condition, promoting safety and reliability on the road, but also enhances customer loyalty.
In essence, Mobile Technician Service powered by Carmen is a strategic investment for dealerships looking to boost their revenue streams, increase efficiency, and provide top-notch service to their fleet customers while streamlining operations and reducing overheads.
In a rapidly evolving automotive landscape, dealerships that embrace Remote Technician Services are poised to unlock unparalleled efficiency. By offering customers the flexibility of on-demand service, optimizing technician allocation, reducing overhead costs, and prioritizing convenience, these innovative solutions are redefining the dealership service experience.
As the automotive industry continues to evolve, embracing new technologies and service models is essential for staying competitive and exceeding customer expectations. Many OEMs are already heavily supporting this approach, proving that Remote Technician Service is more than just a trend; it is a strategic move towards a more efficient and customer-centric future for automotive dealerships.
NEXT: Read more about Carmen's integrated Remote Service Platform and schedule a demo.
October 14, 2023
