PA
Page 96
Page 97
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
ND PARCEL
Iveco Ford's aftersales director Gerry Brown believes that iervice technicians are a key part of the economic jigsaw and he is doing his best to convert others.
Gerry Brown, Iveco Ford's aftersales director, has a simple approach to his business: "There are no had trucks today and truck sales will increasingly be won or lost on the aftersales backup provided by the manufacturer."
Brown reckons that if Iveco Ford is to increase the number of trucks maintained by its dealer network, currently 20%, then it has to address operators' objections.
A survey was conducted of those Iveco Ford operators who did not use the dealer network for servicing to find out what their criteria was for choosing a particular workshop. It revealed that their primary concern was the quality and reliability of the work, second, was turnaround time/ speed of response; third was the attitude of the staff with price and location taking fourth and fifth place respectively.
Those surveyed did not doubt the quality of the work at dealerships. However, there was a misconception of high charges, says Brown.
As a result of the survey, the company has reduced the price of 800 of its most popular lines which will eventually mean lower workshop bills and contract prices.
To address the concerns about response time and staff attitude Brown has combined the parts and service operations and wants the dealers to do the same.
If the aftersales operation is to work well then the parts people and the service people must be motivated and work together. "If a truck is not finished it's not good enough for the guy in the workshop to say: It's not my problem the part's not in stock'," says Brown. "It's his problem too." Training on the parts side has for some time included communication skills, together with an exercise to find the cost to an operator of keeping a truck off the road. Training for apprentice service technicians now includes similar exercises and adopts the distance-learning techniques used for the parts people. By moulding parts and service into one operation, and giving the staff an appreciation of how much delays cost customers, Brown hopes to provide the operator with a more responsive dealer network and less downtime.
Brown feels that the increasing use of truck technology will force operators to send their vehicles back to the dealer for maintenance; it would not be viable for an independent workshop to have a diagnostic computer for each make of truck.
Brown also sees hauliers and ownaccount operators concentrating on their core business and leaving maintenance to third parties.
The job of the service technician will increasingly become one of a consultant — talking to the operator about how the onboard computers can be reprogrammed to provide better results, he says.
However, today the low standing of diesel fitters and parts people is a problem for the whole industry.
The lack of school leavers and the increasing level of truck technology means that recruiting the right people is getting more difficult, a problem that Brown is currently tackling. For too long service and parts technicians have been treated as the lowest of the low, he says; in the old days if an employee was not up to the mark he was put in the stores or the workshop.
Today, even in the good times, parts sales and service work contributes up to 35% of a dealership's revenue and with the downturn in truck sales it is even higher. -We've got to get across that service and parts technicians play a key role in the economic jig-saw," says Brown.
"It's the quality of the service that they supply that dictates if the operator buys another truck from us," says Brown. Availability of key parts must be good and the price must be right if business is to be won back from the factors.
Awareness
Events like the Parts Technician of the Year finals are designed to heighten awareness of how parts service is crucial to dealership's profitability.
Iveco Ford has introduced a "Heavy Metal" scheme to help dealers recruit school leavers. A display and video is currently being taken to schools' career evenings and dealer open days. It gives an outline of the transport industry and shows where service technicians fit into the equation. More importantly, for parents, it shows that there is some career progression, says Brown. "No one wants to place their children in a dead end job."
Last year Alistair Low was runner-up in the Iveco Ford Parts Technician of the Year competition; this year he went one better, beating nearly 100 other contestants to win the title.
All those who do get to the final have a four-day break paid for by the manufacturer.
Iveco Ford uses distance learning techniques for parts technicians based on six books a year. Out of approximately 500 people on the course the top 100 are invited to the final at Aviemore. There are six practical sections to the test which range from identifying components to working out dealer profitability on parts sales.
Highland games
The 41/2-hour examination finishes on the Friday lunchtime; after that the contestants try their hand at highland games; a question of sport chaired by former footballer Emlyn Hughes; singing along with a Karioke machine; go karting; curling; and clay pigeon shooting. This is a weekend where the manufacturer says "thank you and well done", to all those in the final.
This gesture does not go amiss. 'They are a good company and look after us like others look after salesmen", says Low, "you are not just another person, everybody knows you and they make an effort to get closer to you."
Most of Low's training has focused on the distance learning books. Instead of setting aside time everyday to study, he normally stays late a couple of evenings a week to complete the work. His dedication has paid off by being selected for three out of the four finals.
Next year's event is likely to be combined with the service technicians' final. Low welcomes the move saying that there always seems to be a barrier between parts and service.