Escalated Client Concern Resolution Process
Second Visit Same Concern (SVSC)

Three important measures of the Quality of Work performed in the service department are:

  • Fixed RIGHT the FIRST time ON time and AT the price quoted
  • High CSI service standard scores
  • Loyal long-term clients
  • High gross profit margins

 Minimum Costs of Escalated Client Concerns

 The cost of these occurrences is based on the following:

An average of three (3) man hours at a bare minimum $25 per hour

Plus, the cost of policy work X 2

GOAL: Minimize impact of escalated client concerns to service policy account

Escalated Client Concern Policy Statement

  • No compensation for escalated client concerns for all involved related to breakdowns in process especially warranty.
  • Reward or incent the service team for significant reductions in escalated client concerns.

Methodology:

  1. To ensure you achieve the above measures it is important to increase the amount of road testing by your service consultants, senior service consultants, technical team leaders/shop supervisors prior to repair order creation to ensure accurate concern documentation, signs and symptoms assessment.
  2. Ensure that the conditions in which the client drives the vehicle that create the client concern are exactly duplicated.
  3. Listen and question intelligently so that you let the client tell you exactly what, how, when, where and why they feel they have a legitimate concern with their vehicle?
  4. Clearly identify all escalated client concern paperwork with distinguishable bright dots or colours so that the entire team is aware that this is a second visit same concern (SVSC). These situations though negative provide excellent learning opportunities for the entire team.
  5. Encourage the entire team to pay specific attention to this concern, this client and this vehicle.
  6. TRACK all escalated client concerns by service technician, and by service consultant. Use the attached escalated concern tracking report to:

Identify the root cause of the escalated client concern

(Product, part/component, technical training, client handling or technical service repair process)

  1. Determine whether responsibility lies with the technician?
  2. Determine whether responsibility lies with technical training?
  3. Is it the type of work, type of training or type of vehicle?
  4. Determine whether responsibility lies with the service consultant?
  5. Determine if the concern process is related to scheduling, timing, appropriate documentation, or communication especially effective intelligent listening or based on false assumptions?
  6. Is responsibility shared between the technician and the consultant?
  7. Is it related to a interpersonal or professional miscommunication or a relationship concern?
  8. Acts of Omission – not doing something that should have been done
  9. Acts of Commission – doing something that should not have been done

Escalated Client Concern Tracking & Control Process

An effective escalated client concern resolution, tracking and control process must consist of the following:

  1. Identification of the escalated client concern by the service consultant as part of the repair order creation process. This must include a review of the vehicle history in the dealer management system as well as the warranty history in the manufacturer’s resource tools.
  2. Open all identified escalated client concerns with source of payment as “internal” or “policy” (excluding special order parts, etc.)
  3. Record on the current work order such relevant information as all previous R.O. #’s, technician #’s, service consultant #’s.
  4. Open an escalated client concern tracking form on each case with copies of the relevant documents, previous R.O.’s and attach to the tracking form.
  5. Service Team Leadership must inspect and authorize all aspects of the resolution process before, during and after the repairs.
  6. Document leadership involvement in the resolution process and the specific findings on the hard copy and the tracking form.
  7. Determine and assign responsibility for any and all charges.
  8. Complete tracking form clearly identifying reasons for the escalated client concern
  9. Written leadership authorization is required to change the source of payment from “internal” to “warranty” when such a change is justified by the documented findings.
  10. When such cases are to be charged to warranty or goodwill the findings of the tracking process must be provided in support of the claim. This must be done by either adding this information to the work order invoice or by attaching a copy of the tracking form to the warranty copy of the repair order. The preferred method would be to add the information to the work order
  11. Analyze the tracking report to identify and correct root causes of process related issues as an aspect of continuous process improvement.

Escalated Client Concern Tracking Report

Date: ________Work Order#: ________ Serv Cons: _____ Tech: _____     

Client Name: _______________    Phone # H:       ________C:_________                    

VIN: _________________   Current Odometer: ­­­_____________

History of Previous Related Repair Visits

Date R.O.# Consultant Technician
       
       
       
       

 

Original Client Concern: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Root Cause of Escalated Concern (Who & What) _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

  New Problem   Technical Process Error   No Fix Available
  Misdiagnosis   Poor Workmanship   Client Misinformed
  Undersell/Oversell   Intermittent Problem   Work Not Completed
  Service Consultation   Service Documentation   Wrong technician
  Wrong Part Ordered   Missing Relevant Information   Other specify

 

 

Corrective Action: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Payment Responsibility for Escalated Client Concern

  Client   Internal   Warranty   Other (specify)

Support/Justification for Payment Responsibility ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

­­­_________________________                         ______________

Service Team Leader Signature                                       Date

 

If this repair is to be charged to the OEM manufacturer this form must be included with the warranty copy.