Shop Operations Flashcards

A customer's vehicle needs a windshield replacement, and your shop sends that work to an outside glass company. Which statement about this sublet repair is correct?

Answer: The shop stays responsible to the customer for the sublet work, and it should appear on the repair order

The customer's agreement is with the shop that wrote the repair order, so the shop answers for sublet work and lists it on the RO.

A customer returns two days after a repair and says the original concern is still there. What should the service consultant do first?

Answer: Review the original repair order and have the concern verified, ideally with the customer present or on a road test

Handling a comeback starts with checking what was done before and confirming that the concern is actually still there.

A customer drops off a vehicle after hours. The key-drop envelope says only "brakes making noise" and gives a phone number. What is the best first action the next morning?

Answer: Call the customer to clarify the concern and get authorization before work begins

After-hours drop-offs usually come with incomplete information and no signed authorization, so the consultant has to contact the customer before work is dispatched.

While the car is in the shop, the consultant learns that a needed part is backordered and won't arrive for three days. What is the most appropriate action?

Answer: Promptly contact the customer, explain the delay, give a revised completion time and discuss options such as alternate transportation

Parts delays should be shared right away, along with a new completion time and options for the customer.

To schedule appointments so the shop is neither overbooked nor underused, the consultant should base the daily schedule mainly on:

Answer: Available technician hours compared with the estimated labor time of the booked jobs

Shop capacity is set by productive technician hours, so appointments should be matched to the labor time available.

During a scheduled maintenance service, a technician finds a leaking water pump. What should happen before the technician replaces it?

Answer: The consultant should contact the customer, explain the finding and get authorization along with a revised estimate and completion time

Additional work requires the customer's authorization, and the customer should also hear the updated cost and timing.

A consultant sees at 2:00 p.m. that a vehicle promised for 4:00 p.m. won't be finished until tomorrow. What is the best course of action?

Answer: Call the customer right away, explain the reason and give a realistic new completion time

Customers should hear about a missed promise time as soon as the consultant knows, not when they show up.

Which job should normally go to the shop's most experienced diagnostic technician?

Answer: An intermittent no-start with no stored diagnostic trouble codes

Complex, intermittent diagnostic work should go to the technician with the strongest diagnostic skills.

Which repair order concern statement gives the technician the most useful information?

Answer: Customer says squeal from the front when braking lightly at low speed, mostly on the first stops of the morning; started about two weeks ago

A good concern statement records the symptom along with when, where and how often it happens, without assuming a repair.

A customer wants to wait at the dealership while the work is done. Which service is best suited to a waiter appointment?

Answer: An oil change and a multipoint inspection

Waiter appointments should be short, predictable jobs that can reliably be finished within the customer's visit.