Automotive Aftersales Process

Posted on 2nd October 2024 at 17:09

Background

Talking about aftersales processes for me is like returning to my professional roots. With over 35 years of experience in the aftersales arena, I’m in a strong position to reflect on the challenges faced by aftersales departments — along with some well-tested, practical solutions.

Throughout my automotive career, I’ve taken on multiple roles: technician, supervisor, manager, trainer and consultant. Each has strengthened my ability to navigate what’s often seen as a complex, demanding process.

Firstly, let’s challenge the illusion that aftersales is complicated — a bold statement, I know! At its heart, it’s still sales; the key difference lies in what you’re selling. In the automotive industry, ‘sales’ typically refers to selling vehicles — new or used — supported by finance packages and service plans. It’s a more visible, tangible transaction.

In aftersales, the transaction gets slightly more complicated. You’re selling time, parts, and service plans, but you’re also protecting ongoing reputation — the very thing that brings customers back, not just to your dealership but to your brand. The old saying “sales sell the first vehicle, aftersales sells every one after that” remains as relevant in 2025 as it ever was.

Another key difference is that customers typically have less desire to spend their money on aftersales services than on buying a new car. And with aftersales departments usually being the largest in the dealership — more people often means more challenges.

So, what goes wrong?

While it would be tempting to list every issue, let’s focus on the three most common aftersales challenges:

1. Delivering profitability

2. Customer satisfaction

3. People management

Delivering Profitability

Profitability remains one of the most pressing challenges for any business, and aftersales is no different. For those of us who've been around long enough, you might remember the days of 100% overhead absorption — when aftersales income covered the entire dealership’s running costs. That target became a distant memory years ago. In 2025, most manufacturer dealerships would be thrilled to hit 80% absorption.

Rising costs — wages, energy, and increasingly

expensive franchise fees (the larger the 'glass palace', the bigger the bill) — are relentless. Profit from parts sales helps, but the real profit driver is technician labour. Therefore, technician efficiency, productivity and utilisation are critical, and sadly, this is where processes often unravel.

Technicians are frequently held up by inefficient booking processes, incomplete information about customer complaints, or delays waiting for parts authorisation. This causes downtime, impacts workshop utilisation and ultimately costs money.

With proper focus at the booking stage and structured preparation before customer arrivals, downtime can be reduced. For example:

• Gather accurate customer information upfront

• Pre-identify potential customer requirements

• Have parts ready and conversations about likely repairs prepared

Remember — time can only be sold once. A lost 15 minutes is gone forever.

Striking the balance between upselling additional work (like what’s found in a Vehicle Health Check, or VHC) and maintaining customer trust is another key challenge. Transparency is essential.

A consistent VHC process, where work is classified Red, Amber, or Green, builds trust. If one technician deems brakes 90% worn, while another says they’re fine — trust evaporates.

Equally important is the timing of the VHC. When first introduced in the 90s, many businesses carried out VHCs alongside services, creating delays as additional work wasn’t authorised in time. The result? Vehicles being parked, then dragged back into the workshop later, wasting valuable time.

The ambition should be one vehicle in, one ramp-up, one vehicle out — as aligned with lean working principles.

Customer satisfaction

Balancing profitability with customer satisfaction remains a universal challenge. It’s relatively easy to take customers’ money — but making sure they want to come back is a different matter.

Most businesses acknowledge that customer satisfaction and profitability are linked — yet many still place disproportionate focus on the numbers. This often comes down to how performance is measured and how teams are

incentivised. Without balanced measures, financial targets drive the wrong behaviours.

A balanced scorecard system can help, as it encourages equal focus on profit, satisfaction, and quality. However, any system is only as good as how it’s applied.

True customer satisfaction means not only meeting expectations but exceeding them. I often describe it as the difference between what you’d do for your regular customer and what you’d do for someone famous. That’s the opportunity — and in 2025, those small, thoughtful touches still matter:

• A handwritten birthday card

• A personalised service wash

• Remembering small details about your customers

The old saying still holds: “People may forget what you said, but they won’t forget how you made them feel.”

People

The glue that holds aftersales together is people. Most problems arise when people either:

• Don’t do what’s expected

• Aren’t clear on what’s expected

• Aren’t empowered to care in the right way

No one goes to work to do a bad job. Often, mistakes happen because processes aren’t clear,

communication is rushed, or people feel unsupported.

Clear, consistent communication and defined roles make all the difference. People’s moods, trust levels, and working environment affect their behaviour, which in turn impacts performance.

As I’ve long believed — happy staff = happy customers. While many businesses promote ‘Customer First’, I favour ‘Staff First’. Invest in your people and they’ll naturally take care of your customers.