Professional Service Advisor Qualities: A Quick Checklist to See If You Have the Right People

A Professional Service Advisor is the person your valued customers have the most contact with at the dealership while getting their cars serviced. It’s important for them to always be on top of their game. Here are some tips on how to turn a good service consultant into a professional one.

1. Integrity:  Integrity is the first thing you need to look for in a dealership service advisor.

2. People Skills:  A professional service advisor needs to be able to read people and adapt to their way of communicating.  Some people like to know all of the details behind their car repairs, and some people just want to hand the keys over and come back when the work is done.  A professional service advisor needs to be aware of these differences to meet individual customer needs.

3. Empathy: A person that can put themselves in their customer’s shoes can better prioritize any work that needs to be done.

4. Ability to Articulate: The dealership service advisor’s main job is to relay information back and forth between the customer and the technician.  On top of listening skills, if the person is articulate, the information is much less likely to get misconstrued and mistakes are less likely to be made.

5. Mechanical Knowledge:  If the service advisor has some basic mechanical knowledge, they are more likely to understand the technician, which will help them relay that information to their customer. If a person with no mechanical knowledge tries to explain a car problem to an owner, they may not get all of the information correct.  If they have some basic car knowledge, it can also help them assess whether or not the technician’s recommendations are really necessary for their customer’s car and lifestyle.

6. Superior communication skills. If you aren’t a good communicator, then customer service may not be the field for you.  The job requires that you deal heavily with the public. Do you know how to handle the many problems that come with customers well?

7. Self control.  You are sure to come across customers who will be difficult. For this reason, you must have self control. You must be able to handle both the easy and hard times that comes with serving the public.

8. A good work ethic. As with any job, you need to have a good work ethic. You must be willing to put the needed work in to provide exceptional customer service.

9. Patience. It is important to have patience for those customers that no one really wants to deal with – and they do exist. The more patient you are, the better off you will be when working with customers.

10. The ability to be relatable. Customers want to feel like they can relate to the people they are working with. Whether it is face to face or over the phone, the ability to be relatable is without a doubt  one of the many important qualities.

11. Genuine Care. Customers are also looking for someone who actually cares about them, not just making a paycheck.

12. Compassionate. Similarly, compassion will carry you far in a customer service job.  Are you compassionate?

13. Genuinely willing to help when and where needed. If you aren’t willing to help others solve problems, customer service is likely not the field for you.  Be willing to help in whatever way needed in an effort to get and keep a good service advisory position.

14. Willing to gain Product Knowledge.  It is vitally important to know the product brand you sell inside and out. This will also you to be of the most help with your customers.

15. Superior Phone skills. A good paying service advisory position without a doubt requires that you know how to multi task and deal with all sorts of conversations over the phone up front and personal.  How are your phone skills?

16. Ready, willing and able to work well with others. If you can’t be a team player, you are not going to find the best customer service job.  Professional advisory takes team work. Working well with others is an essential skill for being successful.

17. Willingness to being managed. Are you okay with not being your own boss?  Advisory positions are usually managed. This means that you will have to answer to a boss. Can you handle taking direction from a superior authority? If not, customer service may not be for you.

18. Always and In All Ways be willing to go the Extra Mile. The customer always comes first and is ALWAYS right.  You must be willing to go the extra mile to please each and every customer. Sometimes, this can be at the expense of your pride. You must be willing to swallow your pride and move on.

19. Genuine Customer Appreciation. A good job in service advisory will require that you have a general appreciation of customers and their business.  After all, they are the ones who will be providing you with a job. Without them, your job would not be necessary.

Professional Service Advisory today requires the highly polished skills attributes and qualities such as the ones listed above.  Do your service advisors have these qualities?