I spend a good part of my life teaching shop owners and their teams, and I still find myself going back to my own shops and working on things we have already taught. Phone conversations, inspection presentations, follow-ups, and the basics that determine what a customer experiences when they do business with us. Running six locations while helping other owners grow gives me plenty of opportunities to look in the mirror. Sometimes the lesson I am preparing to teach is the very thing I need to practice more consistently myself.

Close the Gap Between Training and Execution

Recently, while working on phone training with our managers, I was reminded how much attention a familiar process still deserves. We can recognize the right approach when we hear it in a classroom and still need practice using it when the phone rings during a busy morning. That space between understanding and execution is where managers have an opportunity to earn their paycheck. It is also where owners—including me—need to give them a more useful assignment than simply telling them to train their people.

Think about the way we develop a technician. We explain the procedure, show them the equipment, and watch them perform the work. We ask questions about what they found and how they reached their conclusion. As their ability grows, we give them more responsibilities. There is a practical relationship between learning something and demonstrating that they can do it. Our service advisors deserve that same investment, especially when their work involves helping a customer understand a repair that may cost more than the customer anticipated.

Digital inspections are a good place to start. I have been looking more closely at how many completed inspections actually reach the customer and get viewed. Technicians put time into inspecting the vehicle, taking pictures, and documenting their findings. That work has tremendous value when it helps the customer understand the condition of their vehicle. As an owner, I want to know how consistently we are carrying that information all the way through the conversation at the counter.

Suppose a shop completes 100 inspections, sends 80, and has 40 viewed by customers. Half of the inspections sent were viewed, while only 40 percent of the completed inspections were viewed. Both percentages describe something useful, and they answer different questions. When we are looking at the entire process, we need to keep the completed inspections in the picture. Then we need to look at what happened during the customer conversation, because opening a link tells us very little about understanding.

A customer may open the inspection while walking into a meeting, glance at a photograph, and put the phone away. The advisor still has an important job to do. Did the customer receive the right information? Can they see the concern in the picture? Do they understand what the technician recommends, why it matters, and what can reasonably be planned for a future visit? This is where technical findings become useful guidance, and the service advisor’s skill in helping a customer prioritize based on the technician’s feedback from inspecting the vehicle is one we can develop through practice.

Practice the Conversation

For the next 30 days, I would encourage you to choose one part of that process and give it your attention. You might choose the conversation that follows an inspection. Sit down with your advisors and describe what a good conversation accomplishes.

Use an actual inspection with clear pictures and useful notes. Walk through how you would explain the findings to someone who knows very little about cars. Invite your team to talk in a way that feels natural to them and still gives the customer the information they need.

Then let each advisor practice the conversation out loud. I know role-playing can feel awkward. We are asking grown adults to pretend to talk to a customer while their coworkers listen. Give the exercise a little room and keep it respectful. Let the advisor work through a customer who is concerned about the price or needs the vehicle back that afternoon. Those are ordinary situations in our business, and practicing them together gives people a chance to build confidence before the real conversation arrives.

The manager’s part comes next. Put a short review on the calendar and look at a few actual examples each week. Ask the advisor to explain what went well, where the customer needed help, and what they would change next time. A repair order and its inspection can give you a useful starting point. Where recorded conversations are available and appropriately used, they can add context. The goal is to understand how the employee is applying the skill during a normal workday.

Keep the coaching specific enough that the advisor knows what to repeat. If they did a good job explaining the photograph, tell them what made that explanation useful. If they moved into pricing before the customer understood the concern, practice that transition together. I have learned that people can do something with a clear observation, and a reasonable next step. They have a much harder time applying general instructions to communicate better, especially when they already believe they are doing their best.

We also have to look at the environment around employees. An advisor who is answering every call, building estimates, checking in customers, arranging rides, and updating technicians needs a workable plan for having thoughtful conversations. Review the workload with them. Perhaps phone coverage needs attention during a particular hour, or a handoff needs to happen earlier. Coaching gives us a chance to discover what the job actually requires. Owners should be willing to make practical adjustments when the work exposes a capacity problem.

Give your manager a manageable way to keep track of this. Record the behavior being practiced, the examples reviewed, and the next coaching date. Follow the relevant results alongside that work. With inspections, that might include completed, sent, and viewed inspections, along with a review of how recommendations were explained. Look for progress over several weeks and ask what contributed to it. A small sample helps you coach an individual conversation, while a broader pattern helps you understand whether the process is becoming consistent.

This is also where I have to watch my own habits. I enjoy ideas, and I can leave a training session with several things I want everyone to start doing. Every additional priority takes time to explain, practice, and reinforce. The team needs enough room to get good at the behavior we have already chosen. Before introducing the next improvement, I need to ask the manager what is actually happening with the current one and whether people have had enough support to make it part of their day.

Pick one skill your customers would benefit from your team performing more consistently. Give it 30 days of focused attention and participate enough to understand what your people are learning. By the end of the month, you should have actual examples to discuss and a clearer picture of what support they need next. I would love to hear what you choose and what you learn along the way.

I would love to hear your thoughts. Reach me at [email protected].