Dealer service dep't now open 7 days a week

[srellim234]

I went in for service the other day and discovered that West Covina Nissan is now opening their service dep't on Sundays from 8am-4pm. In this economy they felt the way to get more business was to increase customer service, not cut back on customer service.

To help get people to use Sunday enough to make it worthwhile they're offering a 10% discount on anything they repair on a Sunday.

I like it!

Is anyone else noticing an expansion or reduction in their dealer's service dep't due to the economy?

[mdamatas]

I guess we are lucky here in Panama... Nissan Dealer Service Dept is the only one that is opened like 20/7... When is late at night, let's say 11PM, they won't be checking the car immediately, but you can leave the car there, take your papers, and pick up the car next morning...

It has been that way for a couple of years now...

[1_Sleek_Versa]

Wow that's good!!!

I wish it was like this at my Nissan dealership! All the guys working at the service department are arrogant pricks. I guess the economy here isn't all that bad after all.

[fjwagner]

I went in for service the other day and discovered that West Covina Nissan is now opening their service dep't on Sundays from 8am-4pm. In this economy they felt the way to get more business was to increase customer service, not cut back on customer service.

To help get people to use Sunday enough to make it worthwhile they're offering a 10% discount on anything they repair on a Sunday.

I like it!

Is anyone else noticing an expansion or reduction in their dealer's service dep't due to the economy?

I actually think that is unfortunate. People need a guaranteed day off. I actually wish more places were closed on Sundays so that people could spend time with family, relax, go to the park, etc etc. I really enjoyed that when we lived in Norway.

[srellim234]

I like the idea of a "blue law" day off, too, but that's not going to happen around here. WC Nissan (I talked to the sales mgr. at some length while I was there) just adjusted schedules because they had determined that they were paying people for quite a bit of dead time in the service area and rearranged days off to cover on Sundays.

It's helping them sell cars on weekends because prospective customers see the service area open and know the dealer can take care of them any day of the week.

Some of the employees would rather work Sundays because they have spouses that are in retail, law enforcement, hospitals, etc. and have to work Sundays, too. That way the couples can schedule days off together.

[mdamatas]

People still have their guaranteed day off, it doesn't mean they will be working 7 days a week. Only difference is that the day off will be a week day...

I have 2+ years working in a Contact Center (Call Center), and I have had schedules working on Sundays, and having Thursday free, for example, for me is great, they pay you more for working on Sundays, so I have a free week day (in which I can do a lot more than a weekend) and my pay check is better...

[VersaMG08]

I have a different perspective. If the business chooses to open on Sundays, let them be. If they can make a profit during a recession doing so, that's their freedom of choice. If you don't like working on Sundays, find a different job. There are plenty of them to search.

Personally, I'd prefer to have Sundays off.

[CPS]

The reality of it is that it is all a ploy. The dealership is most assuredly losing money and probably going to start losing their best employees to other dealerships that aren't open that much. Most positions in a dealership are commission, so a day off during the week costs you money and you working on a Sunday with very few customers costs you money, so that's two days you miss out on. What it does is force the employee to work MORE hours and not take their so-called "day off". Employee gets mad and service actually decreases due to the increased amount of hours. Then they quit, and you get a green employee that sees all these dollar signs but knows diddley about the business. Downward spiral.

Dealerships make all their fixed ops (parts and service) money between 7:30 and 3:30 M-F, and MAYBE 8-12 on Saturday. Any business outside of those hours actually costs the dealership and in turn the employees money. You would figure with all the bean counters in the world they would do an hour-by-hour study and figure this out, because those of us in fixed ops all know it.

I have to work every third Saturday, but don't get a day off during the week. 90% of what we do is oil changes, and a dealership has a lot more overhead than Jiffy Lube. You can't make any money that way. I have literally gone to work and spent more money between fuel and lunch than I actually made. Would you want to go work 8 hours on a Saturday and literally have to shell out more than you make?

I'm serious about that too. I don't get a salary, it is STRAIGHT commission. Most dealerships work that way, and the ones that don't have some little measly salary that basically covers gas and health insurance with a percentage commission above that.

[kc5f]

I've always wondered about the M-F daytime hours, as most of us work during those hours and can't get our cars in then. Our Nissan dealer locks the gate after hours, so we can't even do a late drop-off, and if you can't pick it up by 5pm you're out of luck.

Of course, the service is so lousy it doesn't really matter to me. I take mine to a mechanic where I can drop it off 24/7 and pick it up by 6pm. If our dealer changed their service hours I doubt I'd start bringing it back to them just to pay them more money for lower quality service.

[MinisterofDOOM]

In some states in the US it's not legal for dealerships to be open on sunday. Why this has to include service departments and not just sales I don't know. Neither one makes much sense as a form of legislation. As far as I'm concerned, if my car's in warranty period I should have 7 days/week access to dealer service facilities. I can tolerate having to wait until business hours but if the mfg is supporting the car they should support it all the time, not just during the week. I've never understood why dealer service dept. and even tire shops have SHORTER hours on saturday, the one day when they will get the MOST customer volume.

[srellim234]

I can understand the scepticism in the smaller markets like yours but in the greater L.A. area we're looking at +13 million people and a dealer with a good customer service record and good service dep't record. The dealership is open to sell cars so the lights are already on and the doors are open. The parts dep't has been open on Sundays for a while so there is already a cashier on duty. The guy that washes the cars after servicing is already there, too, as he had to be there while they're selling new cars. Only staffing added at this point is a service writer or two and 2-3 mechanics.

I imagine if a major service item is needed they tell the customer it'll take a few weekdays to get the job done. In the meantime they're picking up maintenance service (oil changes, tires, etc.) and customers can bring the car in 7 days a week. I'm sure they'll analyze the financial end of it after the Sunday "experiment" has been given a fair amount of time.

As for the workers losing money, they could take what's available or take unemployment. Sundays there are pretty much voluntary so they must think it's worth it. I'm one of those who would love to work Sundays to match my wife's hours.

[CPS]

MinisterofDOOM, the reason people are closing earlier is that, while you would think that Saturday would be high volume, it's the exact opposite of that. Saturday is a slow day. Most people stay home, or are out doing other things, not worried about having a car worked on. Reality is very different from logic.

If they Sunday thing is voluntary, then they can do whatever they want. The problem is when they make it mandatory. We HAVE to be there on Saturday, so we worked the system to our advantage and only have one person there, so everybody doesn't have to suffer. We also run one person from 5-close during the week so everybody doesn't have to suffer.

Dealerships are not hospitals, so expecting them to be open like one is just unfair. That would be like expecting the cable guy to come fix your cable at 1:00 in the morning because it's off. Nope, your gonna wait. Or the bank to give you a loan for the house you're looking at on Sunday. Sorry, come back during business hours. One glorious day these businesses will realize that longer hours does not mean more profit, it just means more of your life spent at work. Time does not have a price tag, and you can't buy more of it. Let your people have some time off, and they will repay you by working harder when they are there. Everything runs much more smoothly with well-rested, happy employees. And nobody is happy working on weekends, at least not anybody I know.