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With 2004 now behind us, and it was a much better year, it is clear that we must turn up the heat. It is time to commit ourselves to some good work this year. This year I am into making lists. This isn’t a Christmas list, it is a check list and a “to do” list. Sorry about that but it is time to rededicate ourselves to the work at hand.

1. Asset Turnover
1. Parts should have a true turnover of more than 4
2. Service should have a turnover of more than 26
2. Customer Retention
1. Parts should have retained 80% of the parts customers who purchased in 2003
2. Service should have retained 75% of the service customers from 2003
3. We should have sold more than 500 maintenance agreements in 2004.
1. Did you?
2. What are your plans for 2005
4. We should have trained employees for more than 40 hours each last year. What is the plan for this year?
1. Did you succeed in 2004?
2. Do you have a plan for each employee for 2005?
3. Shouldn’t you?
5. We should have someone from parts or service "touching", either with a product support salesman or a telephone salesman, customers that represent at least 50% of the parts or service purchase volume.
1. Do you?
2. If you do...congratulations
3. If you don’t what are you waiting for?
6. Have you satisfied your parts fill level goals?
1. Do you have goals? Did you meet them?
2. Do your goals satisfy your customer needs?
1. Have you asked them?
7. Have you staffed up on technicians so that your backlog is less than 2 days in the shop and 1 day in the field?
1. Do you know your backlog?
2. Did you meet the above goals?
3. Anything that requires the customer to wait is not responsive to their needs.
8. Have you maintained your quality of work?
1. Is your "redo" and service warranty less than 1%?
2. Is it less than 0.5%?
3. What is it?
4. What do we need to do to get to "zero"?
9. Have you reviewed the amount of free technical advice that your service management provides?
1. Have you found a solution yet?
10. Do you now call all shop customers within five days of their work being completed in your shop?
1. What is it that stops you from doing this?
2. Isn’t this what customer service is all about?
11. Do you recover all of the shop supply expenses that you incur?
1. If you don’t what is the reason that you use to satisfy yourself that you don’t need to?
12. Have you taken advantage of all of your supplier’s annual return opportunities?
1. Why not?
13. Did you meet your sales growth numbers?
1. What do you need to adjust?
2. How can you grow faster?
3. Have you made an ambitious plan for 2005?
14. Have you adjusted your pay plan to attract the mechanics that we need?
1. What are you waiting for now?
2. It is NOT about gross profit percentages it is about dollars.
3. If you don’t have sufficient numbers of mechanics your customers will find alternatives and believe me there are plenty of will people out there after your business.
15. Have you increased your penetration of the parts market?
1. Do you know?
16. Have you purchased the materials from the AED to help you in Parts & Service?
1. The Product Support Handbook?
2. The Product Support Opportunities Handbook?
3. The NEW Product Support Best Practices Handbook?
4. The training videos for parts and service?
5. Have you registered your parts and service management personnel in Quest classes?

If we want to satisfy customers we must provide service value. If we want satisfied and motivated employees then we need to challenge their talents and skills. The list above is short but significant. You might want more on the list and you might want more challenging goals. That is up to you. But make a list and check it regularly. The success you have in meeting the new challenges will be appreciated by your customers and your employees. And of course it will satisfy the owners too.

I wish you all a safe, happy and prosperous 2005. I hope to see you in San Antonio at the convention.