|
One
of the most useful diagnostic tools for machine owners is
the oil sample. It's the only tool that can help them--and
us--predict the machine's potential failure.
The simple
task of drawing a sample of oil from the various compartments
in the machine is very similar to having a blood test. As
a result of a sample of your blood, your doctor can make determinations
on your body's various "systems". This is true of a sample
of a machine's fluids, like its oil sample, as well.
Somehow
this simple but very effective tool has not received the serious
attention it deserves. It can predict failure. If we know
that a component is going to fail we can arrange for a repair
or replacement before failure. Why is that important? Along
with allowing the contractor to schedule downtime, which helps
his or her scheduling immensely, it can reduce the cost of
the repair by as much as 50 percent. That's right: half.
Oil sampling
has been around since the early 1970s. Back then, taking a
sample of oil and using an exotic chemistry test to determine
the wear rate of various metals was like some kind of voodoo.
Today, however, the process of sampling oil and running a
test to determine wear rates of critical metals has become
a commonly accepted tool to determine internal wear. Yet we
have not had much success in selling oil sampling to our customers.
Oil companies
seem to have had more success in this area because they are
testing the fluid's ability to retain its critical performance
elements. They don't have the total cost of operating the
equipment at heart the way we do.
The operating
condition of equipment is the primary concern of a dealership's
parts and service departments. Along with protecting the machine's
residual value, that's the main reason we exist. Yet oil sampling
has not reached the level of use that it should.
With the
sale of every machine, new or used, we should include a kit
of oil samples to make it easier for the customer to provide
a sample the first time he changes the machine's fluids. If
we don't show interest in sampling this way, why should our
customer? This, along with a kit of the filters the customer
will require on his first oil change, makes a nice "customer
service kit".
A process
to allow the customer to return a postcard to get a replacement
customer service kit is also a nice touch. Simplify the process
for the customer by making it easy for him to do business
with you.
Now there's
a concept.
Don't
forget that the machine--not just the contractor--is our customer
in parts and service. We obtain our business success from
our customers trusting our knowledge and work. If we follow
a sampling discipline, we help the customer avoid sudden-death
failure and the costs associated with it. Downtime and high
bills are very heavy costs.
One last
point about oil sampling. As you are no doubt aware, a machine
maintenance program is critically important to our customers--and
to us. Maintenance programs that don't include oil samples
are akin to a doctor's visit without any lab work.
Of course,
selling oil sample kits means that everyone in your dealership
must understand oil sampling, how it works and what it does.
Do your employees know the ins and outs of oil sampling and
how it works? The more knowledgeable they are about a subject,
the better they can communicate with customers. Communicating
effectively about oil sampling makes a big difference.
Selling
oil samples makes money for your dealership. Plus, it saves
yourcustomers
big money in the long run. And that, after all, is why we're
here.
|
