MARINE TECHNICIAN TODAY
|
FALL 2014
By Joe DeMarco
How to
Value Your
Technician
T
heory vs. real world, perception vs. reality. We all remember the times we
spent in school; we received book learning only to realize that the “real
world” was often very different. This is true in almost any walk of life. The
real value, however, is in understanding the “true value” of something. Unless we
truly understand the real value of something, we can’t appreciate what it does for
us, or how much return it brings.
The technician’s role
Let’s take the marine service technician and think about what it is he or she does.
Whenever there is a problem on a product, whether it is on the structure of
the boat, the engine, or some other system, the issue is given to the
technician to find, diagnose, and repair. That is the expectation of the
customer, and rightly so. They want it back to its previous serviceable
condition. A boater has a significant investment in their boat, often
it can be the most expensive item they own next to a house. The
technician’s job is to maintain this significant investment and
to make it right, make it enjoyable, make it fun.
Now, how do you put a value on this? In a dealer’s sales
department, it is easy to determine a commission
paid to a sales associate upon the sale of a product.
The company decides what the sales commission
will be; 3% on gross profit, 10% on gross sales,
etc. The product is sold for a certain amount, and
the commission is paid to that sales person. You
know the value of the sales person by the number
of units they sell. That is pretty straight forward. You
also know if a sales person is profitable to the business
by the number of repeat sales he or she makes from
returning customers.
How about the technician? Would you consider the thought
that a technician has more value to a dealership or business by
the number of repeat customers returning for service? Would you
consider a technician more valuable based on a lower number of
come-backs in the service department? Is the technician more valuable if
he or she can converse with a customer to explain what is going on and how
to prevent future failures to the vessel? Would there be value if this technician
gave the boater peace of mind in knowing that someone is there to handle their
service needs and provide a more pleasurable and safer boating experience? I
believe the answer to all these questions is yes. As business owners, we need to
know the value of the people who bring customers back to the business. We need
to see that a good service department contributes to repeat service
and
boat sales,
,
TECH TALK
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