Course Overview
This course prepares Service Managers and Lane Managers to lead a high-performing dealership service operation across both the express lane and the main service drive. Through nine structured modules, you will learn to run the daily operating cadence, read and move the department’s numbers, coach advisor sales performance, and enforce the documented processes from the Service Advisor and Express Service Advisor training programs.
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Upon completion, you will be able to Run the daily operating cadence; forecast and track hours, ELR, and gross profit; coach commodity closing ratios and customer-pay transaction averages; observe and coach the advisor write-up and delivery process; enforce repair-order and warranty documentation compliance; manage CSI and online reputation; and keep workflow, certifications, scheduling, and the facility on standard. |
Course Modules at a Glance
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MODULE |
TOPIC |
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1 |
The Manager’s Role — Leadership, Accountability & “Inspect What We Expect” |
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2 |
The Daily Operating Cadence |
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3 |
Reading the Numbers — Forecast, Hours, Production & GP |
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4 |
Coaching Sales Performance — Closing Ratios, the Upsell Board & Incentives |
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5 |
On the Drive — Observing & Coaching the Advisor Process |
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6 |
Repair Order & Warranty Documentation Compliance |
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7 |
CSI, Reputation & Customer Issue Resolution |
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8 |
Workflow & Team Operations |
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9 |
Putting It All Together — Building a High-Performance Service Team |
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MODULE 1 |
The Manager's Role — Leadership, Accountability & “Inspect What We Expect” |
The Service Manager (also called the Lane Manager) is the link between dealership leadership and the advisor team. You are ultimately responsible for ensuring your advisors and technicians execute the documented processes from the Service Advisor and Express Service Advisor training — and for the customer satisfaction those processes produce. Above all, you are a coach: your job is to develop your team, every single day.
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MODULE 2 |
The Daily Operating Cadence |
A great service operation runs on rhythm. This module turns the scattered daily tasks of the role into one repeatable playbook: the morning number review, the brief team huddle, lane presence, the mid-day carryover checkpoint, and a disciplined close-out. Run the same cadence every day and the department becomes predictable — which is exactly what makes it manageable.
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MODULE 3 |
Reading the Numbers — Forecast, Hours, Production & GP |
A manager who can’t read the numbers can’t move them. This module covers the core metrics you own every day — forecast, hours, effective labor rate, hours per repair order, technician production, and gross profit — plus the expense and pay-plan picture that frames the whole business.
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MODULE 4 |
Coaching Sales Performance — Closing Ratios, the Upsell Board & Incentives |
Sales performance is coached, not wished for. This module covers the commodity closing ratios you track, the upsell board you run, and the incentives you use to drive penetration — all tied directly back to the advisor sales process.
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MODULE 5 |
On the Drive — Observing & Coaching the Advisor Process |
This is “inspect what we expect” in action. You have to be physically in the lane to observe the write-up and delivery processes and coach in real time. This module is the heart of the manager’s daily quality control.
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MODULE 6 |
Repair Order & Warranty Documentation Compliance |
The repair order is a legal document and the dealership’s primary protection. Reviewing repair orders for complete, accurate documentation — and holding the team to warranty-grade precision — is a core daily manager responsibility.
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MODULE 7 |
CSI, Reputation & Customer Issue Resolution |
Customer satisfaction is both a scoreboard and a paycheck input. This module covers maintaining CSI at or above district, managing online reputation, resolving issues immediately, and ensuring disciplined follow-up.
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MODULE 8 |
Workflow & Team Operations |
Beyond the numbers and the coaching, the manager keeps the operation’s machinery running: appointments and carryovers, rentals, certifications, scheduling, attendance, and the facility itself. Small gaps here quietly cost hours, gross profit, and CSI.
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MODULE 9 |
Putting It All Together — Building a High-Performance Service Team |
This is the capstone. Great managers don’t just run tasks — they build a consistent, accountable, high-performing team. This module integrates the course and prepares you to lead, and to pass the end-of-course assessment.