Roles Performed in a Mechanic Shop - Carmen - Report Example

A report on the roles performed in a mechanic shop: Carmech

Table of Contents

Introduction3

Reference List8

• Introduction

Carmech’s prime focus is to ensure that the vehicles of the customers operate smoothly. The mechanics that are employed in the service centre are knowledgeable. There are hundreds and thousands of cars in the market and each has certain specification like, a BMW car will have different engine than a car manufactured by Audi. Hence, the mechanics are required to keep a track of all those differences in the profiles of the model of the cars in order to repair each vehicle correctly. Carmech ensures that the employees are able to give 100 percent in their jobs with the help of modern amenities like, modern tools incorporated by the management. Carmech wishes to provide a one-stop solution for the services related to vehicles because cars not only come to mechanic shop during breakdown but also for upgradations and maintenance purpose requiring effective customer service so that the customers choose to come back.

This paper highlights the different jobs roles with which I have been associated while working in Carmech, like handling customer, supplier management, hiring of employees and to ensure efficient running of the business, I also had kept a track of its expenditure in the form of payment of bills and salaries of the employees which are also illustrated in this paper.

Overview of the responsibilities

Customer service- Most of the customers coming to the mechanic shop are concerned about dealing with the defective or maintenance issues of their vehicles. This requires efficient client handling to render good customer experience and make them return to shop for further assistance that may be required in the future (Globalpost, 2016). Carmech relies on the honesty and on time assistance to cater the needs of the customer with efficiency to grow its business.

In order to provide efficient customer service I always made sure that the customer is aware of the nature of the problem, like, whether it is a problem with the carburetor or any electrical transmission failures, it not only helps in gaining trust of the customer but also justifies the timeline of the repair. All the employees including are trained to inform the customer about the correct estimation of the cost of repair but we do not charge the customer for inspecting a vehicle. We start working on the vehicle only after getting approval of the customer on the cost of repair and if while repairing any additional service is needed we convey it to the customer as well. I always ensure that, the time required to repair any vehicle is correctly mentioned to the customers after consulting with the concerned employee who is in charge of repairing it and while mentioning the timeline I used to keep a day or two in hand if in case the problem requires more attention. Sometimes depending on the necessities, the customers are provided with cars while their cars are being serviced at Carmech under our customer support scheme of loaner equipments. In order to remain truthful to the customers, I made them aware of the terms and conditions of the warranty so that they do not feel cheated when they are required to pay for certain repair services within the warranty, like whenever a car is serviced in Carmech we provide 2 months free of charge repair, if the problem for which the car was brought to the service centre occurs within the mentioned period, but replacement of parts may incur additional charge.

Supplier management- When I was asked to execute the responsibility of supplier management I made sure to choose suppliers from a wide variety so that I have greater power over them while negotiating the prices of the equipments like, hoists, spanners, tyre changer, etc. and while purchasing parts I only selected suppliers with whom Carmech was doing business for a long time as it not only ensures original products but also timely delivery of the parts. Sometimes, I also contacted the authorised vendors of the respective manufacturers in order to get genuine parts of certain cars. I maintained the stocks depending on the data of the frequent problems serviced in Carmech. This policy of immediate inventory saved extra cost on storage which benefitted Carmech in two ways, firstly, less time was required for servicing as workers could get required parts from the stock and secondly, customers’ appraisal because of on-time delivery and in some cases, delivery prior to the commitment time.

Creating invoice for customers- When I was responsible for creating invoice for the customers, I was extremely careful in providing correct information about the cost of repair for which I collected all the information from the concerned mechanic who were handling the repair including the parts that were changed. The software system that we use in the company calculates the cost when the options of the services are selected including the hourly charge of the mechanic working on the vehicle for example, for repairing a punctured tyre; I was only required to click on the respective option presented in the form of checkboxes. The invoice provides details regarding the services and also acts a document of the warranty for the customer for the next 2 months of problems regarding the same service. I introduced the practice of saving all the invoices under the names of the respective customers along with the details of their cars under proper security measures to ensure no chance of misusing them. This helped me in organising the data for future reference, for example, if the customer forgets to bring the invoice or has lost it then he or she can still enjoy their 2 months warranty and also in getting their vehicles’ insurance claims settled. I ensured that no customer leaves Carmech without a proper invoice which helps in keeping a proper track of the works and also eliminates any chance of malpractices by any of the employees..

Hiring of the employees and determination of their payroll- while hiring new employees for Carmech, I gave weightage to their experience in the field of automobile repairing, a minimum of six months to ensure that the employee will be able to identify and troubleshoot the problem effectively and it was also the main criteria for fixing their salaries. Apart from which, upon the hiring of a new employee, he or she is put into a training programme for a month so as to understand the working environment of Carmech after which the employee is confirmed of his or her position in the company. The provision of incentive and performance is also there for the employees working overtime in order to deliver the cars within their committed timeline. I had taken the help from customers’ record while hiring the employees as it brought to my knowledge those areas where specialised expertise is required like, I have hired technicians having specialised skills in repairing brakes, air conditioning, transmission and front-end as these are the common speciality areas.

At the end of the month, I measured the performance of the employees in terms of certain parameters like punctuality, in time service, etc. to choose the employee for performance bonus. This helps in motivating them to improve their performance ultimately contributing to Carmech’s productivity. Another important determinant of the performance bonus is ‘customer’s feedback’, and it was obtained while delivering the car after servicing. I made sure that each customer fills the feedback which contains several quality related questions and also upon the assistance of the technician where the customer rates the service on a scale of 5 where 5 is the maximum point.

Paying bills- Apart from the salaries of the employees, bills form a major part of the cost incurred by Carmech. The bills contain two types of cost, one related to the fixed cost of the company like, energy consumption, rent, security, etc. while the other contain variable costs like the payment to the suppliers and wage of the employees. I purchased the equipments from the suppliers on credit and the bills are settled in the end of each month which requires careful calculation and record of each and every item is kept that are bought by the company. In order to validate the information provided by the suppliers, I match it with the records of the equipments purchased and also get proper information from the employees. In case of urgent requirement, we make the delivery ourselves. I used to maintain a contingency fund for such uncalled expenditure which helps in getting the equipments in time and does not put extra burden on the company.

Conclusion

Carmech is a small establishment but operates to offer one-stop solution point for car troubles. Being a small organisation, it becomes easy to manage the daily business of the company and keep a constant watch to locate any malpractices which needs to be fixed.

In order to improve the customer service, we can start a message service which will notify the customer of the completion of the repair if it gets repaired prior to the date of commitment and can also be used to inform the customer if additional time required in completing the repair beyond commitment time. Sometimes, it has been observed that the customer do not come themselves to get the delivery of their vehicles and hence, feedbacks could not be taken but if they are asked to reply through messages to respond to the questions then it will not only help the owner of Carmech to adapt the customers’ suggestion towards betterment, but will also make the customers experience better so that they can return to the company for further assistance in future.

• Reference List

Globalpost, 2016. Auto Mechanic Duties & Responsibilities. [online] Available at: < http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/auto-mechanic-duties-responsibilities-2959.html> [Accessed 18 May 2016].