There is a quote that I really like, “good habits are formed in bad times and
bad habits are formed in good times”, I’m not sure who first said it, but it always rings true for
me when the quiet season finally hits. While business is really zinging along from Spring through
Fall, customers are abundant and cash is flowing in, it’s easy for us to get comfortable (or just
plain exhausted from daily work) in best business practices and the forming of bad habits start
to settle in. Now that the selling season has slowed down, this is the perfect time to work on
creating some good habits. The prime selling season does not offer any of us managers much
in the way of extra time for maintenance and follow up of issues that need attention because
were in the heat of battle. I have listed some best practices for both the parts department and
the service department. Depending on the size of your operation and the sophistication of your
management software, some will be easy to implement while others will require more effort. I
promise that that if you make these 12 tips habit, it will make for a much more enjoyable work
environment for your people and your business will be more successful.
Parts Department
The primary focus on the parts department is INVENTORY management.
SET NEXT YEAR’S BUDGET. Hopefully you have a parts
department budget from last y