What is an automotive service writer, what is the average service writer salary, and what should a service writer job description include? These are all questions we have been asked since we interact with anywhere from 2 to 10 repair shops each day it makes sense that we speak to both owners and the guys who write the repair orders.
There’s more to an automotive service writer’s job than just writing the orders for work to be done. It is often described as a mix between being a quarterback and a juggler. For those of you that may have done the work yourself before opening your own business, you already know this. For those of you that haven’t, think about how vital this position is in your company.
There is more to being a service writer than just creating a repair order and taking the customers keys. The creation, development, and delivery of the finished work (and the billing that keeps your business going) is a process that involves many parts:
- Listening to customers
- Giving estimates
- Ordering parts
- Upselling additional work based on DVI (Digital Vehicle Inspection)
- Managing customer expectations
- Handling billing and payments
- Managing the shop workflow
You can see why he is linked to a quarterback, he has to work with everyone in the chain, from the moment the client walks in your shop door right through the technicians who fix the problem and back to the client who leaves happy.
Automotive Service Writer Software
Automotive service writer software will help with the whole process of managing your repair shop, assisting the service writer in lots of the tedious parts of his job. Ordering parts can be done from within the software, thus reducing some phone calls to auto part shops. You can send txt messages to customers telling them their car is ready for pickup or you have an estimate ready, another way to reduce outbound phone calls.
Using the Profit Per Hour feature give a business owner an overview of how efficient and profitable the business is (and where there may be room for improvement), this saves the service writer from constantly having to report the numbers. It also means that there is no way to hide work that is not profitable, filling up your bays with cars that are not earning you any money is not a sensible, or profitable, way to run a business.
The best auto shop service software can help your service writer pull all the parts together into a harmonious whole, turning your automotive service writer into a conductor of an orchestra that makes beautiful music and turns a neat profit. That software can be there to deliver the right parts, accounting data, and text messages to customers when the work is done, so that everything is in tune, with no sour notes.
Software is a tool, not a replacement, for service writers to learn how to use efficiently and effectively. In the same way that your best technician understands the diagnostic tools, your service writer should learn how to get the best from his software.
Service Writer Training
Obviously, proper service writer training is vital for increasing your bottom line, since 
increased sales and satisfactory customer relations don’t just happen by accident. You could have the best system, software, parts, and technicians, but still not maximize your profits if your service writer doesn’t have the training to bring all those parts together for your business’s bottom line.
Your service writer will know enough about cars to talk confidently with your clients and technicians about the particular needs of a given job. That service writer will also be a ‘people person’, who knows how to connect with all those involved in the work, from the customers, to the technicians, to whoever else is necessary to get the job done.
No matter how effective, efficient, personable, and skilled your service writer may be, you still need the right tools for getting to the end zone. That’s where Profit Boost, your cloud-based management software solution, can help. Its intuitive interface means all users, whether service writers, technicians, bookkeepers, or you, the owner, can find and use what you want with a minimum of fuss. Your quarterback, the service writer, can oversee the repair process with a minimum of wasted effort. You, the owner, can see the whole process, right down to the Motor Labor Guide’s correct labor times, with no ‘human error’ mistakes.
When movie-makers set out to make a movie, they never set out to make a ‘stinker’. The same can be said for just about any business that wants to make a profit. Your service writer is your director, and that director needs all the right elements to create a box office success. Whether it’s sending automated texts to customers when a job is done, to parts integration from online suppliers, to any of the other elements that help make a complete (and profitable) job, Profit Boost can help you achieve your blockbuster results.
Now that you have a more complete view of what a service writer is and their role fits in with your entire operation, think about how much more you could be accomplishing by taking advantage of Profit Boost’s tools, integrations, and overview of KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) for your business. Your service writer, technicians, bookkeepers, and your bottom line will all thank you for that!