Retail Observer

RETAILOBSERVER.COM JANUARY 2023 58 T he role of service manager at any appliance retailer is a difficult one. Customers, salespeople and technicians all vie for the manager's attention to solve a crisis or fix an appliance ASAP. The job entails long hours, enormous headaches and little gratitude for helping to solve service issues. Service managers are often employees who have been with a company for some time in another capacity. Having performed well, they get promoted to a manager's role and are suddenly in charge of customer satisfaction and technician performance. But who teaches them how to run a service department? Seldom is there a written job description, and there are no schools or online training courses in appliance service management. Many managers do things the way their predecessors did for lack of new ideas and outside influences. But that needn't be the case any longer. AVB BrandSource, the $24 billion-plus home goods co-op, has developed a solution for its independent dealers with the ServiceSource Institute of Service Management, or ISM. ISM is designed to help service departments rise above the competition and set a course to service profitability with BrandSource certification in service management. This ten-hour program, to be held at the upcoming Summit 2023 national show in March, will cover these topics and more: • Service financials and setting service rates based on the cost of doing business • Increasing operational service efficiencies • Technician recruitment, training, motivation and performance KPIs • Customer service training and de-escalation skills to book more calls • Service marketing, customer acquisition and responding to online reviews • Parts inventory management and warranty claims best practices Supported by Electrolux, GE, LG, Samsung and Whirlpool, ISM will also feature bestselling author and million-person trainer Jeff Toister, whose books include "The Service Culture Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting Your Employees Obsessed with Customer Service." A required 80% passing grade will ensure your service manager was paying attention and learning new skills and earned their BrandSource Service Manager Certification. The Summit itself will be held March 19-22 at Harrah's Las Vegas under the theme "Plug In," which underscores the many AVB services and solutions at dealers' disposal, and the ease with which they can be integrated into members' businesses. To that end, the show will feature a full agenda of product trainings, region meetings and education sessions, including the return of dedicated tracks for BrandSource's marketing, service, furniture and HR arms. Other highlights will include Town Halls for servicing members and home fashions dealers, a Women in Business breakfast featuring motivational speaker Marilyn Sherman, an opening-night reception featuring Las Vegas soft rock sextet The Wind Jammers, and the much- anticipated show-special Stampede and new product EXPO. Joining BrandSource for the March event will be the group's ProSource, Mega (Canada), NEAG and Intercounty affiliates. Please visit AVBevents.com for more information on Summit 2023. B U Y I N G G R O U P N E W S RO BRANDSOURCE TO OFFER SERVICE MANAGER CERTIFICATION AT SPRING SUMMIT ServiceSource's Institute of Service Management will fill an industry void AVB's senior ServiceSource lead Paul MacDonald ran his own 38-tech service business and is a past president of the UASA. He currently operates the Expert Service Program, which helps servicers run their operations more efficiently and profitably. To learn more about the new Institute for Service Management, contact Paul at (647) 500-7785 or at paul.m.macdoanld@pmdgroup.ca.

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