The Value of a Skilled Service Advisor
Service Advisors sit at the center of everything that happens in the service department. They manage the relationship with the customer, communicate with technicians, and make sure the work gets billed and completed. They are expected to know just enough technical language to earn a customer’s trust and just enough sales skill to keep the department profitable.
When the job is done well, they build long-term loyalty. When it’s done poorly, customers don’t come back. That’s how important they are.
A good Service Advisor is a rare combination of people skills, technical knowledge, and mental stamina. They answer phones, take appointments, write repair orders, walk the shop, update customers, handle complaints, and still hit performance goals. On most days, it’s a blur from start to finish.
The difference between a weak Advisor and a great one is easy to measure. Shops with stronger Advisors tend to have higher effective labor rates, better CSI scores, and fewer comebacks. These aren’t just soft metrics—they have a direct impact on revenue and customer retention.
When a Service Advisor leaves, it often creates a ripple effect. Customers who had a good relationship with that person may follow them to another store. The service drive slows down as a replacement is trained, and productivity drops. Technicians get frustrated, customers wait longer, and phone calls go unanswered.
Replacing an experienced Advisor takes time and effort. The ramp-up period for a new hire can last several months. During that time, productivity suffers and leadership spends valuable energy on coaching and cleanup.
Retention is not just about keeping people. It’s about keeping the people who move the business forward. That’s why understanding what Service Advisors want—and what they struggle with—is essential to building a high-performing team.
Understanding the Toll of Long Hours
One of the first complaints most Advisors share—if they feel safe enough to share it—is the schedule. It’s no secret that most dealership service departments run six days a week. For Advisors, this often means working five or six days with long shifts, early mornings, and late nights.
It’s not uncommon for Advisors to work 50 to 60 hours a week. Some rotate Saturdays. Others work every weekend. There’s rarely a consistent break to reset. Over time, that kind of schedule wears people down.
Most Advisors don’t mind working hard. That’s not the issue. The issue is the lack of balance. When someone spends 11 hours on the service drive and still takes work calls on their day off, it becomes hard to maintain energy and focus.
Burnout is real in this role. And when Advisors burn out, their attitude changes. They become short with customers, distant with coworkers, and less likely to follow through. You might not notice it right away, but it shows up in lower RO averages, missed items on inspections, and a spike in customer complaints.
Some managers chalk this up to poor attitude or lack of drive, but often it’s just fatigue. People can only run at full speed for so long without rest. When rest isn’t part of the schedule, performance suffers.
One way to improve retention is to look at how schedules are built. That doesn’t mean cutting hours across the board. But it does mean finding smarter ways to rotate shifts, protect days off, and allow Advisors time to recover.
Some stores are experimenting with staggered shifts, team-based models, or alternating weekends. The goal isn’t to make the job easy—it’s to make it sustainable. A tired Advisor can’t do their best work, no matter how experienced they are.
There’s also a cost to running people too hard. When an Advisor quits from burnout, the shop loses money in the transition. The cost of hiring, onboarding, and training a replacement is much higher than making small schedule adjustments that protect people’s well-being.
Long hours may seem like a badge of honor. But in reality, they’re a leading reason why good Advisors leave. If the goal is to build a stable team, the schedule has to work for both the business and the people who run it.
Compensation That Reflects the Job’s Demands
Pay is always a factor when someone decides to leave or stay. For Service Advisors, pay plans vary widely between dealerships, and not all of them reflect the level of responsibility or effort the job requires.
Some Advisors are paid hourly. Others are paid commission. Many are on a mix of both. Regardless of the model, the most common concern is not just how much someone earns—it’s how consistent it is.
Commission-based plans can lead to strong earnings during busy months, but slow periods can be stressful. When an Advisor’s income drops because of weather, parts delays, or technician shortages, it creates pressure that they can’t control.
That kind of pressure leads to short-term thinking. Instead of focusing on customer relationships or long-term retention, Advisors feel pushed to hit numbers however they can—because their rent or mortgage depends on it.
It’s important to design compensation plans that reward performance but also provide a safety net. Some stores are moving toward base-plus-bonus models. These plans give Advisors a stable foundation with additional incentives tied to gross, CSI, or RO count.
The goal is not to limit earning potential. It’s to make the job less stressful when volume fluctuates. A good Advisor should never have to choose between doing the right thing and making their paycheck.
Another problem with pay plans is lack of clarity. If Advisors don’t understand how they’re being paid, or if their pay is constantly changing due to unexplained adjustments, trust breaks down. This creates frustration and can lead to early exits from otherwise strong employees.
Pay also needs to match the market. As technician wages go up, many Advisors are looking around and realizing their income hasn’t kept pace. If a skilled Advisor can make more money working fewer hours at a competing store, it’s only a matter of time before they make the switch.
To retain top performers, compensation must be fair, predictable, and competitive. It should encourage long-term thinking and reward behaviors that support the dealership’s goals—not just short-term sales targets.
When Advisors are paid well and paid fairly, they stay longer. They’re more motivated. They’re more likely to recommend the job to others. And they help build a stronger, more stable service department.
A Lack of Support is a Leading Cause of Turnover
It doesn’t matter how much someone makes or how flexible their schedule is—if they don’t feel supported, they won’t stay.
Support can mean different things to different people. For Advisors, it often comes down to whether their manager has their back. When a customer is upset or a technician is difficult, does leadership step in to help? Or do they leave the Advisor to clean it up alone?
Too often, Advisors feel stuck between two sides. They’re expected to make customers happy without upsetting technicians. They’re asked to hit sales targets while staying under strict policy guidelines. And when something goes wrong, they take the blame.
This creates an environment where Advisors feel isolated. They may stop asking for help or stop speaking up when they see problems—because they believe no one is listening or nothing will change.
To fix this, support must be active and visible. That means managers need to check in regularly, walk the drive, and take time to listen. It also means stepping in during tough situations to help solve problems—not just to assign blame.
One-on-one meetings are a simple way to build support. These don’t have to be long or formal. A 15-minute weekly check-in can go a long way in showing an Advisor that their input matters.
Support also means providing the tools and training needed to succeed. If an Advisor is struggling with time management, they should be coached—not criticized. If they’re overwhelmed by phones or walk-ins, then staffing or workflow needs to be addressed.
When Advisors feel supported, they become more confident. They’re more willing to take ownership of their work and more likely to stick with the job during tough periods.
Support isn’t about being soft. It’s about building a culture where people feel like they matter. When leaders show that they care, employees respond with better performance, loyalty, and teamwork.
Lack of support is one of the most common—and avoidable—reasons Advisors leave. It doesn’t cost much to fix, but it does take effort. And the return on that effort is a team that stays longer, works harder, and brings more value to the business.
Toxic Environments Drive Away Talent
Even high pay and reasonable hours won’t keep a Service Advisor in a toxic workplace. Culture matters, and when the shop becomes hostile or disrespectful, good people start looking for a way out.
Toxic environments don’t always start loud. Sometimes they creep in quietly—through gossip, finger-pointing, or a lack of accountability. Service Advisors are often on the receiving end of this behavior, especially when communication between departments breaks down.
For example, when a technician fails to flag time properly or doesn’t follow the repair order instructions, the Advisor may be blamed for the mistake. When warranty is denied or parts are delayed, the Advisor has to explain the issue to the customer—even when it wasn’t their fault.
Over time, this pattern leads to resentment. Advisors feel like they’re caught in the middle, without any backup. It creates a feeling of helplessness and frustration, which leads to burnout or quiet quitting.
Tension between technicians and Advisors is one of the most common signs of a weak culture. When these two groups don’t respect each other, the entire department suffers. Communication breaks down. Mistakes increase. Turnover follows.
The same can be said for management behavior. If managers play favorites, ignore complaints, or use intimidation to drive results, people will stop trusting leadership. They’ll show up for a paycheck, but they won’t give their best.
Changing culture starts with clear expectations. Every employee—regardless of their role—should be expected to treat others with respect. Accountability should be consistent. That means techs don’t get a free pass for yelling at Advisors just because they flag a lot of hours.
Managers need to be present and involved. That doesn’t mean micromanaging. It means walking the shop, observing interactions, and addressing issues early—before they turn into deeper problems.
Shops that retain Advisors long-term usually have one thing in common: a strong, respectful culture. People are allowed to disagree, but they do it professionally. Conflict gets resolved instead of ignored. And everyone understands that they’re working toward the same goal.
Building that kind of environment doesn’t happen by accident. It requires daily effort and consistent leadership. But the reward is a stable team that wants to stay, wants to grow, and takes pride in their work.
Training Should Be Ongoing, Not Just Orientation
Many dealerships make the mistake of thinking training is something that only happens during a new hire’s first week. A few HR videos, some shadowing on the drive, and they’re off to the races. But that’s not training—that’s survival mode.
A Service Advisor’s job is too complex to learn in a few days. The best ones are always learning. They seek out better ways to explain repairs, manage time, write accurate repair orders, and navigate warranty. And they appreciate leaders who help them grow.
Training doesn’t need to be expensive or complicated. It just needs to be consistent.
Ongoing coaching can be built into weekly or monthly meetings. Review real repair orders. Roleplay difficult conversations. Walk through missed opportunities and talk about how they could have been handled differently.
Make it normal to ask questions. Create space for Advisors to admit when they’re unsure. Some of the worst mistakes happen because someone felt too embarrassed to ask for help.
Technical knowledge is a big gap for many Advisors. They don’t need to be master techs, but they do need to understand the basics. If they can’t explain what a brake flush does or how a timing belt works, customers won’t trust them—and technicians will get frustrated.
Offering short, focused tech talks can help. Bring in a lead tech for 15 minutes once a week to explain a common repair. Break it down in simple terms. Let Advisors ask questions. Over time, this builds confidence and improves communication between departments.
Time management is another area that often gets overlooked. Service Advisors juggle calls, appointments, walk-ins, technician updates, and customer complaints—all at once. Without structure, things get missed. RO notes are incomplete. Customers feel ignored.
Teaching Advisors how to block time, prioritize tasks, and stay organized can have a huge impact. So can giving them tools—like clear job checklists or digital dashboards—that support better habits.
Mentorship is another strong training tool. Pairing new Advisors with experienced ones creates a smoother transition and builds a sense of teamwork. The key is to choose mentors who are positive, process-driven, and willing to share—not just the highest performers.
Training should also include real feedback. Advisors want to know how they’re doing, but they need more than a CSI score or gross total. They need specifics. What are they doing well? Where are they falling short? What can they do differently?
When training is seen as a regular part of the job, people improve faster. They make fewer mistakes. They feel more capable and supported. That’s what keeps them in the role—and keeps your department strong.
Recognition and Career Growth Matter
People don’t stay in jobs where they feel invisible. That’s true in every industry, but it’s especially true for Service Advisors. The work is demanding. The pressure is high. And if the only feedback they ever hear is what they did wrong, it wears them down.
Recognition doesn’t have to be loud or flashy. A simple thank you at the end of a busy day goes a long way. So does pulling someone aside to let them know they handled a tough customer well or caught a mistake that could’ve caused bigger problems.
When Advisors feel appreciated, they’re more engaged. They look for ways to improve. They share ideas. They support each other. Recognition creates momentum.
But appreciation isn’t just about praise—it’s also about growth. Advisors want to know they have a future. They want to believe that the hard work they’re doing today is leading somewhere.
If your best Advisors see no path forward, they’ll leave. They’ll go to a store that offers advancement, or they’ll switch careers entirely. That’s not a failure of the employee—it’s a missed opportunity for the business.
Career growth doesn’t always mean a jump into management. Some Advisors aren’t interested in becoming Service Managers, and that’s okay. What they need is clear communication about how they can grow within their current role—or move laterally into other positions that match their skills.
This could mean leading a team, training new hires, or taking on more complex customer issues. It could also mean setting personal goals tied to performance, customer satisfaction, or process improvement—and being rewarded for hitting them.
Having structured check-ins about career goals can help. Once or twice a year, sit down with each Advisor and talk about where they see themselves going. Ask what they enjoy most about the job, what they want to improve, and what they hope to achieve in the next 12 months.
This kind of conversation shows that leadership is invested. It builds loyalty. And it often reveals simple adjustments that can keep someone engaged instead of burned out.
When people feel seen, they stay. When they feel like they’re growing, they stay longer. And when they’re part of a culture that values effort—not just results—they give their best every day.
Start with Listening
Retention isn’t just about programs, policies, or pay plans. At its core, it’s about listening. Most Service Advisors don’t leave on a whim. They leave after months—or years—of feeling unheard.
They’ve raised concerns about unrealistic workloads, but nothing changed. They’ve asked for better communication, but no one followed up. They’ve shared ideas, but never saw action. Eventually, they stop speaking up. Then they start looking elsewhere.
That cycle can be broken by doing one simple thing: ask questions and listen closely to the answers.
One-on-one check-ins are a powerful tool. Not just for performance reviews, but for real conversations. Ask how they’re feeling. Ask what’s working. Ask what needs fixing. Then take notes—and follow up.
Don’t wait until someone is handing in their resignation to find out what they needed. Make feedback part of the regular rhythm of your department. Keep it casual, but keep it consistent.
Anonymous surveys can also be useful, especially for larger teams. Keep the questions short and relevant. Focus on hours, workload, tools, culture, and communication. Be prepared to hear things that are hard—but be open to them.
The point of listening is not just to gather complaints. It’s to identify patterns. If three Advisors mention the same scheduling issue, it’s probably not a coincidence. If feedback shows a gap in training, fix it.
Sometimes, the solutions are simple. A minor change in scheduling, a new process for parts requests, or a better way to handle customer follow-up can make a big difference.
Other times, the solution takes more work. But even then, the act of listening builds trust. It shows that leadership is paying attention and cares about creating a better work environment.
Listening also helps catch issues early. When people know they can speak up without fear, they’ll alert you to problems before they turn into turnover. That kind of open communication is priceless.
At the end of the day, Service Advisors want the same thing most people want—to be respected, heard, and supported in a job that treats them fairly.
Retention isn’t about perfection. It’s about progress. Start with listening, and the rest gets easier.
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