Technology has changed almost everything about the service advisor role, but it has not replaced the one thing that matters most: people. In episode 130 of Maximum Octane, Kim Hickey and Jason Patel talk with Michelle Wood, ATI’s sales and service instructor, about the myths and realities of great service advising in a world of automation and AI.
Michelle shares her journey from dealership receptionist to national trainer and explains why DVIs and automation improve efficiency but cannot replace human connection. She discusses why advisors do not need to be former technicians, why withholding information destroys trust, how great advisors read people, the interview question every owner should ask, and where to find advisor talent.
What You Will Learn
- Why service advisors do not need to be former technicians to be great communicators
- Why nobody cares “how the sausage is made”
- Why technology helps, but only if you use it
- What AI cannot do and why the human touch matters more than ever
- Customers still want to do business with people, not systems
- How great advisors read people and tailor their communication
- Why honesty about needed repairs builds trust, not fear
- The interview question every shop owner should ask
- How to find talent in everyday places
- Why trust is the ultimate investment in your advisors
Advisors Do Not Need to Be Former Technicians
Michelle opens by challenging a common belief: that great service advisors must be former technicians. Technical knowledge helps, but communication, empathy, and organization matter more. Many excellent advisors come from hospitality, retail, and customer service backgrounds.
This matters because many owners shrink their own candidate pool without realizing it. If the job posting asks for years of technical experience, people who would be naturals at the counter never apply, and the shop ends up choosing between a handful of former techs who may not enjoy talking with customers all day. Technical gaps are also easier to close than people skills. A new advisor can learn the basics of brakes, suspension, and maintenance intervals by shadowing technicians, reviewing inspections, and asking questions. Learning to stay calm with an upset customer, keep twenty tasks organized, and explain bad news kindly is much harder to teach from scratch.
Shops that hire from outside the trade often pair the new advisor with a lead technician for the first few weeks. The advisor sits in on a few diagnostic conversations, learns how the shop writes up findings, and builds a short glossary of terms customers commonly ask about. That structure lets the advisor contribute quickly while the technical knowledge catches up.
Nobody Cares How the Sausage Is Made
Around the 5 minute mark, Michelle explains that customers generally do not care “how the sausage is made.” They want to know what is wrong, why it matters, what it costs, and when their car will be ready. Advisors who drown customers in technical detail can lose them. Clear, simple explanations work better.
A useful test at the counter is whether the customer could repeat the recommendation to a spouse or coworker after hanging up. If the answer is no, the explanation was probably too technical. A simple structure works for most repairs: what we found, what it means for you, what we recommend, what it costs, and when it will be done. Photos and short videos carry the technical weight, so the advisor does not have to. Customers who want the deeper detail will ask for it, and a good advisor is happy to go there. The default, though, should be clarity and brevity, not a lesson in how a timing chain works.
Technology Helps Only If You Use It
Michelle discusses why technology helps only when it is used. Many shops invest in DVIs, texting, and online approvals but use them inconsistently. Tools deliver value when they are part of the daily process. Bruce Nation explains how to get the most from inspections in Stop Wasting Your DVIs.
Inconsistent use is often worse than no use at all. When some vehicles get a full inspection with photos and others get a quick checkbox, customers notice, and the advisor loses the ability to trust what the system shows. The fix is less about software and more about expectations. Decide which steps are required on every repair order, such as photos on every red and yellow item, a text update at a set point in the day, and a follow-up message after the visit. Then check a sample of tickets each week. Tools become habits only when someone pays attention to whether they are being used.
What AI Cannot Do
Around the 12 minute mark, Michelle explains what AI cannot do and why the human touch matters more than ever. AI can draft messages and summarize information, but it cannot read a nervous customer’s body language, sense frustration, or build a relationship. Customers still want to do business with people, not systems. The panel in Is AI Here to Fix the Automotive Industry? reaches a similar conclusion.
That does not mean advisors should ignore AI. Used well, it can take routine work off their plate: drafting appointment reminders, summarizing a long inspection into a few customer-friendly sentences, or suggesting a polite reply to a review. The time saved is best reinvested in the parts of the job only people can do, like calling a worried customer back personally or walking a first-time visitor through their estimate in the lobby. Shops get into trouble when they let automation replace those moments instead of protecting them. A customer who receives three automated texts and never hears a human voice may feel processed rather than cared for.
Reading People and Tailoring Communication
Michelle describes how great advisors read people and adjust their communication. Some customers want detail. Others want a quick summary. Some decide fast, and others need time. Understanding these differences helps advisors connect. Tools like the DiSC assessment help people understand communication styles, and ATI’s Unveiling the Secrets of Buying Personalities applies this to sales.
On the shop floor, reading people often comes down to listening more than talking in the first minute. How a customer describes the problem, the questions they ask, and even how quickly they speak offer clues. A customer who opens with “just tell me what it costs” probably wants the bottom line first. A customer who asks how the part works may appreciate a photo and a little more explanation. Advisors can practice this by role-playing common customer types during team meetings and by reviewing recorded calls together. Over time, adapting becomes second nature rather than a script.
Honesty Builds Trust
Around the 20 minute mark, Michelle explains why being honest about needed repairs builds trust rather than fear. Some advisors withhold information to avoid “scaring” customers. That backfires when customers later learn about problems they were not told about. Honest, prioritized recommendations show respect and earn loyalty.
Prioritizing is what keeps honesty from feeling overwhelming. Instead of handing over a long list of findings, strong advisors sort them by safety, by what prevents a bigger expense soon, and by what can be monitored. The customer stays in control of the decision, and nothing important is hidden. Documenting declined work on the repair order and in the customer’s history also matters. It protects the shop, gives the advisor a natural reason to follow up later, and reminds the customer that the shop was upfront from the start.
The Interview Question Every Owner Should Ask
Michelle shares the interview question she believes every shop owner should ask when hiring advisors. Listen for it in the episode. She also explains how to find talent in everyday places, such as restaurants, hotels, and retail stores, where people already practice customer service.
ATI’s How to Find Quality Service Advisors offers additional guidance.
Trust Is the Ultimate Investment
Michelle closes by calling trust the ultimate investment in your advisors. Investing in their training, giving them authority, and supporting their growth builds advisors who do more than sell repairs. They build relationships that last.
What This Means for Shop Owners
Owners shape advisor performance more than they often realize. Advisors tend to mirror the priorities the owner sets, so if the only number discussed in meetings is sales, advisors may start pushing rather than advising. Balancing that conversation with customer feedback, review comments, and how well inspections are documented sends a clearer message about what great looks like. It is also worth looking at workload. An advisor juggling too many cars at once will cut corners on communication no matter how talented they are.
Ongoing training is the other lever. Advisors who receive regular coaching on phone skills, presenting estimates, and handling objections improve faster and stay longer. ATI’s article on whether service advisor training is worth it explores that investment. For owners still building the team, ATI’s list of successful hiring interview questions is a helpful starting point alongside the question discussed in the episode.
Service Advisor Development Ideas
- Look beyond the automotive industry for advisor candidates.
- Train advisors to explain repairs in simple, customer-focused language.
- Make sure every technology tool is used consistently.
- Coach advisors to share all findings honestly and prioritize them clearly.
For more on great service advising, listen to Brittany Schindler in Treating Every Internal Customer as a Leader and Jodi and Darren Knepper in Hire the Right Service Advisor and Level Up Your Auto Repair Shop.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a service advisor need to be a mechanic?
No. Technical knowledge is helpful, but it is not the most important skill for a service advisor. Communication, empathy, organization, and the ability to stay calm under pressure matter more, and those skills are often found in people with hospitality, retail, or customer service backgrounds. A new advisor can learn vehicle basics on the job by working closely with technicians, reviewing digital inspections, and asking questions. Many shops find that a strong communicator with a willingness to learn outperforms a former technician who does not enjoy working with customers.
Will AI replace service advisors in auto repair shops?
It is unlikely. AI can draft messages, summarize inspections, and handle simple scheduling tasks, which saves advisors time. What it cannot do well is read a nervous customer, sense frustration in a voice, build a long-term relationship, or make judgment calls about how to deliver difficult news. Customers still prefer to do business with people they trust. The most effective approach is to let technology handle repetitive work so advisors have more time for the personal conversations that build loyalty.
How should a service advisor explain repairs to customers?
Keep it simple and focused on the customer. Explain what was found, why it matters to their safety or budget, what you recommend, what it costs, and when the car will be ready. Use photos or video from the inspection to show the problem instead of relying on technical terms. Prioritize recommendations so the customer knows what needs attention now and what can wait. If a customer wants more detail, provide it, but start with a clear summary they could easily repeat to someone else.
Where can I find good service advisor candidates?
Look at people who already practice customer service every day. Restaurant servers, hotel front desk staff, retail associates, and bank tellers handle demanding customers, multitask, and communicate clearly. When you meet someone who gives you great service, consider whether they might fit your counter. Shops can also ask their current team for referrals and promote the role on social media with a description that emphasizes communication and growth rather than technical experience. Then provide structured training to teach the automotive side.
Is it better to tell customers about every problem found during an inspection?
Yes, as long as the findings are prioritized. Withholding information to avoid scaring customers usually backfires when they learn about the problem later, often at a worse time or from another shop. Sharing everything, sorted by urgency, shows respect and lets the customer make an informed decision. Documenting any declined work also protects the shop and creates a natural reason to follow up. Honest, organized recommendations tend to build trust and repeat business rather than fear.
Resources and Links From This Episode
Connect With the Guests
- Michelle Wood: LinkedIn
