What does a service advisor do?
Service Advisors specialize in customer service in a car dealership or automotive shop. Acting as a front-desk representative, it is the Service Advisor's responsibility to greet clients and offer assistance, provide necessary and accurate information to customers regarding the automotive issues and needed repairs, respond to inquiries, and introduce the clients to the available mechanics. Moreover, Service Advisors must inform clients regarding the costs and warranties, keep the clients updated with the status of the repairs, coordinate with suppliers, and as well as manage the schedule of the mechanics.
Service advisor responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real service advisor resumes:
- Manage refurbishment of used vehicles and writing orders.
- Manage the refurbishment of used vehicles, writing repair orders.
- Used SQL queries to report, analyze, and manage the ongoing Y2K research progress.
- Start as a certify Mazda technician performing routine maintenance services and repairs.
- Demonstrate proficiency in hydraulic, electrical, mechanical, diesel, power and HVAC systems inspection, diagnosis and repair.
- Maintain a safe work environment through maintaining cleanliness and identifying all unsafe working conditions on the sales floor and service area.
- Aid overall dealership service department in corporate funding and customer retention by providing superior CSI scores.
- Advise customers of recommend and/or urgent repairs need - upselling service.
- Provide excellent customer service to assist customers troubleshoot IOS devices for hardware and software issues.
- Adjust hours for miss clock ins and outs in to account for timekeeping process and procedures.
- Compile work orders for tire and lube jobs and come up with solutions for customer's automotive troubles.
- Act as first contact by phone and in person for customers regarding Toyota recall work and other servicing issues.
- Handle all aspects of bookkeeping including payroll, monthly / quarterly/ yearly tax preparation, accounts payable and receivables.
- Greet customers-write up vehicles to be serviced-perform lube, battery, tire changes and courtesy checks -operate cash register -stocking
- Certify ASE C1, ordering and receiving parts, inspecting receive inventory for quality parts, stocking and organizing.
Service advisor skills and personality traits
We calculated that 8% of Service Advisors are proficient in Customer Service, Product Knowledge, and Basic Math. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Computer skills, and Customer-service skills.
We break down the percentage of Service Advisors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 8%
Conducted careful analysis of each individual automobile to provide efficient customer service Communicated and instructed technicians on particular automotive technical problems.
- Product Knowledge, 8%
Build and maintain relationships with clients to encourage repeat business by effectively identifying and resolving issues and providing extensive product knowledge.
- Basic Math, 7%
Selected highlights: Good listener Strong communicator Analytic Energetic Knowledgeable Problem solver Quality-focused Customer service Basic math ability Strong mechanical acumen
- Commercial Vehicles, 5%
Operate Medium-Duty Commercial Vehicles on Vehicle Transports.
- Work Ethic, 5%
Developed skills in minor car repair, phone conversation skills, personal conversation skills and an improved work ethic.
- CSI, 4%
Aided overall dealership service department in corporate funding and customer retention by providing superior CSI scores.
Most service advisors use their skills in "customer service," "product knowledge," and "basic math" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential service advisor responsibilities here:
Communication skills. One of the key soft skills for a service advisor to have is communication skills. You can see how this relates to what service advisors do because "customer service representatives must be able to provide clear information in writing, by phone, or in person." Additionally, a service advisor resume shows how service advisors use communication skills: "managed multiple communication phone lines while scheduling appointments and answering general inquiry questions. "
Customer-service skills. service advisors are also known for customer-service skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to service advisor responsibilities, because "representatives help companies retain customers by professionally answering questions and helping to resolve complaints." A service advisor resume example shows how customer-service skills is used in the workplace: "greet customers, scheduling service appointments and generated estimates. "
Interpersonal skills. For certain service advisor responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "interpersonal skills." The day-to-day duties of a service advisor rely on this skill, as "representatives should be able to create positive interactions with customers." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what service advisors do: "ensured the highest levels of customer service and satisfaction, applying excellent interpersonal and communications skills. "
Listening skills. A commonly-found skill in service advisor job descriptions, "listening skills" is essential to what service advisors do. Service advisor responsibilities rely on this skill because "representatives must listen carefully to ensure that they understand customers in order to assist them." You can also see how service advisor duties rely on listening skills in this resume example: "listen to customer concerns and scheduling appointments to assist in repairs. "
Patience. Another skill commonly found on service advisor job descriptions is "patience." It can come up quite often in service advisor duties, since "representatives should be patient and polite, especially when interacting with dissatisfied customers." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day service advisor responsibilities: "exhibited strong customer service by showing patience, understanding, and knowledge about various credit cards the company offers. "
The three companies that hire the most service advisors are:
- Office Depot650 service advisors jobs
- Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores440 service advisors jobs
- AutoNation321 service advisors jobs
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Compare different service advisors
Service advisor vs. Bilingual customer service
In bilingual customer service, a representative specializes in responding to calls using English or another foreign language that the customer prefers. Among their primary responsibilities include assisting customers and addressing any inquiries, concerns, or issues that they may raise. Aside from this, a representative may also recommend or sell products, process refunds or payments, and conduct surveys or polls. Furthermore, a representative needs to build rapport with customers to secure sales or create a substantial client base.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, service advisor responsibilities require skills like "commercial vehicles," "csi," "warranty claims," and "strong work ethic." Meanwhile a typical bilingual customer service has skills in areas such as "data entry," "excellent organizational," "strong computer," and "technical support." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Bilingual customer services tend to make the most money working in the insurance industry, where they earn an average salary of $33,646. In contrast, service advisors make the biggest average salary, $68,364, in the finance industry.bilingual customer services tend to reach similar levels of education than service advisors. In fact, bilingual customer services are 0.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Service advisor vs. Customer service representative
Customer service representatives are the first point of contact of the customers, acting as the frontiers of the company and help in driving customer loyalty and retention by leaving a great impression and resolving all of their concerns. They accommodate customer queries by providing useful and comprehensive information about any products or services. Some would use that as an opportunity to market and promote more sales. The most challenging issues they use to handle are customer complaints and processing of refunds and returns. They also assist in basic troubleshooting or accounts and payment setup with the use of specific guidelines or step by step procedures. At most, they help and solve customer issues on their own, but sometimes they would need support from supervisors or other departments.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real service advisor resumes. While service advisor responsibilities can utilize skills like "csi," "warranty claims," "repair process," and "approval signatures," customer service representatives use skills like "cleanliness," "pos," "data entry," and "sales floor."
On average, customer service representatives earn a lower salary than service advisors. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, customer service representatives earn the most pay in the insurance industry with an average salary of $34,074. Whereas service advisors have higher pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $68,364.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Customer service representatives tend to reach similar levels of education than service advisors. In fact, they're 0.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Service advisor vs. Customer service consultant
A customer service consultant is responsible for addressing the customers' inquiries and concerns regarding the company's services and resolving complaints to provide the best customer service and satisfaction. Customer service consultants also sell new goods and products to the customers, demonstrating features and benefits before proceeding with the orders, payment, and delivery details. They develop excellent sales pitches to attract customer to purchase items which would generate more revenue resources and profits for the business.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, service advisors are more likely to have skills like "basic math," "commercial vehicles," "work ethic," and "csi." But a customer service consultant is more likely to have skills like "strong problem-solving," "customer calls," "troubleshoot," and "customer orders."
Customer service consultants earn the best pay in the technology industry, where they command an average salary of $42,679. Service advisors earn the highest pay from the finance industry, with an average salary of $68,364.Most customer service consultants achieve a similar degree level compared to service advisors. For example, they're 1.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Service advisor vs. Customer service technician
A customer service technician is professional personnel who answers calls and helps customers address technical problems and often travels to homes or businesses in order to repair or maintain products. He/She interacts with his/her customers through phone, face to face, by email, or live chat and provides information about the products that he/she maintains. A customer service technician requires to attain a high school diploma and may need talents such as communication and listening skills.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between service advisors and customer service technicians, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a service advisor might have more use for skills like "commercial vehicles," "work ethic," "csi," and "excellent interpersonal." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of customer service technicians require skills like "math," "pathogens," "alertness," and "technical support. "
In general, customer service technicians earn the most working in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $40,109. The highest-paying industry for a service advisor is the finance industry.In general, customer service technicians hold similar degree levels compared to service advisors. Customer service technicians are 0.2% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of service advisor
Updated January 8, 2025
