Any service managers or ex service mangers?

My experience from Motorcycle World, and I'm assuming you're running a car shop and not a sawmill or dildo factory:

Our bonus was done bi-weekly and paid monthly, always on Saturday. They can't call in or come in hungover if the shop is closed the day after. You like watching a service shop run half-staffed on the busiest days of the summer? Pay 'em extra on Friday.

The easiest way to do bonuses? Go to flat rate and wipe your *** with the rest of it. I say that because the easiest way to handle WIP is to get the flat-rate time, and figure their flag time. If you're going to that trouble....just go flat rate.

Do you track comebacks and yo-yo's? If you don't, you will be.
Do those go back to the guy that worked on them, or someone above them? The only way to impact the bonus is to make sure the original tech worked on it, and your customers will NOT like that. Stick it to the tech up the ladder, and they won't like it. Bonus both techs, and YOU won't like it.
Also, be prepared to have your customers talk about how un-thorough your shop is. It won't take long for your techs to figure out that if it isn't on the work order, it's not on the work order.
Note: Upselling is not on the work order.

How about your electrical diagnostics jobs/people? They're going to get screwed on this deal, for doing you the favor of taking on the hardest jobs in the shop.
The oil change and 10,000 mile service guys will love you. You'd think they were running concentration camps in their spare time, they'll be so efficient.

Get ready for the bitching. Oh. My. God. The bitching. You'll get one guy in the shop that can't accept that his poor performance is the reason he isn't living in a mansion surrounded by strawberry fields, and next thing you know, they'll all be wanting to unionize because you don't have hot Latina's offering blowjobs at the water fountain and didn't give them NASCAR pit crew jacks for airing up tires.

Also, do you own the shop or are you the service manager? If you're the owner, are you ready for the service manager to get fired? Because it won't take him long to figure out that the techs won't bother to look up flat rates, and you can't be bothered to run the numbers. Next thing you know, he's telling you that his techs are maxing out bonuses even when they're on the shitter, and he's telling the techs that they hit 80%. Guess where the 20% goes? Cookie!


Long story short, either pay them so poorly that they can't afford to feed their kids or afford new clothes or time off for job interviews, or pay them well, based on their skill level, training, and attention to detail. Then train your service advisors to route the work accordingly.


Side note related to above:
My shop once decided to have porters perform test-rides in order to keep the techs at their benches tech'ing more. I was still a tech and I protested the problem, explained that porters are not techs and don't know what the original issue was, aren't trained or paid to diagnose (or verify a repair), and often don't know when a car only has three wheels and a malfunctioning windshield wiper. Watch a true tech when he drives a car, any car...He's (or she's) diddling the wiper knob like it's going to college for liberal arts. He's noticing that the oil light isn't on when the engine is off. He's growling about shooting up a school because the mirror won't stay adjusted. Etc. etc. Techs have expectations. Porters have brain amoebas.

Techs loved the idea. More Bonuses!!!
Porters loved the idea. More joy rides!!!

The porters started test-riding the bikes and low and behold, our comeback rate went from 5% to 50% immediately. Well, all except mine.
Why?
I had told 'em they would have to fire me (because they threatened to), I'm not sending someone out on a bike I couldn't vouch for myself.

Guess who never got recognized for their zero-comeback rate?

That policy lasted three weeks.