The winners were singled out for their ability to meet the education needs of industry professionals through exceptional application of development, delivery and assessment training principles, the ATMC said.
The Bridgestone/Carquest program — dubbed “Troubleshooting 101” internally — is an employee training process designed to guide technicians with a standardized approach for diagnosing vehicle problems, Stacy Henry, director, education and development, Bridgestone Retail Operations, explained.
The ultimate goal of the program, she said, is to reduce, even eliminate, repeat visits for misdiagnosed problems or improper repairs. Doing this should increase customer loyalty.
“Our customers are our bosses,” she said.
The new training module includes a six-step process that guides technicians to ensure they have accurate information, provide proper diagnosis and complete the correct repairs.
“Essentially,” according to Jeff Cox, head of technician education, “we're trying to address two fundamental questions: ‘How do we document what the customers are saying?' and ‘How do we translate this to the technician?' ”
To do this, Bridgestone Retail brings counter personnel and automotive techs at each location together for a half-day training session.