The selection criterion screen permits you to pick a very extensive, or limited, list of clients for followup correspondence. You may use any, or all, of the criterion for selection.
The system will only use those fields in which you enter data. All others will be ignored. It is not necessary to enter data in all fields, nor must you specify a beginning AND ending date. Only those fields which are specific to your needs must be provided with data. For example, by entering a beginning date, without an ending one specified, will mean all records which have a date at, or beyond, the beginning date will be chosen. If you wanted to send letters to someone who had a unit last serviced between March 30, 1990, and today, you would only need to enter 03/30/90 in the beginning date field.
The system is divided into five major areas, and each has its own criterion. All, however, can output postcards, labels, or letters. The groups include service unit, customer, type of service, recommendations, and Preventative Maintenance.
On the data entry screen, you will see dividing lines, and a "radio control" on the left side of each section. Simply select the radio button for the type of selection, then fill in the data as described below.
You may send letters, emails, labels, postcards, print a listing, or create a merge file. You can also run dual options, so you could run letters, then print labels for the envelopes, and then run the listing for a hard copy of who you contacted, all without re-entering the selection criterion. Also, you can send emails to the selection, and then select letters. You will be asked if you want to skip emails, and if you answer Yes, then you will print letters for people who do not have email addresses in the system. This will cut your postage costs, and yet you can be sure to reach all of your clients.
Selecting by unit
Selecting records by unit information enables the manager to send followups based on the unit type, last service, or pending inspection. This information is all tracked within the unit file, and any combination of selection criterion may be used. The unit option will be most useful when you wish to communicate based on the need for service based on history. These letters will be very specific, and will most often be used for keeping clients on a regular schedule of visits.
• Date of last service - The system will review all units, and select only those whose date of last service matches the criterion you have selected. For example, if you wish to select all units whose last serviced between 11/01/89 and 11/15/89, enter 11/01/89 as the beginning, and 11/15/89 as the ending dates. If you wish only units whose date of service was before 06/01/89, enter this date in the ending field, and leave the beginning field blank. If you leave both fields blank, date will not be a selecting feature.
• Date of next inspection - The Date of Next Inspection fields work just like the Date of Last Service. However, this criterion looks directly at the Inspection date. If you state has periodic services, ie. annual certifications, you would track the due date in this field. (See previous discussion) To filter reports on this field, follow the procedures in the previous discussion on service dates.
• Mileage at last service - The system will review all units, and select only those whose mileage at the last service matches the criterion you have selected. For example, if you wish to select all units whose mileage at last service was between 50,000 and 60,000, enter 50,000 as the beginning, and 60,000 as the ending mileage. If you wish only units whose mileage at last service was less than 12,000, enter this amount in the ending field, and leave the beginning field blank. If you leave both fields blank, mileage will not be a selecting feature.
• Unit - The computer will select records that match any data you put into the unit year, make, and/or model. Adding information into any, or all, of these fields will limit the number of records chosen to those with an exact match. You may leave any, or all, fields blank.
Selecting by Clients
Sometimes you will want to communicate with all of your clients, reminding them of 'general service information.' A very effective tool is the Shop Newsletter. There are two formats. One is a cover letter, and then a simple text of hints, techniques, and reminders. The text would be massed reproduced, while the cover letter would be run by the The Auto Shop Writer system. The other type of newsletter is the professionally prepared document, which contains articles, tips, and professional advice. In this case, you would use the Auto Shop Writer to run labels for mailing.
*** SPECIAL NOTE *** You have invested a lot of time, money, and energy developing expertise in your field. You can turn that into money by sharing it with your clients. The more they see your knowledge in action, through a newsletter for example, the greater your professional image becomes in their mind. Show them that you know your business.
To communicate, using the client selection, you may filter records by the name, zipcode, or rating. The system will ask for the beginning, and ending range of the name. It is important to fill all three spaces. Remember that spaces count, and they come before letters. Therefore, if you entered A as the first letter, you would obtain everything that started with the letter A. However, if your final letter was Z, you would actually not get all of the Z's because Z-space-space comes before the letter ZA. Therefore, it would be necessary to enter the final value as ZZZ. To run all clients, A to C, enter AAA as the beginning, and CZZ as the end. Clients may also be selected by the zipcode of their residence. The system will find all zipcodes that match. You may enter a five digit code, and the system will find all matches, regardless of the last four digits, or you may enter the full nine digit code for exact matches. Finally, you may enter a rating code, and all clients with a match will be selected. Because the codes are not necessarily sequential, or related, they must be specified individually rather then by a range.
Selecting by Previous Recommendations
Letters may be sent based on recommendation codes that have been used. The Auto Shop Writer will mark off any recommendations that have been completed, unless they are written as blank lines.
This report does not work on blank lines, so the letters that will be generated are strictly for work that has been recommended, but not completed. It may be assumed that recommendations made many months ago may have been accomplished at another facility. Therefore, the system will allow a "search back" date limit. This means that the system will only review records since the earliest date to be included.
This selection method prints cards, letters, and labels like the others. It is most appropriate to use for clients where you want to be sure to follow up on specific jobs that should be accomplished. Because it works on codes, and not free form recommendations, it is suggested that your glossary include a wide range of suggested services.
Selecting by Type of Service Performed
The service selection works in a manner similar to the recommendations criteria. The system looks for matches on specified services, and sends reminders that they need to be performed again. This is quite effective with periodic services, ie. oil changes, tune ups, and safety checks. Simply enter the labor code you wish to match, taken from the glossary, and the date range during which the service would have been originally provided. The system can then print the follow ups to clients based on these criterion.
Selecting by Preventative Maintenance Items Due
Because the P/M Scheduler tracks up to 8 repetitive services per unit, it is a natural means by which to follow up with clients. It alerts them that work will soon need to be performed on their unit.
The P/M follow up is extremely sophisticated, and automatic. It uses a predefined printout format, and inserts text as appropriate. It will evaluate each unit in the system that is being tracked on a schedule, not just a selection, and print letters to all of them. If you use the P/M Scheduler with most, or all, of your clients, you may wish to run this report at night. However, if you only use it on a small selection of units, it will run quickly at any time. Only those units with an attached schedule will qualify for this report.
In addition, you will find that other information, of value to your client, will be printed on the letter. This makes the system appear to be "diagnostic" in nature. It is suggested that these reports be run on a monthly basis, and mailed to your clients.
To remove clients from this list, you must remove them from the P/M tracking program. This is described later in this chapter.