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Clocking In: Making Labor Hours Count
By Mark Boswell
Many dealerships are losing more labor hours than they realize.
Not every dealership service department looks the same right now. Some are still busy. Some are steady. Some are noticeably softer than they were a year or two ago. Some technicians are working through full schedules, while others are waiting longer between repair orders.
That is the reality of today’s RV market.
But regardless of volume, one thing remains true: Every labor hour matters more now.
When demand is strong, inefficiency often hides. Volume covers mistakes. Full schedules create momentum. Operational friction becomes easier to tolerate.
But softer or unpredictable markets expose something dealerships can no longer afford to ignore: Labor hours the dealership pays for but never bills.
Many dealerships are losing more of those hours than they realize because labor leakage rarely announces itself. It hides inside daily workflow:
- A technician waiting on parts
- A technician waiting on approval
- An incomplete repair order
- A service adviser buried in update calls
- A dispatch decision delayed
- A customer authorization that takes longer than expected
- A technician ready to work but with no properly prepared repair order ready to enter the bay
In a busy department, those moments quietly reduce productivity. In a slower department, they magnify underutilized labor. Different circumstances — the same financial problem: Paid time that never becomes billed time.
That matters in every market. But especially this one.
Today’s environment leaves dealerships with far less room for operational waste. Margins feel tighter. Consumers are more selective. Operating costs remain elevated. Every productive labor hour carries greater value.
Yet many dealerships still confuse activity with performance. The shop feels busy. Phones are ringing. Advisers are moving. Managers are solving problems. Technicians rarely stop working.
But activity and productivity are not the same thing.
A technician can stay in motion all day and still produce disappointing billed hours. A department can feel overwhelmed while quietly underperforming financially. A full schedule can still hide significant labor leakage.
The most expensive labor problem inside many dealerships is often invisible. Ten minutes waiting on an approval. Five minutes locating a part. A repair order missing information. An unnecessary interruption. A technician searching for the next job instead of performing one.
Individually, none of those moments seem significant. Collectively, they become one of the largest hidden expenses inside fixed operations. Especially when markets soften.
During stronger years, dealerships could often absorb those losses without fully realizing it. Volume helped cover workflow breakdowns. Backlogs hid inefficiency. Lost labor opportunities felt replaceable.
Today’s market is much less forgiving. This is why fixed operations must operate with greater discipline than ever before.
Not because every dealership is overloaded. And not because every dealership is slow. Because every dealership has less room for preventable waste.
For busier stores, the challenge is removing friction before it slows technician productivity.
For slower stores, the challenge is converting every available labor opportunity into productive billed work.
Both require the same thing: Operational discipline.
The strongest dealerships understand something many others miss: The goal is not simply keeping technicians busy, the goal is protecting technician productivity.
Those are two very different conversations.
A technician can appear fully occupied while productive capacity quietly disappears. A dealership can believe it has a staffing problem when the real issue is workflow.
Because dealership profitability rarely disappears all at once. It leaks. One delayed approval. One missing part. One incomplete repair order. One preventable interruption. One technician waiting when productive work should already be ready.
Repeated hundreds of times throughout the year, those small moments can become significant financial losses. Especially in markets like today’s.
The dealerships that outperform during uncertain markets will not necessarily be the busiest. They will be the most disciplined.
The ones that know exactly where technician time is going. The ones that reduce friction before it becomes lost labor. The ones that stop measuring busyness and start measuring productivity.
Because whether your service department is full, steady or softer than expected, the question remains the same: How many labor hours is your dealership paying for that never become billed revenue?
For many dealerships, the answer is uncomfortable.
Because in today’s market, every labor hour matters.
And the labor hours your dealership never bills — but still pays for — may be costing far more than anyone realizes.
Mark Boswell is founder and CEO of Crossroads of America Consulting LLC. He has more than 30 years of experience working inside RV and marine dealership fixed operations, including on-site consulting work across dealerships nationwide. His background includes service, parts and warranty operations, with a focus on operational discipline, documentation accuracy and leadership accountability.
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