How Long Should It Take To Make Reconditioning Decisions?

I received the below question from a Velocity dealer.  My answer follows.

Dale,

Random question but one of my used car managers takes 1, 2, 3+ days to make decisions on work that needs to be done in the shop. We end up checking out vehicles, waiting for a decision, and then doing the work. Sure, sometimes the Used Car Dept. wants a better price or cheaper/different parts, but we may check out 10 cars in a row and put them all outside waiting for decisions. Is it reasonable for a decision to be made when the vehicle is up on the lift or, at the very least, within the day?

We follow the progress of our used cars with a spreadsheet that my service manager sends out 2-4 times/day updating all departments where we are.

C:

Wonderful question, and the answer is, yes, yes, yes. You must find a way to make these final reconditioning decisions faster. I know exactly the condition of which you speak. Where cars go up on the rack, come down, go outside, wait for manager approval, back up on the rack, etc., etc., etc. This is absolutely wasted time that you can no longer afford. Devise a way to get the decisions made while the vehicle is still in the air and get on with the next one. As usual, you’ve put your finger on a key Velocity issue.  Good work.