Much like any automobile dealership, the service department of Senchuk Ford in Estevan is an important part of the operation, and a busy area with plenty of vehicles receiving attention.
Lisa Parkin and Amber Schlingmann work at the front desk of the department, greeting customers, answering phones, taking bill payments and providing the friendly first impression associated with administrators. Parkin has been with Senchuk Ford for just over a year, while Schlingmann has worked there for nearly two years.
In addition to them, and the service manager, Senchuk’s service department has nine mechanics, and they’re great people to work with, they said.
“We all get along well. We all have the same personalities, so that helps,” said Parkin.
The service department is busy with the type of work commonly found in that area, such as rotating and installing tires, changing oil and tackling other vehicle maintenance issues.
“Anything that’s wrong with your vehicle, we can fix it,” said Parkin.
A separate auto body division also handles repairs throughout the year.
The service department is always busy, they said, and it’s particularly busy at this time of year.
“We haven’t slown down since last Christmas,” said Schlingmann. “We were steady through that, and we’ve been busy ever since.”
There are always repairs to be made to vehicles, and this is a particularly busy time of year. People want to have winter tires on their vehicle now that the snow has arrived, and there are other issues to be resolved, such as heaters that don’t work.
Once spring arrives, people want to have their all-season radials installed and their air conditioning fixed.
While it is a Ford dealership, the service department at Senchuk’s works on all makes of vehicles.
Parkin and Schlingmann enjoy dealing with the customers on a regular basis and interacting with the people they work with.
“We all get a long really well, and we all like to have fun in our day,” said Schlingmann.
The customers are very appreciative of the work that the service department provides. Parkin noted with a laugh that she once had a customer bake her a cake for her birthday.
“There are times throughout the year that we’ll have donuts and coffee dropped off, or muffins, stuff like that,” said Schlingmann.
“Especially if we sneak somebody in or help somebody out, they’ll reward us with something,” added Parkin.
