Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - 35
FIXED OPS JOURNAL
TRIUMPH'S LESSONS
Vintage car care suggests what future of service should look like
New business opportunities
It looks as if we're going to live in a world where electric vehicles will
require far less maintenance, fewer customer-pay dollars will be available
for fixed ops and profits will be thin on the sale of new vehicles.
Doesn't sound like a recipe for prosperity, does it? But I look at these
changes as an opportunity.
If I were designing the service department of the future, I would look
at where customers spend money on their vehicles away from my
dealership: tire services, detail shops such as Motor City, fast oil change
joints. I would not give a customer an excuse to go elsewhere for
anything.
Some dealerships, such as Bobby Rahal Acura in Mechanicsburg, Pa.,
prominently feature services more associated with the aftermarket,
such as detailing. But an oil change there takes at least an hour and
requires an appointment, so competing quick-lube businesses still
have the advantage.
Another dealership I checked with, Orange Buick-GMC in Orlando,
offers detailing for $149 that is fairly thorough. But good luck finding
any information about it on the store's website.
Same thing at Starling Chevrolet-Cadillac in DeLand, Fla., near the
Orange dealership. Detailing is on Starling's menu of services, but not
on its website with prices and the list of items that are cleaned. An oil
change there takes at least an hour and requires an appointment.
The cover story of this issue of Fixed Ops Journal is about Motorcars
Honda, an innovative dealership in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. It's
RICHARD TRUETT
I
'm restoring a classic Triumph sports
car, a 1981 TR8. Recently, I took its
original, factory-molded carpet to an
outfit called Motor City AutoSpa, in
the Detroit suburb of Royal Oak, to see
whether the shop could give it a good,
professional cleaning.
I drive by the business, in an old service
station, frequently. There's always a long
line of cars in the lot waiting for detailing,
although the business doesn't advertise. I
RICHARD
was astonished to learn that the eightTRUETT
person shop is booked three months in
Fixed Ops Journal
advance for most of the year.
"I probably lose six customers a day on
the phone because they don't want to wait," says Matt Lifter, Motor
City's owner. Lifter told me his customers rarely, if ever, take their cars
to the dealer for detail work and cleaning, and he doesn't consider
dealers to be competition.
Many of the stories in Fixed Ops Journal are, to me, like pieces of a
puzzle. The service and parts professionals and companies we write
about, including independents such as Motor City, are doing
innovative things to boost customer retention and profits.
And as I fit the pieces together, a fuller picture of the future of service
is taking shape in my mind.
TR8's restoration led to thoughts about how service must change
perfecting a system that dramatically reduces the time it takes to
change oil. Before your car even gets to the oil change techs, its tire
treads have been read, and the alignment has been checked.
You don't need an appointment for quick service at Motorcars.
Although I know appointments help fixed ops managers run their
businesses more efficiently, I think they are a detriment to oil changes.
Future shop
My imaginary service department of the future looks and works like this:
I aggressively advertise and compete on price with independent
garages and tire stores. Oil changes don't require an appointment,
they're done in a half-hour or less, and I take any brand of car, any year.
Dealer Tire is my tire vendor. Its programs help fixed ops managers
competitively sell tires in their markets, and it makes quick deliveries.
I outfit my shop with Hunter wheel alignment and tire-changing
equipment. Hunter machines, designed for speed and reduced
technician labor, are extremely cost-effective if used properly. I might
not make much on the sale of new tires, but the alignments I sell are
almost pure profit.
To attract the best service technicians and reduce turnover, I
provide a full, paid-for toolbox that becomes the property of the tech
after seven years of service.
My shop offers a first-rate detail business that caters to all brands of
cars and trucks. A special lease turn-in detail service rectifies minor
cosmetic defects, scrubs the carpets and gets the vehicle ready for its
end-of-lease inspection. Since I already have most of the detail
equipment and staff on hand to prepare new and used cars for sale, the
investment is minimal.
For my customers' convenience, my shop would be open seven
days a week, including 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays. I have a loaner fleet
for customers whose vehicles need to stay in the shop longer than
three hours or so.
Motor City AutoSpa was happy to clean the carpet in my car. It came
back smelling fresh and looking new.
I never even thought of going to a new-car dealership's service
department. But maybe someday, on a future restoration project, I will.
You may email Richard Truett at rtruett@crain.com.
FEBRUARY 2018
PAGE 35
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018
Contents
Editor’s Letter
Service Counter
Legal Lane
Jim Roche
Assembly line
Need for speed
Overcoming hurdles
Coupon clippers
Future market
Saab story
Feedback
Remote start
Richard Truett
Loaner management
Machine learning
Augmented reality
Letters
Shop Talk
Service benefit
Fixed in Time
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - Intro
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - Cover2
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - Contents
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - Editor’s Letter
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - 5
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - Service Counter
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - 7
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - Legal Lane
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - 9
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - 10
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - Jim Roche
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - Assembly line
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - 13
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - 14
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - 15
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - 16
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - 17
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - 18
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - 19
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - 20
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - 21
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - Need for speed
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - 23
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - 24
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - 25
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - Overcoming hurdles
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - 27
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - Coupon clippers
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - 29
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - Future market
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - 31
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - Saab story
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - Feedback
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - Remote start
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - Richard Truett
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - Loaner management
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - 37
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - Machine learning
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - 39
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - Augmented reality
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - 41
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - Letters
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - 43
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - Shop Talk
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - Service benefit
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - Fixed in Time
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - Cover3
Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - Cover4
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