Fixed Ops Journal - October 2019 - F14

FIXED OPS JOURNAL

SPECIAL REPORT

BATTLING 'DEALERSHIP' STIGMA

Dealers tout price, convenience to compete with aftermarket on express service

foj@autonews.com

ew-vehicle dealerships are grabbing a bigger share of express service business from aftermarket providers, research suggests. Greater
attention by dealerships to quick service and
the people who deliver it has helped immensely, dealers and analysts say.
But dealership service departments still
must convince many consumers that their express service is no more expensive than, and
just as convenient as, what their aftermarket
competitors offer.
"The biggest thing we have to overcome is
the stigma of going to a dealership," says
Frank Suarez, general manager of Acura of
Thousand Oaks in suburban Los Angeles.
"The assumption is [dealerships] charge more
and they are going to rip
you off."
A Cox Automotive study
last year of the service industry reported that maintenance visits to dealerships had risen 4 percentage points since 2015, to 34
percent of all such visits. In
the same period, visits to
Foutz: Dealer
"quick
lube" stores fell by 3
prices in line
points, to 13 percent.
Service departments at franchised dealerships are "actually very competitive" on prices for express work such as oil changes, David
Foutz, vice president of sales for Cox Automotive's Xtime, Dealertrack and Kelley Blue
Book, told Fixed Ops Journal.
"The answer is transparent pricing" of dealership quick service, Foutz says.
Acura of Thousand Oaks in suburban Los
Angeles uses direct mail, email blasts and its
website to advertise deals such as an oil
change with synthetic oil and a tire rotation for
$69.95. Those services are priced comparably
to what competitors, including independent
and chain stores, charge in the market.
The promotion is an element of the Acura
Accelerated Service program, which guarantees express service at its dealerships in 30
minutes or less, or under an hour with a wash
and vacuuming. No appointment is necessary and the program serves all makes and
models.
Express service is "extremely important" to
his dealership's profitability, Suarez says.

PAGE 14

Chuck Kriger,
left, and Frank
Suarez oversee
a quick-service
operation at
Acura of
Thousand Oaks
that they say
generates
profits and work
for the main
shop.

ALYSHA WEBB

OCTOBER 2019

ALYSHA WEBB

Express process

Consulting firm Service Operations
Specialists offers dealerships these
recommendations for maintaining
successful express service:
 Don't require an appointment.
 Streamline customer reception.
 Keep vehicles moving - don't park
them and then bring them back to
the express lane.
 Dedicate at least 1 service adviser
to the quick lane.
 Dedicate teams of 2 technicians to
express service.
 Coordinate express techs' duties.
 Depending on sales volume,
designate at least 1 bay for express
service.
 Keep parts in the bay.
 Streamline express customers'
billing.
 Provide a customized multipoint
inspection form and specific script
for express lane advisers to use with
customers.

"People appreciate the fact they can come in
and get out and not spend the rest of their day
just to get an oil change," he says.
Maintenance jobs account for about 65 percent of the dealership's service work, and repairs about 35 percent, says Service Manager

Chuck Kriger. The "lion's share" of maintenance work goes through the accelerated service lane, he adds.

Beat the clock
Completing quick service in the advertised
time is crucial to winning customers' trust and
future business, the Cox report suggests. The
study's survey of consumers concluded that
their chief source of frustration with dealership
service is that it took longer than expected.
By contrast, aftermarket express service
stores compete mainly on convenience, says
Brett Coker, an industry consultant in Pensacola, Fla., who works with independent service
providers as well as dealerships.
Keeping waiting times down for quick service can help dealerships stay competitive,
Coker says.
Brandon Honda in Tampa, Fla., seeks to do
just that. This year, it opened what it calls a
Honda-certified express lube center. The
dealership increased the number of express
bays to 13 from three, enabling it to complete
an oil change - including a car wash - in as
little as 11 minutes, says Service Manager Rachel Van Hart.
"We have virtually no wait," Van Hart says.
The dealership advertises "one-hour or free"
oil changes to attract business. It has had to
give away just 10 changes since February, Van
Hart says. Brandon Honda averages 2,500 oil
changes a month, she notes.
The dealership's prices for express service
see EXPRESS, next page

Fixed Ops Journal - October 2019

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