Fixed Ops Journal - April 2020 - F4

FIXED OPS JOURNAL

EDITOR'S LETTER

A LIGHT IN THE DARK

Fixed ops prove essential as dealerships fight to survive during pandemic
fixed ops was the breadwinner in the family.
That importance may never be more apparent than right now. As
dealership consultant Rob Gehring put it: "Fixed operations have once
again become critical to the survival of car dealerships."
Many U.S. governors have signed stay-at-home orders to curb the
spread of COVID-19, allowing only "essential" businesses to remain
open. For most states, this means no vehicle sales at dealerships. But
service departments could still operate to keep ambulances, cars of first
responders and the vehicles of health care workers, among others,
properly maintained.
To Gehring, this all is reminiscent of the 2008-09 Great Recession,
when fixed ops departments helped dealerships survive. Gehring says
dealerships will make it through this
pandemic as well. "It will be
challenging but survivable," he says.
And when it's all over, Gehring says
dealership owners will once again
declare: "Wow, this fixed ops thing
isn't such a bad way to make a living."

Taking advantage

DAN
SHINE

A

little more than a month ago, I was
in a Phoenix-area hotel
conference room with about a
dozen service managers and
dan.shine@crain.com
directors from around the
Fixed Ops Journal
country listening as they shared best
editor
practices from their dealerships. They
discussed big issues such as effective labor
rates and leveraging the latest technology to improve customer service,
and smaller things such as saving a few bucks here and there on shop
supplies.
At the time, the coronavirus was just beginning to gain widespread
notice but had not affected operations at any of their dealerships. It was
not top of mind for most of the participants. There were no parts
shortages from China, they told me, and customers were still showing
up for repairs and maintenance.
In the weeks since, as the pandemic brought the auto industry and
car dealerships to their knees, my thoughts often returned to that group
in Arizona as I wondered how they were coping. I have heard from a
few of them who have told me in anguished tones of having to furlough
employees and trying to keep operations going with a limited crew.
When I interviewed to be editor of Fixed Ops Journal in December,
everyone I spoke to emphasized how vital the service, parts and body
departments were at a dealership. The sales staff at the front of the store
may be the favored child and get all the attention, they told me, but

PAGE 4

APRIL 2020

While the
coronavirus crisis
has made things
difficult for
everyone in the
fixed ops
departments, it
also presents
opportunities.

While the coronavirus crisis has
made things difficult for everyone in
the fixed ops departments, it also
presents opportunities. That was the
message of NADA Academy
instructors Bob Atwood and Larry
Hourcle during a webinar aimed at
service managers and directors. The
crisis was a chance to innovate, to be
creative, to launch something they had been considering but didn't
have the time or courage to try.
"It is a great time to do amazing things in fixed operations by showing
customers the true difference between yourselves and the
competition," Atwood told the webinar audience.
I look forward to hopefully getting together with the Arizona group at
their next meeting in the fall to hear all the new and wonderful things
they did at their dealerships.
The coronavirus pandemic also has shined a light on the people who
often go through everyday life in the shadows, invisible and
unrecognized. This includes the grocery store clerks and cashiers, the
parcel delivery drivers and health care workers.
At a dealership, these unsung heroes would include the service
advisers, the parts runners and the technicians. The fate of many
dealerships now rests on the shoulders of these people, who often are
overlooked and overshadowed by sales and the front of the store.
"Service is the backbone of the dealership. It's not the back end,"
Atwood says.
"Most of your states have said the service department is an essential
business. It is essential to the U.S. economy."
Fixed Ops Journal - April 2020

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