Fixed Ops Journal - August 2021 - F24

FIXED OPS JOURNAL
PART 1: FIXED OPS JOURNAL FORUM
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The fi fth and fi nal session of the
Fixed Ops Journal Forum airs Aug. 10
at 2 p.m. EDT. You can fi nd and replay
all of the sessions at autonews.com/
fojforum.
GREAT EXPECTATIONS
Service departments change to meet customers' evolving needs
W
hat is driving consumer behavior
nearly 18 months after the
start of the pandemic? What
strategies are best for meeting
customers' changing needs?
A panel of service department experts tackled
those questions and others during the fi rst installment
of the 2021 Fixed Ops Journal Forum.
Panelists were: Joey Bonilla, service director
at Passport Automotive Group in Suitland, Md. ;
Zach Brandt, general manager at Capitol Ford
in Santa Fe, N.M.; Mike Murphy, general manager
at Buerkle Acura in Minneapolis ; and Glen
Reed, fi xed ops director at Patriot Subaru in Saco,
Maine.
Here are edited highlights on:

How customers' behavior and expectations
have changed since the pandemic
Bonilla: We're wiping the cars down, and
we're doing precautionary measures to make
sure they stay safe. Th at's been one thing that
people have complained about. Th ey don't
think it's up to par.
So we've made some adjustments. Same
thing with wearing masks. We've had quite a
few complaints at stores where they'll say they
saw an employee with their mask below their
face. But they do like to be communicated
more via text. Our online payments have gone
up tremendously. So some of the adjustments
that we've made have actually helped us become
better.
Murphy: A lot of people are changing. I think
they're driving decisions. I think we're having
additional cars being added to the families instead
of ride-share service. I think we've had a
lot of delayed services that are testing our service
department. It's been very, very busy.
We've had to make a lot of adjustments to our
business model to kind of stay with what the
consumer demands are.
Reed: We got rid of all the [display] cars on
the pad and replaced those with patio sets
and chairs and awnings and things. And customers
really have liked that.
It's allowed us to take some of the congestion
in the waiting room. But in the winter
months ... if the waiting room was getting full
and we were trying to keep everyone spaced
out, we'd off er a loaner vehicle - even if they
weren't going anywhere with the car - to alPAGE
24 AUGUST 2021
Panelists said their dealerships have had to adjust during the pandemic. " We can no longer
require people to do business the way that we want them to do business, " said Glen Reed.
low them to go out . ... Just use that as kind of
like a remote offi ce. Th ey could still hit the WiFi
at our dealership [and] run the radio. Th ey
could just stay warm.
Brandt: Th e biggest area of growth for us was
our mobile service. So we were a part of a pilot
with Ford Motor Co. and mobile service vans.
We have ordered our second van, and that
was probably our biggest area of success
during the pandemic - our service to you. Oil
changes, recalls especially.
We keep the truck busy three days out of the
week, specifi cally taking care of customers
and our fl eets.

How to ensure the highest level of customer
service every day
Bonilla: We just stick to the basics. We have
an experience meeting once a week with our
customer experience manager. We're trying to
maintain that high level of customer experience,
hold people accountable - but just do
consistency. I mean, that's the best that we
can do with the consistency.
Brandt: Th e biggest thing for us right now is
communication. If I write 100 hours, about 20
of them have issues with backorder parts. Th e
key for us is just getting on the phone right
away, notifying our customer and sharing the
information we have. It's much easier to communicate
with the customer upfront when
they're upset than it is at delivery.
Even if we don't have an update, there's still a
[call] every day with that customer and letting
them know, " Hey, you're still in the queue. We
know you're there. We're just checking in. " So I
think ... communication for us right now has
been the biggest thing that we need to focus on
and continue to get better at.
Murphy: I walk throughout the entire dealership
to make sure I touch base with every
staff member. We only have about 60 employees.
And just really make sure that the communication
with the customer [is good] as different
things get thrown at us.
I think that it's really, really important that
we recognize [the staff 's] eff orts and encourage
them to make sure they maintain that
high level of customer service.
Reed: One of the biggest keys is, we need to
embrace the change. I think about things differently.
We can no longer require people to
do business the way that we want them to do
business.
And we really, as an industry, need to focus
on, " How do our customers want to do business
with us? "
And then we need to embrace those changes
to make that a better experience for them.
- Dan Shine

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Fixed Ops Journal - August 2021

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