Fixed Ops Journal - April 2022 - F18

FIXED OPS JOURNAL
TOOLB X
The
3 THINGS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
1
2
Taking an ownership stake
Last month, the employees of Van
Horn Automotive Group became
majority owners of the company in
Plymouth, Wis. Th at's when the status
of their employee stock ownership plan
transitioned from 30 to 70 percent. Van Horn
- which includes 19 dealerships, a fi nance
company, a rental vehicle division and a
wholesale fi nancial products company -
says it is the only employee-owned auto
group in the state. It entered the plan in 2016
and employs more than 670 people
throughout Wisconsin and Iowa. " Our
employees are passionate, dynamic and
innovative team players, " says Van Horn
President Jeff Niesen. " It only makes sense for
our employees to have a greater stake in the
continued success of this company. "
Group honored for
championing women
Mike Smith Auto Group in
Beaumont, Texas, a subsidiary of
Group 1 Automotive, was named
the inaugural winner of the Women in the
Service Lane award for its eff orts to hire and
retain women in service adviser and service
manager roles. At least half of the advisers
and service managers at the group's six stores
are women, greater than the 40 percent
required to be eligible for the award. Roger
Conant, who founded the award, began the
program last year after learning only 20
percent of dealership service advisers and 6
percent of service managers were women.
" We chose the service center because it is the
point of repeated contact for customers once
they purchase a vehicle, " he said. Edward
McKissic, senior vice president at Group 1,
said the award is " a tangible
example of the diversity and
inclusion Group 1 prioritizes in
the workplace. "
3
T
he auto technician fi eld will see a 4
percent drop in the number of people
in the work pool through the end
of the decade - but the wave of retiring
baby boomers will result in 100,000 tech
job openings over the next decade or so, according
to a recently released report.
CCC Intelligent Solutions' annual Crash
Course report, which analyzes data to spot
trends in the automotive and repair industries,
said the resulting staffi ng shortages will
lead to longer collision repair times.
Th e average backlog for collision repair
grew from 1.2 weeks in the fourth quarter of
2020 to 3.4 weeks during the same period in
2021, the report said. Th e average time for collision
repair increased from 8.5 days to 10.6
days. And the average price for repair parts
grew from $122 in 2019 to $136 in 2021.
Report author Susanna Gotsch, senior diPAGE
18 APRIL 2022
A parts
page turner
Parts managers
interested in
improving inventory
turns and fi ll rates can pick up
an e-book from PartsEdge for help. How To
Identify Issues in Your Parts Inventory is
designed to help identify and solve inventory
NEWS BRIEFS IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Tech shortage, delays seen growing
rector and industry analyst at CCC, said the
combination of the COVID-19 pandemic,
parts supply shortages, rising infl ation, staff -
ing issues, cutting-edge vehicle technology
and shifting driving behavior has " forever
changed " the automotive, claims, repair and
collision industries.
" It's perhaps one of the most challenging
periods ever for businesses, but also one of
the most exciting, " Gotsch says.
Read the full report at cccis.com.
J.D. Power: Service appointment
wait increases by about 1 day
Staffi ng challenges and parts shortages,
among other issues, have increased wait
times to schedule a service appointment by
nearly one full day for owners of newer luxury
and mass-market vehicles.
Vehicle owners now typically must wait
Van Horn Automotive Group says it is the only
employee-owned group in Wisconsin.
issues. One tip is to conduct
regular reviews of the dealership
management system to ensure
settings are up to date; incorrect
DMS settings will negatively
impact fi ll rates and profi ts. " Th e
easiest way to improve inventory
turns is to bring up their fi ll rate, "
said Chuck Hartle, president of
PartsEdge, a parts sourcing and
management software provider.
" Our e-book gives managers a formula for
calculating inventory turns as well as for
calculating fi ll rate percentage. "
four and a half days to get an appointment.
Th at was one of the fi ndings of the J.D. Power
2022 U.S. Customer Service Index Study released
in early March. Th e study measures
satisfaction with service at franchised dealership
or aftermarket service facilities for maintenance
or repair work among owners and
lessees of 1- to 3-year-old vehicles.
According to the report, the overall customer
service satisfaction level was 848 on a
1,000-point scale. When consumers were
asked if they " trust the dealership to perform
complex repairs on my vehicle, " they gave a
rating of 6.16 out of 7. But when asked whether
their dealership " takes responsibility when
a mistake is made and resolves it eff ectively, "
the positive response rate dropped to 5.91, the
lowest average rating.
" Proactive communication with customers
is one solution for dealerships to mitigate a
disruptively tough situation, " says Chris Sutton,
vice president of automotive retail at J.D.
Power. " Simply implementing text or email
alerts can greatly improve customer satisfaction. "
-
Dan Shine
http://www.cccis.com
Fixed Ops Journal - April 2022

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