Digital Dealer - December 2017 - 44
F I X E D O P E R AT I O N S
Continued from pg. 43
the majority of customers
don't even come back for
the "free" oil changes the
factory pays for (or rips
you off depending on the
franchise). One has to
wonder why. Are we that
pitiful at what we do in
service?
Last week I taught
some ASM workshops
and I had the attendees
bring the Owner's Manual of the most popular
model. I could have
asked them to bring a
dissertation on the Greek
revival and got the same
response - what's this?
To their credit, they dug
in and found all kinds of
goodies related to their
future conversations, and
the "Oh's" and "Aw's"
were plentiful, along with
some "Wow's." I asked
the group to locate info
about brake fluid, tires
and related maintenance,
wipers, checking the oil,
and other important items
these lengthy manuals
clearly identify. Eyes were
opened as well as their
minds. They began to
understand the importance of knowing this
information, and how and
why customers depend
on them to mentor their
many vehicle decisions. I
asked, "If not you, who?"
I iterated that customers
don't come to service to
be asked questions they
know absolutely nothing
about - "Ya wanna rotate
them there tires Suzy?"
Rather, "A tire rotation and
inspection is required with
the basic engine oil and
filter service so I will ensure that gets performed
also." Read the freakin'
manuals - end of story.
44
DECEMBER 2017
REPUTATION
AFFECTERS
Let's pretend that a
dealer's "reputation" in
large part depends on
the interaction with the
people customers deal
with - which is likely
true - DUH. Considering
one ASM deals with, in
less than 20 minutes, the
same amount of customers sales people deal with
in an entire day, which
makes them reputation
affecters or even reputation managers. If you
disagree put your hand
up if you are clueless.
Good, no hands up. I think
it's fair here to calculate
reputation and customer retention go hand in
hand. I recently heard of
a successful hero Subaru
service operation in the
Northeast so effective that
the high-volume sales department didn't advertise. I
am betting they are damn
good at the customer-relationship fundamentals
first-off.
So, friend, what is a
highly impactful part of establishing the reputation of
a medical doctor, a plumber, a dry-cleaner, a local
bar, a lawn-care company,
and even a politician? The
peeps - those we meet
and interact with followed
by the quality of delivery
of course. And, most
importantly, if the frontend rep performs like a
marginally knowledgeable
clerk, rather than a competent counselor, a good
end result sometimes isn't
enough. Many things have
changed over the years,
but the fundamentals of
a servicing relationships
have remained the same,
D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M
especially after all the free
sh.. has ended, and the
customer is now remunerating.
The remarkable effort,
on-going energy, and
tremendous expense
invested into service "fluff"
rather than into continuous development of vital
front-line personnel who
must be first - completely
product knowledgeable,
second - conversation
competent, third - sincerely aggressive in providing
satisfaction, and lastly
an overall professional
always seeking more
perfection, is the core of
the shabby customer retention dealers enjoy. You
can argue with my point
and claim that the fluffy
applications are more
important; but I will just
recite the dealer industry's
lousy retention numbers.
I am figuring the so-called
manufacturing employed
retail gurus forcing dealers
into the numerous current,
expensive, and time-consuming fluff diseases
weren't even gestated
when dealers owned the
service market - sans fluff
(I know you know what
the fluff is or you wouldn't
be reading this).
HOW ABOUT THIS...
I have made a list of
capacities each ASM
and BDC pro needs to
be exposed to, trained,
tested, and nurtured. If
you will take the time and
effort to follow through
with this program, you
will be surprised at the
positive response of your
personnel. The smart
approach is to conduct the
sequence a bit at a time,
perfecting steps as you
move everyone ahead,
taking as much time - a
year maybe - to move
your support organization
to a higher performance
level than you ever
imagined. The culture of
your staff will improve,
and tying this educated
approach together with
encouraging each ASM
to build their own book of
repeat business, will be a
win for employee retention
too! Not to mention the
reduced stress for the
ASM and other management maharishis when
consumer relationships
are cemented.
Email a request to Ed@
NetProfitGroup.com and
put on the subject line:
ASM-BDC Training-Overdue Bub. I left some areas
for you to add you own
training thoughts. The only
downside I can think of is
that some aggressive soldiers may end up knowing
more than me and you. I
can live with that and I bet
you can too boss.
ED KOVALCHICK
has traveled the world
training and consulting
in fixed operations with
manufacturers and dealers.
His extensive background
includes master technician
status, independent shop
owner, dealer with all
Chrysler & Nissan franchises,
and founder of Net Profit Inc.,
fixed operations consulting
and training. He is a graduate
of the University of Louisiana,
and has served as state
president of the Automotive
Service Councils, and the
advisory boards of Wyo Tech
and Virginia College. He has
been a regular columnist and
conference presenter with
Dealer Magazine and Digital
Dealer since 1995. EMAIL:
Ed@NetProfitGroup.com.
http://www.DIGITALDEALER.COM
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Dealer - December 2017
Digital Dealer - December 2017
Contents
A Letter from the Show Director
What Real Commitment Looks Like
Could Your Culture Use a Little MAGIC?
3 Must-Dos to Combat Dealer Margin Declines
The Internet & Phones Are the NEW “Showroom” … Your Cheese Has Been Moved
Your Limitation Is Not What You Don't Have, It's What You're Not Using
Year-End Spend Management Assessment – Setting Up for a Successful 2018
Vehicle Merchandising: Use Features Not Price
One Size Fits All No Longer Applies
Your People Are Your Brand!
KATIE BOWMAN COLEMAN Bowman Chevrolet
6 Reasons to Do an Annual Social Media
Are You Future Ready?
Rethink How to Market with Facebook and Instagram
What Your Dealership Can Learn from Carvana
Disrupting the Buying Cycle: Turning Service Leads into Sales Dollars
How Online Payments Can Be the Catalyst for a Superior Customer Experience
We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Tech Training – We Have Good Teeth
Dealers Say Fixed Ops is the Most Important Department
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - Digital Dealer - December 2017
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - Cover2
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - 1
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - Contents
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - 3
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - A Letter from the Show Director
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - 5
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - What Real Commitment Looks Like
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - 7
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - Could Your Culture Use a Little MAGIC?
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - 9
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - 3 Must-Dos to Combat Dealer Margin Declines
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - 11
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - The Internet & Phones Are the NEW “Showroom” … Your Cheese Has Been Moved
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - 13
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - 14
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - Your Limitation Is Not What You Don't Have, It's What You're Not Using
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - 16
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - 17
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - Year-End Spend Management Assessment – Setting Up for a Successful 2018
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - 19
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - Vehicle Merchandising: Use Features Not Price
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - 21
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - One Size Fits All No Longer Applies
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - 23
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - Your People Are Your Brand!
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - 25
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - KATIE BOWMAN COLEMAN Bowman Chevrolet
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - 27
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - 28
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - 29
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - 6 Reasons to Do an Annual Social Media
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - 31
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - Are You Future Ready?
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - 33
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - Rethink How to Market with Facebook and Instagram
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - 35
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - What Your Dealership Can Learn from Carvana
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - 37
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - Disrupting the Buying Cycle: Turning Service Leads into Sales Dollars
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - 39
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - How Online Payments Can Be the Catalyst for a Superior Customer Experience
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - 41
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Tech Training – We Have Good Teeth
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - 43
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - 44
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - Dealers Say Fixed Ops is the Most Important Department
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - 46
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - 47
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - 48
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - Cover3
Digital Dealer - December 2017 - Cover4
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