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Many dealerships struggle through the winter months with reduced repair order counts. Most are fed up with manufacturer safety recalls however it remains the single largest opportunity to build profitability into your service departments. We looked at some different approaches to build your repair order counts; one might be to advertise low cost labor operations such as […]

A common thread you’ll find with any individual or company that has achieved success is very high standards. A set of standards that never accepts poor performance as ordinary and is always being evaluated for areas of opportunity for improvement develops a path of success. Raising your standards should be as common as setting objectives […]

If I took a survey of individuals and ask them if they were the best they could possibly be, most would answer yes. If I asked the same individuals a second question, are you perfect? Most would answer certainly not.  When we accept these principles we understand the importance of always trying to improve or […]

Building repair order counts is often not considered until the time your shop is slow which in my view is too late. In this article we will review four processes you can use in your dealership operations to build your repair order counts not only now but on an ongoing basis. The very first thing […]

I consider surgeons to be the utmost professionals in our society. The title of surgeon carries with it an immediate respectability. When we’re talking about taking a surgical approach in our dealerships it only makes sense if we desire to reach the respectability of a surgeon. Professional ProcessesCould you imagine if your surgeon met you […]

“Click here if you would like to attend” To characterize 2020 as an Indy race, it would be fraught with rain, mechanical breakdowns and crashes, and the winner was perhaps not the swiftest, but the most resilient. Welcome to 2021 as we approach a full year’s lap with a pandemic. Our world has been turned […]

The annual review is a practice that is been around for as long as I can recall with most companies trying to achieve it. Most use this as a way to assure the employee has a strong understanding of their performance throughout the year. Some also use it as the time employees are evaluated for […]

The acronym MPI, otherwise known as multi-point inspection, has been around longer than most of us have been in the business. It is one of the many automotive terms that we have come to use as a standard and acceptable language. We all know that words are important, right? Would any of you argue that just […]

Just when you thought you heard it all, some supposed fixed ops guru asks you to pay your advisors a spiff for services that are declined! Well, that guy is me, and yes everyone, you heard right.  Before you hit your delete, button, or report me to the men with the white coats, at least hear me […]

Improving Parts Department Gross Profit Most everyone has heard of using a parts matrix pricing program to improve gross profit margins. Over the years I’ve seen some programs that I thought were excessive and others considered reasonable. My feeling is that gross profit on parts being installed on customer pay repair orders should be around […]