Blog

Know Your Stuff

I believe without any question the service advisor makes the difference in regards to the service and parts department’s profitability. The day of handing a service advisor a pen and saying “here’s your terminal” should be well behind us. The lack of training service advisors allows for processes to never be standardized. The new advisor has no […]
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I Need Techs!

The Problem We are getting calls from dealerships all across the country and they are increasing by that day regarding their need for technicians. Unfortunately, the solution to the concern doesn’t have an immediate reward and is generally not the answer that they want to hear. The Solution The solution to this problem has to […]
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Do You Care?

One of the most important things about being successful is also one of the simplest. My belief is that developing a culture of care insures your success. Today let’s look at this together in greater detail. About Your Family Most of us understand the importance of our families. You can have the best numbers at work […]
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The Primary Concern

I find it interesting that many dealerships blast a client with high-pressure sales tactics on maintenance items before they even diagnose the primary concern. If a customer brings their car in for a squeaking noise in the brakes, and they are offered $856 of other maintenance that is needed in the advisors mind before discussing their primary concern, this […]
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Keeping Talented Technicians

Recently I’ve been getting phone calls from dealer principals that are in need of technicians. Anyone that follows me understands that this is been a passion of mine and I’m bringing some real issues to the forefront. An interesting point on these phone calls is these dealer principals just want to get technicians. They really […]
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Making a Difference

Making a Difference Recently I was in a conversation with an individual that was telling me how good I have it, in life. The interesting part about his determination of how well-off I was, is that he started listing my assets. The house on a lake and good seats for Cleveland Cavaliers games as well […]
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Developing Your Team

Make them important Many managers make the mistake of thinking that they need to personally perform any task that is considered important. Some actually consider this a form of job security to be the only person able to perform an important task. In fact I believe it’s exactly the opposite. You need to develop your team in […]
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Red Velvet Rope Policy

Our individual quality-of-life demands that we enjoy our careers. If we have customers that cause us nothing but grief how do we give them the service that illustrates our commitment to customer care? When I first heard about Michael Port’s red velvet rope policy I admit to you that I was taken back. You see […]
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Numbers vs Process

If we looked at numbers versus processes as it were two sport teams competing, we can learn a lot about how to improve.  First let’s look at the numbers. It’s obvious that numbers are critical to evaluate where you are and how you are doing. Many call me a numbers guy because on a new […]
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How to Hire Dealer Technicians

Dealing With the Automotive Technician Crisis Few would debate the fact that there is a technician shortage for automotive dealerships in today’s market and the problem is going to get worse in the future. There are many reasons for this shortage that will be reviewed in this article as well as the ways dealerships need to deal with […]
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