Don't Miss Us at NADA 2020.

Fixed Ops Digital is excited to be exhibiting for our first time at this year's 2020 NADA SHOW in Las…

Some dealership personnel tend to do things that really boil down to just CYA stuff. A customer comes into the service drive and is made to wait while their vehicle is inspected for scratches, dents or dings, which can take a few minutes --- time a customer doesn’t have.

The most valuable currency on the planet is time. Everyone has too much to do with too little…

Cars Are Getting Older.....And They're Going To Need Repairs! Which most American's cannot afford.

In the world of the automotive industry, we are always being evaluated. Whether it’s through customer or manufacturer surveys, this feedback is incredibly valuable and, in some cases, affects dealership revenue.

Just like everyone, I patronize dealerships for my vehicle service. I was concerned because my new vehicle with 16000 miles on it had some noises…

We all know the term “declined service repair.” Increasingly, I hear service departments are having a hard time keeping customers in the service lane to get those declined services done.

Imagine if financing didn’t exist for vehicle purchases. Chances are that very few would ever be able to own one, despite the desire to do so. The same situation applies to service repairs. I bet that a good number of your customers are declining service repairs not because they don’t want them, or…

ALBANY, N.Y. – July 27th, 2015 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems (http://www.automate.com) announced today that Autopoint, a Solera company and a leading provider of revenue and retention solutions for auto dealership service departments, has completed integration of several of its products with Auto/Mate's dealership management system (DMS). Auto/Mate customers now have the ability to access Autopoint's advanced scheduling and shop loading features…

For many consumers, cars are a necessity. They rely on them to get to work so that they can feed their family. They take their children to soccer practice and their spouses out for nights on the town. Throw in an occasional long-distance road trip to visit a relative or take a vacation, and it’s easy to see how much consumers rely on them. Manufacturers integrate safety messages into their branding. The government tests the vehicles. Consumer agencies review them. And consumers use this data…

Recalls can be lucrative service work for dealerships. However, when recalls are announced, most consumers aren’t informed that their vehicle is subject to a recall. As a result, an estimated “46 million cars with unfixed flaws” are currently driving around, according to a recent article in Automotive News. A new bill proposed in the Senate would mandate that…

ALBANY, N.Y. – August 4th, 2014 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems (http://www.automate.com) today announced that Dave Druzynski, Director of Human Resources at Auto/Mate, will present "How to Avoid the Costs of a Bad Hire" at the upcoming 2014 Montana Auto Dealers Association (MTADA) 100th Anniversary Convention in Helena, Montana.

Druzynski's presentation is designed to help dealers understand the true costs associated with poor hiring decisions,…

Written By: Steve Hall

When we ask service managers how important technician efficiency is to profitability, they most often say that “it goes hand-in-hand” or “if they aren’t efficient, you won’t make money.” I agree with their comments, but am constantly amazed with how they quantify “efficient.”

It seems that we have become accustomed to thinking a technician is efficient if they hit our flagged-hours goal for the week. At times this is true. Everyone can have a bad day, or…

Written by: Steve Hall

When we ask service managers how important technician efficiency is to profitability, they most often say that “it goes hand-in-hand” or “if they aren’t efficient, you won’t make money.” I agree with their comments, but am constantly amazed with how they quantify “efficient.”

It seems that we have become accustomed to thinking a technician is efficient if they hit our flagged-hours goal for the week. At times this is true. Everyone can…

Written by: Keith Shetterly



We talked for years in automotive retail about “The Road to the Sale,” and I’m clearly one of the many supporters of that path to sales success. However, too many of us are still on "The Road Less Profited." Why? Because we are not getting more sales (and profits!) from "The Road to Retention”!



Retention sales link the positives of variable and fixed operations together, and their teaming allows each part of the dealership to amplify the other.…

This article was written by: Dennis Kane

I see an increasing trend from auto dealers: slip, trips and falls are on the rise, particularly in the service department.

This uptick can be attributed to some or all of the following factors:

• Dealerships are simply more hazardous than previously, either due to changing weather patterns or because attention to safety has waned,

• Dealerships are servicing a greater number of cars because more…

This article was written by NCMi Instructor, Steve Hall.

Being an instructor at the NCM Institute has some definite advantages. I am blessed with an abundance of information, from all levels of the dealership. Week by week, we get to interact with owners, general managers and department managers. Not only do we share our information and best practices, but listen and learn about what is going on in your…

If you haven’t already done so, it’s that time to review your 2012 performance in detail. In what areas did you fall short of your goals and why? Where could you have generated greater gains and how? Don’t allow January to slip by without these facts in writing and a discussion of how you can best move forward in 2013.

A common F&I pay plan in the automotive industry is known as the grid. It compensates managers based on their per vehicle retail performance and products sold…

Whenever I ask this question, I’m usually very disappointed with the answers that I receive. This past week, when I queried a group enrolled in the NCM Institute's regional Service Management training class in Charlotte, NC, only 20% responded with a “Yes.” My disappointment continues, and…

At last week’s semi-annual meeting of NCM’s divisional directors, 20 Group moderators, Retail Operations consultants, and NCM Institute faculty members a good discussion developed around the topic of Service Advisor Compensation. The common questions that several on our staff were seeking answers for were as follows:

1. Has there been any significant change in advisor compensation…

Last week I attended NCM’s semi-annual meeting of all its divisional directors, 20 Group moderators, Retail Operations consultants, and NCM Institute faculty members, who, along with our CEO set aside two and a half days to dialogue about what’s happening around the industry and within the company, and how best to address the needs of our clients.  As usual, it was a great encounter, with far too much agenda content and discussion for the overall time allotted.

One of the topics that…

At the conclusion of the NCMi webinar on “Finding the Missing Pieces to Improve Service and Parts Gross Profit,” one of the attendees questioned our recommendation as to the necessity for sub-accounting for automotive dealerships. Robin Cunningham, the NCM Institute faculty member who presented the webinar, suggested that our next Up To Speedarticle attempt to clarify this recommendation. So, here we go!

A meaningful sub-accounting process is a primary ingredient of…