These days, the most competitive dealerships win the game by being transparent and finding ways to quickly provide customers with the information they request.

 

In the not too distant past, prior to the Internet, dealerships had all the information and consumers had little or none. However, today’s consumers have access to a wealth of information which, at…

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It's always a pleasure to write a post about Success and we have some Great News! Rountree GM/Nissan in Florida hit the 200K Club! Congratulations to the entire Team!

In this picture from l-r Tom Dallett Fixed Operations Specialist, Dan Shelly General Manager, Donnie Rosbury Service Manager and Gary Halter Parts Manager.…

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The recently released J.D. Power 2014 U.S. Customer Service Index Study produced some interesting, and very promising, results. The report concluded that customer satisfaction with dealer service has increased across the board with overall CSI increasing from an average score of 846…

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Last month, I wrote an article on how Jimmy Fallon announced during “The Tonight Show” that he was in the market for a truck. Manufacturers immediately took to social media in attempts to convince the popular talk-show host that he should choose them, including Ford, Dodge, Chevrolet and Nissan. Fallon announced last week that he had chosen to purchase a 2015 Ford F-150 King…

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http://gigofund.org/news-2011_veterans_day_gala-11_11_2011.html

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=37e_1238350167…

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A few months ago I asked a shop owner and master technician to review an article for our website content product.  The topic was “Deciphering the Menu Board”.  The idea of the article is that there are many items on a menu board, and not all of them are familiar to all consumers.  “What’s involved with a transmission service?”  “Do I have a differential?”  The article gives…

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Today, while you read this, a 14-year old boy is lying on his bed in the cancer ward of a children’s hospital, struggling to breathe after vomiting for the umpteenth time this morning; his throat, mouth and lips burning with ulcers from the chemo.  Today he’ll be humbled a dozen times as his father and nurses change his clothes and bedding because he’s too weak to get up to…

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Automotive service and repair is a $215 billion a year industry.  Change is either an obstacle or an accelerant to getting your fair share.  Or rather, your response to change is the determining factor.  Change at the local level as well as global shifts may be out of your control, but you can respond and adapt.

Lay of the Land

The…

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In Part 1, we talked about how customer’s perceptions on Price, Completeness of the Repair, and Meeting Time Expectations leads to customer dissatisfaction, according to a recent Consumer Reports Annual Auto Survey.  Here, we’ll finish up the Top 5…

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OK, that’s not fair.  Most people like you.  At least according to a recent Consumer ReportsAnnual Auto Survey in which 73% said that they were either completely or very satisfied with their repair shop.  I thought it interesting to look at the 5 reasons most often cited for dissatisfaction.

Before we dive in, let me give you a quote: “Truth is universal. …

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Mom used to say, rather emphatically, “Don’t watch so much TV, you’ll ruin your eyes!”  That was back in the day of 3 channels when I would watch a ½ hour after school.  Fast forward to today when the average American spends 33 hours a week watching video on their various screens.  That’s like a full time job. 

Nielsen reports that internet video viewing is up 22%…

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When I was a kid, my Dad and I would watch Robert Blake as the gritty undercover TV cop, Baretta.  I got a kick out of his cockatoo, Fred, and his CI, Rooster, but what I really loved was The Blue Ghost, Baretta’s ‘66 Impala.  On the outside it was a beat up, rusted out eyesore.  But under the hood was a raging beast ready to run down the bad guys no matter what they drove.  Thus began my affinity for sleepers.…

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Many auto dealerships are closing just twenty percent of shoppers who come through the doors, while the remaining eighty percent simply walk away to a competitor. CAR-Research XRM, a single-source CRM solution uniquely branded as; “XRM, Exceeding CRM”, recently released: An Auto Dealers' Guide to Outselling Competition, Increasing Car Sales, Decreasing 3rd Party Leads and Closing more…

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There are 3 Strategies for Failure that many Service Managers and Fixed Operations Directors use (with little Success) to facilitate changes in their daily operations and the behaviors of Service Department Personnel.



Yet, these 3 Strategies are the most common response many otherwise capable Managers (and Dealer Principals) use over and over again with little to no results. This in turn leads to a downward spiral of resentment followed by anger followed by the inevitable angry… Continue

When I started on the sales floor in 1975, things were a little different. No window stickers on trucks, closing rooms, smoking in the offices, drinking in the GSM's office, Demos, draws. The list goes on and on of course.

I really do not want to get labled as an old guy, I am on the cutting edge of Internet and text marketing, and quite a number of my clients have me maintain their CRM's, Web sites or Facebook pages, but now I have seen this business go full circle.

I…

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