Newsletter July 2012

Without question every dealership wants to improve customer satisfaction and retention. With fixed operations gross profits more critical than ever we must look at ways to insure results. Simple as it seems it all comes down to the process.

Don’t Ask Don’t Sell

This might make you think of a military program no longer in use but let’s place some attention on way this is a solid truth in today’s dealership…

Technician time must be managed very well to maximize service and parts sales performance. Technician time cannot be stored, refrigerated, or put into a saving account. If it is not used during the day it is lost forever! The loss is multiplied when you consider parts revenue is generally equal to labor sales in service. So if your shop loses 2 hours a day of Technician time and there are 15 Technicians in your shop your dealership lost $4,500 in parts and labor sales for the day! With 5…

Generally when I begin with a client, I have a casual conversation with the manager of every fixed operations department to determine what they know and how I can best serve them to get to the next level. The most common training they have received is where their desk and the coffee pot are going they are released to get to work. I have met service managers with over 30 years of experience that didn’t even know what their effective labor rate was or how to improve the result. Now I…

• Over 80% of lost revenue on repair orders is due to the oldest 10. This program addresses this fact and places them as a target that cannot be ignored. The Target Ten open orders will be on a report from the DMS identifying the oldest 10 open orders. The information will be filled out every Monday and reviewed by the entire team during the week. The mission is to do whatever is necessary to close these orders. Most manufactures now expect warranty to be processed within a month so any…

Many old parts have core values on them. I read policy and procedure manual finding this idea not mentioned. The core value on many items was equal to the inventory value on convertors, ignition modules, and such. This allows you to return a core using the new number and get credit for the part! Check your aged inventory for cores checking to see how this may help your dealership.

About 10 years ago Fixed Performance Consulting began with the hope of providing me reasonable income and help dealerships grow in profits and customer care. I recall so many times advisors or managers that said it could not be done only to watch them develop into top performers increasing their personal income and gaining advancement. What a thrill for me to hear time after time thank you for teaching me how it all works together.…

Often customers that bring a vehicle in for service purchased it somewhere else at another dealership. There are many causes for this however let's look at this example in more detail. First understand the purchase has already been made and will not be up for discussion. You cannot change the past. That being said there is nothing to gain for your service department to show this customer anything but your best. With a positive service visit it is likely when deciding to purchase their next…

Recently I saw a customer come into the dealership for service. This person was traveling to deliver dogs around the country in his diesel pickup truck. The trailer had 22 dogs on it as he pulled in for service because the engine was running rough and he could not continue. The time of this visit was around three in the afternoon. My truck is running poorly and I need help. The manager stated well at this time he would not get going today but he would have some idea of diagnosis. He…

I recently read an article written by Charlie Polston who works with BG Products Company. In this article he cited a recent JD Power study that rated when the best time to offer additional services. The study found that 37% of the customers would say yes at the time of setting the appointment. This number jumps to 47% if recommendations are made in the service drive or customer walk around intake process. It jumps even higher all the way to 56% if asked during the status call after the…

Last week I was driving down a highway and noticed several state troopers alongside the road in an old service station. One stepped in front of my car and flagged me in to the parking area. The officer quickly walked around my vehicle checking all of my turn signals and headlights. He also quickly checked tire condition and the emergency brake function. He did use me to turn the switches and push the brake and the process took only a few minutes. The trooper also checked my current insurance…

You can have wonderful gross profit margins and even show wonderful net profits on paper however without great processes on accounts receivable you will just have paper with no real value to celebrate with. For those of you with a large amount of aged receivables and the desire to take action start by calling your customers with old balances and offer a discount to pay using a credit card.…

Have you ever wondered how you can make a difference in someone’s life? Please join us in our efforts to support the family of Sayshae…