So, I get a call from a good-sized import client I had restructured in service about ten years ago.  “Quick service is out of control…customer retention is down, the repair order count is behind year-to-date, cars are lined up–shop

Fact: Most customer-pay service work (maintenance and repair) is done by aftermarket service centers. Fact: Aftermarket service centers outnumber dealerships by at least four to one. Fact: There is a universal perception that dealerships charge more

Potential legal problems often arise when consumers purchase aftermarket parts. Aftermarket parts, and particularly performance enhancing parts such as programmers, can cause damage to a vehicle, can void manufacturer and aftermarket warranties and c

Please don’t take offense to the oblivious title — it’s just “catchy,” but after evaluating this tidbit you’ll recognize how much of the precious revenue-producing calendar clock time goes fallow. Of course, if you

For the first 100 years of the automotive industry, the main thing you heard about at 20 group meetings, conventions and regional dealer gatherings, was customer satisfaction. With a decline in automotive dealerships and an increase in aftermarket se

Proper documentation has been a frequent theme of my articles. Dealerships face potential pitfalls if they fail to document all customer visits accurately. I have tried to offer readers explanations as to why each and every visit by a consumer should

The hot ticket these lean days is attending some type of “service sales” workshop, webinar, or similar rodeo, teaching dealer service professionals how to create and sell additional flat rate hours during the service drive reception proce

Tom Restino gets it! Restino is general manager and vice president of operations for DePaula Chevrolet in Albany, New York. I had the privilege of meeting Restino a couple of months ago when I was in New York training a group of automotive profession

I just finished up an initial round of service advisor training for a large dealer group and was surprised to see that not only did they not employ properly constructed factory based maintenance menus, they were not even aware of the benefits to both