State-of-the-Industry Ideas and Techniques

Written by Perry Phillips “Oil, water, CSI, or profit – you need to drill down if you want it to come up.” If you’re looking for increases in CSI and/or profitability in the department (and who isn’t?), where is the first place you look?  Usually, we start with some sort of report that provides Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) as defined by the department and/or the manufacturer.  Some examples might be: Dealer Management System (DMS) Manufacturer… You Need to Drill Down if You Want it to Come Up

Often, we throw out the word “Family” way too quickly and loosely in our advertising and our employee manuals. How do you make your employees feel like a valued team member? How do you retain employees? What is the turnover rate in your service department? All employees want to feel that they are a vital part of the department and the company. Are we keeping them informed of what is happening with the company? Are… Are Our Employees A Number Or A Family Member?

by: David Dietrich This is Part 3 of a three-part series. ( Part 1 | Part 2 ) V. Combined Structured and Operation Techniques An example of combined structured and operational changes can be experienced with the employment of asset management.  During a vendor review, a manager deletes an entire expense item, such as janitorial services.  In this case, the deletion of the item is a structural change. An example of an operational change is… Structured vs. Operational Techniques in Dealership Service Operations – Part 3

by: David Dietrich This is Part 2 of a three-part series. ( Part 1 | Part 3 ) III. Friction Points Economics is defined as the study of how people choose among alternative uses of their scarce resources.  Economics also provides us with the opportunity to identify and manage those resources. Visualize a service department as its own separate economy, a huge funnel where dollars flow in and a small amount flows out.  The outflow… Structured vs. Operational Techniques in Dealership Service Operations – Part 2

by: David Dietrich This is Part 1 of a three-part series. Introduction Operating and structural techniques have been developed by our consultant team over the years to reduce the amount of active intervention required by anyone in the business to manage and maintain techniques and processes implemented. Each of these techniques was developed to enhance the relative position of a service department that has raised sales, production, quality control, and customer relations procedures to a… Structured vs. Operational Techniques in Dealership Service Operations – Part 1