“The Cheapest Oil Change In Town”

In every market and at every dealer there is the perception in Fixed Operations that cheap oil changes will add profit.



While it is true that cheap oil changes will bring Customers to your door, it is up to you to do something with them when they arrive.

Here are 3 Ways you can maximize the cheap oil change.

■Be “Over The Top” with your Customer Service. Be clean and neat, be accomodating, be prompt, be courteous and be Thankful. Think of the Customer as someone who is test driving your Dealership to see if they like the ride. Give them the best ride possible.
■Do a Complete and Thorough Inspection of the vehicle. Instead of a “27 Point” how about a “Driveability Check” or a “Winter Safety Check” or a “Brake, Light and Fluid Check” in addition to your usual 27 Point Inspection. The object is to give the Customer something that they were not expecting when they came in for “just an oil change.”
■Give them a Reason to Complete Service Work with You. Hey, you advertise, you plan for, you spend money and you lose money on the oil change and then…you don’t give your Customer a compelling reason to have service work completed at your Dealership? What are you thinking?
Making money in Fixed Operations is difficult when you don’t plan for the Oil Change Customer who might or might not be your Customer. It is impossible if you do not maximize the Cheap Oil Change Customers visit.

For Trainers

The greatest single feeling of accomplishment you can experience as a Trainer is one where someone you are Training suddenly…Gets It.

And right in front of you… before your very eyes, there is a Change.

See, in Training, change is mostly slow, frequently subtle, hard to see and sometimes hard to measure. It requires energy, time, committment, belief, knowledge, skill, communication, background, application and mostly… Will Power.

So, when someone “Gets It” and it happens right in front of you, it is a pretty special moment. Because up until that time you have invested all of yourself on…Faith.

Nothing more.

Faith in that person. Faith in what you Teach and how you Train. Faith that if you keep trying and never give in to the naysaying, the complaints, the whining, the bitching, the negativity…then you will have that moment…that special moment that occurs only after you have given of yourself and invested in another person based solely on Faith… with the only Thought and the only Reward… a moment in time when… that person…Gets It.

So, for you Trainers out there, the ones with the skin in the game, the heart on your sleeve, the feet on the deck and the eye on the prize…Keep It Up. We are counting on you.

We are counting on you to see us for what we can Become and what we can Achieve. We are counting on you Mr. or Ms. Trainer to Push us when we think we cannot be Pushed any more, to Train us when we think we have been Trained enough, to ask us to Commit to what you are Teaching us and to hold us Accountable for what we do or do not do.

That is what we are asking of you Mr. or Ms. Trainer.

Because if you do not…who will?

And because we have Faith in you Mr. or Ms. Trainer, we will…Try.

Rest assured that we will stumble, we will procrastinate, we will regress, we will start in fits and flubs…and through it all we will be counting on you.

Counting on you to be there to guide and lead. To lead us when we want to quit and remind us what we can become. You never quit on us and that is why we look to you. Because you have Faith.

For if you give up on us, what Hope do we have? If you do not Train us, who will?

Remember that you fill a Role…the most important Role any person can have …the most Respected of all Professions a man or woman can undertake…that of one who Leads and Trains. We ask that you don’t give up on us.

We ask that you…Try. Because we want to be the person that “Gets It” and make everything you do worthwhile.

We are counting on you.

3 Important Steps to Increase Service Sales

Ooooohhh, you got a shiny new car. I got to admit….you look good in it! It’s all you…the color… the styling….all your friends and neighbors are just gonna scream when you pull it into the driveway…they’ll say things like “Nice ride” or “Man, that is saaaaawwweeeetttt!”

And for the next few months you are constantly looking for excuses to take that baby for a spin! Need a double A for the tv remote??? “I’ll be right back” is the only thing you shout as you rush out the door to a store clear across town just so you can “cruise it baby!” Know what I’m talking about?

You probably are not even thinking about this next question.
“What percentage of your customers take delivery of their new or used vehicle and then, once they get home, remove that maintenance manual so they can review their required and recommended maintenance schedule?”
asks Don Reed of DealerPro Training Solutions.

The answer, not many. The reason is, they are just like you and me. The last thing on our minds is “When will I need to take it in for my first service?” All this means is that the purchaser, who has become your new potential Service Customer, will need to know what maintenance is required in order to keep their vehicle in top running condition.

If you are in Service there should be a word that just popped into your head. Can you say “Opportunity? In order to capitalize on your potential ”opportunity” you will need to do at least 3 things.

1st, provide a friendly, inviting environment to have service completed. Some things you will need to have are Friendly People (not fake friendly), clean waiting rooms and restrooms (a real must!), adequately comfortable chairs to sit down (not the plastic high school lunchroom chairs), access to refreshments (does not have to be gourmet) and probably the number one item in the customers mind, a promise to meet the customers time expectations.

2nd, have personnel that are not only knowledgeable about the maintenance required, but can explain it in a manner that a customer can understand with a friendly, caring attitude. No condescending, no derogatory or demeaning statements, no expectation of compensation. Just a sincere and caring attitude in favor of the customer. Lastly, a thorough inspection of the customer vehicle when in for service. Everytime. When completed, the customer should receive a copy and complete explanation of what was found and the overall condition of the vehicle. Everytime. By doing this the customer and you will begin to build a relationship. One that will lead to continued customer loyalty to the brand and the Dealership and future business for you.

Are there many more things you need to do? Yep. These are just 3 of the most important. There are a lot more steps to take in increasing your service market. If you can accomplish these 1st 3, you’ll be on your way to having increased service business, returning loyal customers and increasing profit.

Now, go get your car and take it for a ride…somewhere there is a double A about to go bad and you are going to need a new one!