Dan Shine Editor of Fixed Ops Journal magazine and Senior Editor overseeing finance and insurance coverage for Automotive News [email protected] 313-446-5813 See All Staff Page Recent Stories How to customize your message to the customer Joe Shaker, principal owner of Shaker Auto Group and co-founder of TruVideo, is excited by "conversational commerce," merchants using technology to engage with customers in real time. He's convinced it can be used with great success in fixed ops. Dealership marketing professional puts focus on community Evelyn Kelly Searle' SALT Automotive is a marketing company that offers expertise and some tech-driven products to dealership fixed ops and F&I departments. How to retain dealership mechanics and service advisers The formula for retaining technicians and service advisers includes parts pay, benefits, career development and workplace environment. Service department turnover issues go beyond pay Managers who responded to a survey by Carlisle & Co. said they're trying to show techs and advisers a viable career path and striving to improve the culture and work environment on the service drive. Retaining techs takes more than money Pay was the most common factor cited in a survey of dealership service managers when talking about technician retention. But benefits, career development and workplace also ranked highly. Fixed ops podcasts show shops are hungry for information When COVID-19 forced most of us to pause traveling and gathering, some fixed operations leaders decided to take to the airwaves. A breath of fresh air in Las Vegas It was great to be able to talk with so many people involved in fixed ops at the NADA Show, to hear their concerns and what excites them about the future. It was about time. Dealership service director works his muscles to help save lives Scott Gregg spent part of February recording himself doing pushups and posting it on LinkedIn. Like other auto service personnel, he was helping to bring awareness to suicide rates among ex-military members. Service manager Carmen Hinton encourages other women Carmen Hinton won the the NADA Show's fifth annual Women Driving Auto Retail Video Contest. M&A consultant Ducker Holdings merges with Boston firm The new company, called Ducker Carlisle, joins "two sister companies separated at birth." Car dealerships are lagging behind consumers on digital The retail and finance experience has been changing since COVID-19 hit, and now consumers expect to do what they want digitally. FOJ growth, finally live and in person It was great to be back in person at this year's NADA Show to see all those folks I had talked to on the phone or "met" since March 2020 through my laptop screen. Drink up, but remember to stay ‘sober' People smiled, shook hands and even hugged at the NADA Show. Why not? Business is good despite the challenges of the past two years. And there is a cautious buzz about the coming EV revolution. To fight cybercrime, strengthen weakest link Cybersecurity experts warn financial services audience cybercrimes will continue to rise, but businesses can take steps to mitigate the risks. Numa handles car dealership service calls when a human can't Numa, an artificial intelligence-powered phone answering service, is in about 100 dealerships and, on average, answers about 1,500 service calls a month. Load More
Dan Shine Editor of Fixed Ops Journal magazine and Senior Editor overseeing finance and insurance coverage for Automotive News [email protected] 313-446-5813 See All Staff Page