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FOJ FORUM II: Good advice, lively conversation

Here are highlights from the 14 speakers at the second annual Fixed Ops Journal Forum, held Nov. 13 in Orlando.
Service customers want, but mostly aren't getting, valet treatment

A new survey suggests that fewer than one-third of customers are offered any kind of valet service.
Changes ahead at your dealership's service department, and at FOJ

Ready or not, Mr./Ms. Dealer Principal, Fixed Ops Director and Service Manager, the future isn't just coming. It's here.
Recall work can build dealer service

Recalls offer underused opportunities for dealerships to attract and keep large numbers of service customers.
Trade-in talk in the service drive remains the exception to the rule

A service visit gives a dealership an opportunity to inform the customer of the trade-in value of his or her vehicle. But a new survey suggests that most dealerships aren't taking advantage of that prospect.
To compete with aftermarket rivals, dealers need a new approach to service

If you're going to advertise how comprehensive and convenient your service is, you'd better deliver.
Survey: 3 out of 4 vehicle owners prefer dealership service

Retention of service customers is a key measure of a dealership's fixed ops performance.
New study offers blueprint for dealership fixed ops staffing success

A new report offers hope for dealers facing service tech shortages, but only if dealerships are prepared to change the way they treat their employees.
1 of 3 service customers buys additional work - survey

In late April, DealerRater polled for more than 11,000 consumers who had visited a new-vehicle dealership recently. Among those who had taken their car or truck in for service, 31 percent said they bought additional work proposed by the adviser.
Data integration by Hunter, Dealer-FX aimed at helping shops work better, sell more
Plans for techs, advisers, parts people demand new ways of thinking

"You get what you pay for" is a slogan easily summarizes the eternal debate over the best way for a dealership to pay its fixed ops employees, especially service technicians and advisers and parts-counter people.
Even with appointments, some service customers must wait

One of every 10 dealership customers who schedules a service appointment must wait to see a service adviser upon arrival, a new survey suggests.
Most dealerships still fumble sales-to-service handoff

An easy way a dealership can start to build loyalty and retention among service customers is for salespeople to introduce car and truck buyers to the service department when the vehicle is delivered. But a new survey of consumers suggests that such handoffs occur less than half the time.
New study says dealership service customers demand transparency, convenience

New-vehicle dealerships are losing as much as $266 billion a year in service revenue — $15.9 million for the average dealership — because they are falling short on keeping customers, a study estimates.
Industry initiatives seek to ease tech shortage, but challenges remain

How will dealerships find, hire, train and keep the technicians they need to staff their service bays, amid a growing shortage of, and cutthroat competition from other industries for, tech talent?