Can You Still Boost CSI Without Loaner Cars?

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You.

And I'm feeling a little nostalgic before we get to the question is I'm realizing that here very soon in the next few weeks, we will no longer be in this office. We are moving. So we've been here over 10 years and we're relocating. The set is going to be different, but the same. We're taking the furniture, but the background is going to be a little bit different. But our ability to film videos in training and, you know, we're launching leadership training and some other things is going to be dramatically enhanced by, by our relocation. But it is sad. I am nostalgic. So where there's that. Okay, let's get to the question.

Hey, guys, big fan of the show. I've been watching you since I was in the third party shop game and I've been in the dealership game for about three months now. And I've actually been loving it. So my question to you guys is, in my particular dealership, we don't have loaners. We, you know, they're, they're really scarce on rentals, which plays a big part in obviously how you guys talk about the customer experience.

So.

And you know, they want to blame the COVID they want to blame the chip shortage, they want to blame the car shortage, which is all true and I suppose fine and dandy. But what would you say, you know, what can an advisor do? What can a service manager do? What can, what can the dealership do to continue the good customer experience? When, when we, when all we get is, you know me as, you know me as an advisor, all we get is a no, no, no. There's no loaners, there's no rentals. You know, we basically have to figure it out, you know, without. So I'm wondering what Advice you can give me?

Yeah. So. Good. Good question. The one thing that I learned when I started going around fixing service departments all over the country, that surprised me in the sense that I worked for a dealer as an advisor that had two loaners, and they, you know, as an advisor, you never were giving those loaners out.

And then I would go to dealerships, and the only connection between the customers feeling entitled to loaners or not was whether they were offered or not, and they were trained to expect one or not. And I really paid attention to that because it's a big expense, right? And if loaners needed to be eliminated in a business model in order to make the business profitable, the advisors usually would have a hard time in the beginning.

But.

But if you hired new advisors coming in and they didn't know any different, the customers kind of changed their expectations. And so just kind of keep in mind as an advisor, that your beliefs, your past experiences have a context here. But if you started fresh, day one on the job and you didn't have loaners and you didn't know any different.

You. You would just navigate. And if customers asked for a loaner, you would explain that, you know, in the current situation, we don't have them. But I can provide you with a number of somebody who can get you a rental. You know, you can, you can. You don't need to say no. You just need to offer options. And you can offer the customer options in a way that subtly reminds them that it's their car, that transportation is, you know, their responsibility, without coming right out and saying that through, you know, giving them two or three different options. Or, hey, we have two. Two agencies we work with. One, we have a rate that's 35 a day. The other one is 45 a day. But sometimes the 35 a day doesn't have any cars. And, you know, you can kind of distract them a little bit with giving them options and deflecting it that way. And it's, you know, just if they call you on it, like, hey, you had loaners before, you can just point out that the way that the market is right now, there is not a surplus of cars in order for us to do that. And they will understand, but it'll come down to your relationship and your beliefs more than anything else. So just keep that in mind. That was one thing when I started going around that surprised me. These stores would have these huge loaner expenses, and everybody was entitled to a loaner. And that was just their belief system in that dealership with that customer base but it really wasn't exclusive to the brand or to a market in the sense it was just, that's how we've always done it or that's the way we do it.

But it was easy to change. So you're gonna have to navigate it. It might be changing. You don't like it. But remember your. Your attitude and what you bring to going to be the determining factor here. Because if you have equity with your customers and you're connecting with them, it's an inconvenience, but it isn't going to change your relationship with them. And everybody right now in every industry understands that there's a disruption to the old way we used to do things. And you just kind of got to point that out. That's it. Great question, though. Thank you. Next question.

I am at a different location now. I'm now working for a Mom and Pop dealership instead of a Mom and pop mechanic shop. I was promoted into a lot management position, but unfortunately failed to meet their expectations and then got demoted. I would like to stay within the automotive industry, but it seems that what I'm doing as a lot manager or lot orderer or lead, if you will, is not leading me down the path of success. Neither was service advising. So what else can I do within the business of being in a dealership other than a salesman? To succeed in a career with vehicles.

That'S hard to answer in the sense that I don't know why you're failing in those. Like, is it your leadership and how others perceive you? Is it issues with customers? Like, what is it? But I would say that if. If as a porter or as a service advisor you're struggling, I don't know that it's a different position that you want to be looking for. I think maybe you need to do an inventory of how you're perceived and understand that how people see you or how you're affecting them is in your control. Right. Because you're.

You know, I always say, like, if I. If I speak in an event or I go somewhere and a comment comes back later like, oh, that Chris guy's a jerk, or, you know, whatever. That was the person's perception. And I can say, well, you know, that's not my fault. And it would be easy for me to deflect it on them. But the truth of the matter is, is it kind of is my fault? Like, I probably in that situation didn't go out of my way to endear to them. I probably didn't go out of my way to make them Feel like I was genuinely interested in them. Right. I was probably distracted. And then I could say, well, you know, when I'm speaking in an event or I'm somewhere people, there's so many people coming at me, and so many people want my attention and all that. But that's also an excuse. But the truth is, is I didn't make a concentrated effort to connect with that person. So if they perceived me to be something negative, that's their perception. And me. Me saying that their perception is wrong isn't going to make me better. And me blaming it on them is really, you know, futile in the sense that I can't change them. I can only change my behavior and what I do. So I would really take a hard look at how you're being perceived and how you can take responsibility and change those behaviors that are causing people to perceive you as difficult or unappealing in that role. Because, I mean, I don't. I don't. I don't know, a position in the dealership, all joking aside, even parts where it's not important to. To get along with people or to be perceived as somebody of value. So the thing that you can change is yourself. You're not going to change everybody else. So I would work really hard at figuring out what it is you're doing that has you perceived in a way that isn't attractive to everybody else and probably, you know, at the end of the day, isn't how you want to be perceived.

I'll tell you, like, another thing that happens to me, it happened to me a lot early in my career, is people were intimidated by me. And so it would happen. I remember one time I was interviewing somebody. So I'm the general manager of a dealership, and I was interviewing somebody, and they said to me, they go, man, you're not as intimidating as they said you were. You're a pretty nice guy. And I go, who told you I was intimidating? And they said, oh, the HR department said, you know, that you make people cry and not to be offended and all this stuff. And I was like, they gave you that disclaimer? So after I called in the. The two people in hr, and I'm like, tell me what this disclaimer is that you're giving people before I interview them. And I. And I said, I don't want you doing that. Because, like, if you think about the first thing, if I'm interviewing somebody and I make them cry and it's a friendly interview, they're not meant for our business because our customers are Way worse than me. Right. But also.

I know that I'm intimidating in certain situations, and I can use that or I can turn it off. And so just understanding that I'm being perceived a certain way and understanding when to turn it off and when to turn it on is. Is powerful. So you need to pay attention to what it is you're doing that has, you know, a negative effect and use it to your advantage, not to your disadvantage. And so you're going to have to disassociate a little bit. You have to be a little selfless and pay attention to how other people are reacting. But, I mean, one thing, when I, when I started going into service departments again after I owned a dealership, I stopped wearing suits because it's like, I'm intimidating enough, and then I come into a dealership and I'm in a suit.

It was just, I could tell people were intimidated. And so when I started wearing polo shirts and slacks, people were more comfortable. And so you. If you're really paying attention, you can see how you're being perceived by people's reaction or, you know, are people crossed up, are they leaving the room, are they not making eye contact, how, you know, how they talk, that. That sort of thing. So all of those things, all of those things matter in that sense. And, you know, I, I wanted to wear suits, like, I had worn suits most of my career, and I had to make some drastic changes to the way I was perceived so people could listen to me because, you know, they have to like me before they're going to take a chance in changing their menu or giving me their advisors or, you know, all the things that I have to change when I go in to fix a service department. They have to trust and like me and me saying, well, oh, they're insecure, or they just don't like me because I'm in a suit. It doesn't accomplish anything.

And it's. It's in with it. It's within my control to not be intimidating, to smile more, to be more personal, to dress a different way, to create a different outcome. So do it. Do an inventory. And you know, the, the best place for you, probably, if you're driven, is to be a service advisor or a salesperson in the dealership and move your way up. And so I wouldn't think about where's the position that allows me to be who I am. Why don't you think more about how can I contribute to the business and to my customers in a positive way by changing the way I act I behave to then change their perception and that maybe at the end of the day is the magic to a lot of things, really. So great question.

I know that I'm, I'm getting a little personal and deep, but I think that's really what, what, what is needed here. So thanks and have a great weekend, everybody, and we'll see you next time on Service Drive Revolution. Thanks for watching this week's Drive By. I hope we gave you something to think about over the weekend. We're uploading new stuff every day, so make sure you subscribe and click the bell icon so you don't miss out. If you have a question you'd like us to answer on the show, call 8333 Ask SDR and we'll answer your question on the show. That's 8333 Ask SDR. For special deals on our books and training, head over to offers.chriscollinsinc.com now that's offers.chriscollinsInc.com I'm Chris Collins, and I'll see you in the next video.

Sam.