International Truck Coronavirus Update 13

Welcome everybody to Service Drive Revolution International. We have an exciting show for you today. Today Adam is going to talk about the book he wrote on relationships. How Men are from Venus and Women and Wives. Well, he's going to talk all about that. Jeremy is going to talk about the cutting edge of closet design and how you can design your closet or move into your closet. And Colleen, our special guest is going to talk about the three things, parts and service need to do to be successful together. Who? Her new book that is coming out on Simon and Simon and Shyman and Schuster. Is that what it is in Canada? Not Simon, it's Simon. Right. It's an e, it's an ebook. But I have a feeling it's. It's going to be a number one seller. Three things, parts and service need to do to be successful together. Welcome Colleen, everybody. Give her.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Come on.

Thanks for having me.

I love how sweet everybody in Canada is. It makes me think that we're. We could use some training in how to love more and be more kind to our fellow mankind.

Right.

This is just for show. It's just for show. I'm not actually like that.

Inside you're thinking something completely different.

They're just better at hiding it than we are.

Well, maybe we need to learn that.

That's why they say I'm excited all the time.

Yeah, well, they're not really. Sorry. That's the thing I learned about Canadians is that's a. That's a deflection.

It's a magic trick. So talking about your book, Adam, on relationship advice and, and how to get along better with your wife.

That would.

Not be the part that I. There's a lot of content. There's a lot of content there. You can see Adam is hiding out in his guest room.

I'm in the basement and it's cold here in Chicago. Actually, I'm kind of. It's kind of interesting. At least I'm cold. Jeremy. I like the cold weather, but I don't know. Anyways, my book is actually how to talk to anyone not about family relationships and marriages and stuff. So thanks, Chris, for putting that one up there. But I'm actually going to start this one this week. It's. It's by Leo Landis, if I can even pronounce that correctly.

But I think Leo. Leolandis.

It's Leo. L, E, I L, Wanda. Is that how you pronounce?

So far, looks like it's got a five star review, so I'm gonna go and take a look at that. And it's kind of little tidbits on how to talk to anyone in different situations, like small talk. I think the biggest thing is verbal communication within our environment of this virtual world that we are working and living in every single day, probably more than what we did pre COVID 19.

It's kind of interesting to see. I want to actually pick up on some additional insight. The last book that I read on from Chris Voss, I thought was awesome, and I think this is kind of one that, you know, audible or Amazon says, hey, you might like this one as well. I. I really just enjoy finding different things or different scenarios and how we have to communicate, negotiate, or work together. And communication. I think a lot of people. Oh, crap. A lot of people actually go to school for communication, right? I didn't. I talk way too much. I hear that all the time at work. Obviously. Jeremy's probably shaking his head. Yeah, I will Talk about for 30 minutes if you let me. So I figured I could use a little bit of, you know, education on maybe keeping it short and simple and how to, you know, have small talk, but make it effective. And I think that's also important in how we negotiate and work things, even the business, and in our lives and relationships. So I'll give that to you, Chris, on the relationship side as well. So that should check the box.

There we go.

Nice. What are you reading, Jeremy?

Well, I'm starting this new book. By the way, nobody has mentioned my haircut or my shaving, and I'm a little upset about it because I thought we had something special here, but that's okay. No worries.

I noticed. But I didn't want to embarrass you, but I noticed.

Thanks.

We're not dating. We're not dating, Jeremy.

Well, this relationship isn't gonna go anywhere if you don't mention these special things. I'm just saying.

I'm reading Driven to the Light. This is Mercedes Benz's, like, customer service journey book.

It's kind of like how they went from where they were to where they're going. I just haven't even really picked it up more, but I've just been kind of thumbing through it. It's funny because I see this in here, and this is, like, the map of the way they want their customer service journey to look. And it means something special to me because it really reminds me a lot of what we're trying to do over at International in ic. We mapped out what we want our customer experience to be like, and it looks a lot similar to this. And I think that's a confirmation of what we're trying to do over here is a good thing, because it's already been done. Similarly, by a company that already is leading on customer satisfaction because they have to as a luxury brand. So I'm looking forward to get to digging into this and kind of seeing what we have in common and what we don't have in common. So I'm always interested in seeing what drives the customer experience.

Yeah, that's good. And then we. We learned in pre production that Colleen has commitment issues. And. And she's reading a bunch of different books. So what are the top three? Maybe.

So definitely never split the difference. And that's the same book that Adam has already read. I really enjoy that one. And one of the things I took from that book so far was about compromise, because I know we're kind of brought up to think compromise is. We have to compromise. And the story in there was, you know, if your wife says you look better with the brown shoes on, but you like the black shoes, and you compromise and wear one of each, nobody wins. I think that's a really important thing to win to remember. Like, even if you compromise, that doesn't mean that anybody winning. So I thought that was a really good story, that one. And then I'm also reading the story about Jim Carrey because he's Canadian, so I thought that might be interesting to read. And then I'm also reading the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. So when I do read, like, when I actually sit down and take five minutes, I read a chapter out of each book. But, yeah, commitment issues, for sure. Don't want to be nailed down to just one book.

Have you had commitment issues since you were a kid?

100%, yeah, pretty much. Have you thought about going to talk to anybody about that?

Why, no. Is that a problem?

Like it. Own it. No, Own it. Have you seen the Andy Kaufman Jim Carrey documentary?

No, I haven't. I haven't.

I've probably seen it five times.

Is that what you're saying?

It's a study and commitment, like the commitment to that he transcends what you think is possible. It's like watching Jordan elevate above everybody else or Tom Brady.

I'm trying to think of a Bears reference for you guys. But Jordan's a Chicago reference, right?

Yeah, but he really. It. It is a. It is a.

Yeah, it's a. It's a case study in psychology and commitment. To me. I think you would like it. It's good. I'm reading, so I. I didn't know this book existed. I don't. I. You know, Amazon, like, suggests stuff and then you go in there. But this Bruce Lee book, the Warrior within, have you guys heard of it?

Nope.

So good. You guys know Bruce Lee is right?

Yes.

Yeah.

Okay, let me read some of the. Some of the quotes in here. I don't want to sound like a. Like as Confucius says, but. But under the sky, under the heavens, there is but one family. It just so happens that people are different.

Makes sense.

What's your takeaway from that, Adam?

People are different and you.

No, we're one family. We're just different. We're one family.

But. And we all have to inter. We all have to intermingle with everybody. Right?

You're never going to be an honorary Canadian if you don't start.

Thinking of us.

All set up. Was this a setup? I thought you were going to talk about the Bears a little bit because NFL's kicking up.

Colleen, just. Just a question, Colleen, because. Because you're a. You're a unbiased set of eyes on this operation we have going here. Who's more loyal to international, me or Adam?

Oh, I. I think. I'm not gonna answer that.

Oh, do you see a bunch of Sea. Seahawk stuff behind me?

Are you wearing a hat? Because I can't see it.

Yeah, it's camouflage. You can't organize truth. That's like trying to put a pound of water into wrapping paper and shaping it.

That's very deep.

Put that. Put. Yeah, put that in a pipe and smoke it.

Knowing is not enough. We must apply. I knew Jeremy's gonna like this one. Knowing is not enough. We must apply. Willing is not enough. We must do. That sounds like something you would say, Jeremy.

That is. That is something I would say.

And then the last one. Be soft, yet not yielding. Be firm, yet not hard.

I like the one prior.

Glad I inspired everybody with my. With my quotes.

Cool. Did you?

Okay, now we're going to. We're going to talk about Colleen's new book coming out. The three things, parts and service need to do to be successful together.

What's the first one, Colleen?

I think my mind is blown from those quotes. I'm not sure that I can focus.

Well, you want to come back?

Okay, so.

First thing, I think that's really critical, and I think that gets missed a lot is that arts people and service people don't really take the time to know the other side of the business. So usually what you see is a service Person starts as a tech, might become an advisor, becomes a service manager in the parts. Maybe he starts as a driver, then he does shipping, receiving, then he goes in the counter, he might do outside sales, and then maybe he'll become a parts manager. But they never typically. And I won't say never, but typically they don't cross over. So you've always parts person or you've always been a service person. Really difficult to understand what the other side goes through. And I think that's a big piece that's missing in our industry that they just don't. They don't understand what that other person goes through, what they're being pushed to measure or how they're supposed to perform. So when you can't understand the other side, it's very hard to sympathize and to work together to come to a good solution. So I think that's the first thing they need to take that step in understanding. And I'm not saying they need to be an expert in each other's business, but they do need to understand the basics and what they can work on together and understand together. That's going to help the business in general.

I think that kind of comes back to what we mentioned earlier with we're all the same people, essentially. We just need to learn how to communicate. Like, there's customer service, which is what we traditionally see as service, and then there's sales, which is parts. But in the end, in the end, you need to have both. In both different. In both different departments to actually be successful. You have to be. Have good customer service, but you still have to sell in service, you're selling hours. In parts, you're selling parts, and it's. You have to have both those elements.

Yeah. And if you don't understand one family. Yeah. If you don't understand the other side, you can't help them improve. You're not willing to look at, well, why is it that we have issues with parts? Or why is it that. Why is it a big deal that the tech is standing at the back counter? Like, what do I care? It doesn't affect my department. But that's where you have to move away from that mindset and understand that it affects the company and the dealership as a whole and that it can't progress or grow properly and they're not going to work together to reach the same goal if they don't start opening up and looking at both sides.

Yeah.

The thing with that, Colleen, that I've learned over time is that I can't Fix the service department sometimes without fixing the parts department. And the thing that service doesn't understand about parts is a lot of times service managers mismanage their inventory because their inventory is time. And once it's gone, they've lost it forever. Right. Because they're selling time. And so most service managers mismanage that their shop isn't real productive. They don't really have a system to increase efficiency and it's just kind of gone. If a parts manager managed their inventory like that.

It'S a completely different thing because they'd have obsolescence. It would be a complete disaster. And so parts managers have to manage their inventory in a very specific way. They it, they have to watch it consistently. And I think parts managers and service managers can learn from each other because service managers could be better stewards of their inventory. Right. And parts managers could understand that the service managers inventory, they can't get it back. When it's gone, it's gone. Nobody's figured out a time machine to get that time back. And so there's, there's, there's more synergy than, than I think everybody knows. And together they're so much stronger. When you get a parts and a service manager that see themselves as a team, oh, it's unstoppable because then they care about fill rate and the service manager starts to understand inventory and obsolescence. And you know, you can, you can usually tell a lot about that relationship by going to the special order parts.

That'll tell you right there that the relationship's broken. The service manager doesn't care because they're sitting there, right. And the parts manager is trying to figure out how they don't become obsolescent. And that's usually the, the, you know, first tell in the relationship is that.

Yeah. And I think, I think one of the pieces like for me as a, on the part side, which really hard to wrap your head around the intangibleness of the time because parts is so hands on and it's right there, you can see it. Oh yeah, I went to the shelf and the part is there. It's not the same for the time component. And like you said, when it's gone, it's gone. So if the service manager could help the part side understand that dynamic, I think that would go a long way as well. Because sometimes it's hard for us to wrap our around something that's just not there. It's like the block of ice, right. Once it melts, it's gone. So we're Kind of like, I don't get it because I only part signed. So I think that's another piece that's really important for them to get a grasp. And that's why when the tech's standing at the counter and wasting time, they need to understand from the service perspective why that's an issue.

Yeah, that's good. That's a good one. Okay, what's number two?

Number two is the communication piece, which I think is really in the parts and service department. So they know they have issues. And instead of coming together and having regular meetings and getting ahead of things that might go wrong, like if the parts manager had said to their service manager, hey, listen, I know we had these parts on order for this job, but here's what's happened. Here are the reasons why it's not going to get here on time, but we're doing everything that we can to fix the problem. That's a much better conversation than not saying anything and hiding in your office, hoping that the service won't figure out that something's wrong with the order that's coming in and then it's just a fight. Oh, well, yeah, we didn't get that job done because parts just was hiding in their office and didn't tell us there was going to be an issue. So if they were having those regular meetings and if their staff was having regular meetings, we get ahead of all of these issues and try to together before it becomes something that blows up and becomes a huge issue. So I think that's. That's another really important piece. Just talking. Just talk to each other, have regular huddles, maybe have one of your parts guys goes to the tech huddle and maybe one of the techs goes to the parts huddle. I mean, it's just getting them talking and communicating. And again, it goes back to understanding what each department is going through on all levels and not just at the management level.

Yeah. You know, a parts manager cares and gets it when they, when they're at the meetings, they're at the huddles and they walk through and they, they're soliciting, you know, in the shop, like, hey, how things are going, you know, how are things going? That sort of thing. Instead of hiding.

Yeah. And it's not hard. Like, I think a lot of times, you know, somebody can walk through the shop like a parts manager and not say hi to anybody because, oh, they're just texts. I don't care about them. But that's, that's really not their way to foster their relationship. Everybody in the dealership is important. It doesn't matter what job they have. Everyone, like, you're saying same thing. We're all people. We all like to feel like we're important and that people care about us. So even just saying hi to someone or, hey, how's it going? Or are there any issues out here that I can help with? Really goes, I think, a long way to the text going, oh, you know what? Like, yeah, the parts department does care about what's going on out here in the shop, and that is a big piece that's missing. As you will find. The parts manager stays in his office, service manager stays in his. I mean, half the time, the service manager isn't even out in the shop finding out what's. What's going on. Right. If you've got a bad service manager. So now nobody's talking, nobody's saying hi to anybody, and it just goes downhill from there.

I do. I do think that's part of our. Our mission and something that we're challenging ourselves with, with our training is I feel like a lot of times parts managers and service managers don't go out and solicit that because they don't understand each other's business and. And they don't really know where to start or what to do. And I find that as we train them on financials, as we give them leadership training and they get better, they feel more confident, and then they interact more. Because it's human nature to be scared of things you don't know or understand. And I think that's why what we're doing is so crucial.

You don't want to look at confidence. Yeah. They don't want to look stupid.

Yeah. They're good people. They just. They don't know where to start.

You know, almost like they.

Well, especially if they. I was gonna say especially if they've been in the. In that position for 10 to 15 plus years. Right. You know, we. We all deal with egos, you know, that sort of thing, and if. If they take that step in the right direction. And Colleen, like you said, just saying hi. Or sometimes, you know, like you said, Chris, in the steps in our training, just trying to peel the layers of onion just a little bit, get everybody on the same level playing field. Hey, we're truly all just trying to grow the business together as one family.

Yeah. And breaking down the barriers. Just because I'm the parts manager or I'm the parts director doesn't mean I'm better than anybody else or that somebody couldn't come to my, like, if a tech wanted to come to my office and talk to me, I would totally not have a problem with that now. But the service manager might think, oh, you're going around me and talking to the parts manager. But I think it should just, it should just be open communication. It's going to solve a problem or improve things. What difference does it make?

We're all after the same thing. We all succeed together. And yeah.

That'S great. That's a really great one and maybe the hardest one, right? Communication.

That's good. What are you drinking there, Jeremy? Little whiskey. Little Jack Daniels in the morning with your coffee.

Look at this container. What do you think kind of problem do I have if I'm drinking whiskey from it?

Literally, when I was a service advisor, I had a dispatcher that drank out of a thermos just like that. And one day one of the other advisors opened it up and showed me and it was like straight whiskey all day.

Wow.

He was the same, same dispatcher that threw all my ros out in the alley one day.

Which I've been to there, I've been to therapy for and I've worked through it. I don't have any issues, but it was traumatic.

We're sorry. We're sorry.

No, you're not. You're not. You're really not. Okay. Number three, Colleen, what's number three?

Yeah, so number three is, is maybe a combination of leadership slash ownership. So when we talk about the community, I think it's also important to note that if the parts and service manager work well together, what kind of culture are they driving down to their staff? Are they making their staff accountable for owning their own behavior and how that they're interacting with the other people in the other. Even amongst themselves, not even within the service department, how they treat each other, but also how they're treating the parts department. They can control how they treat other people, but that's something that needs to get driven down from the parts and service manager. And they almost need to have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to them sniping at each other or things going sideways or they're bad mouthing each other. That kind of stuff needs to be shut down and they need to let them know that it's not going to be tolerated. Otherwise you're not going to get that culture change and the teams are not going to work together. So I think that's the third piece. But all three of those things together, they all need to be done together. Otherwise I don't think you can Move in the right direction to truly have a fixed operations department that's supporting the business like it should.

Yeah. And in understanding, as the manager, you set the example and the kids will do what you do. So if you're talking bad about them or you're not a good communicator, then you're good. You're going to create that scenario. Right. Because they're going to copy you. So you. You have to be the one to commute, you know, be the leader and also be the one to admit when we're wrong and make it about the common goal and not. I don't. I have that saying that I love. That is you're not. You're not trying to win the battle. You're not trying to be right. You want to win the war. Right. So we don't want to be right. We just want to win.

Yeah. And I mean, why wouldn't you want to win as a team? Isn't that better than just one person standing forward and saying, I'm the. I'm the hero of everything?

What does that benefit Nobody? Because nobody can be that.

Total. Yeah, that's good. That's really good. I like it. That's awesome, Colleen. So let's recap. So number one is understanding.

Number two is communication, and number three is leadership, ownership, and culture.

Yep, exactly.

That's a lot.

You need to. And I'm not saying that this is easy, and I'm not saying that dealerships are going to be like, oh, yeah, that's no problem. We can implement this. It's going to take time, but they have to be open to it, because especially, I mean, it's not just even COVID 19 next year, it's going to be something else. And the year after that, it's going to be something else. If we don't start focusing on this and making it a priority, we're going to fall apart, just like all the other OEMs are going to fall apart. So why not take this opportunity to try something a little bit different and elevate ourselves and our business over the competition?

Yep.

Yeah, that's good.

I can't agree with you more. And I think it's going to be really exciting to see the type of training that we develop for our parts and service locations, for our dealerships. Truly, parts and service together, we. We do preach that a lot, you know, from a corporate standpoint. But, you know, really externally, we're going to start, you know, really walking the talk. And in our training, coming out there and working with our Parts and service managers together so they can help grow the business. And I think that's huge. And we have to say, like, this is a first step. In my experience with. With International, I've worked with parts folks, and when we go. I know when Jeremy and I go into service locations, we work with them a lot of. Sometimes, you know, the excuse is, well, parts did this, you know, or we don't know, or, yeah, there's a parts guy, a part of our huddle. But they didn't get the part right away. So it's like, all right, let's really try to demolish those barriers and let's understand where everyone's coming from so that we can truly grow together. And I think this year we're taking that as a stance and solely ownership, and not only internally from Navistar's perspective, but let's really help dealerships grow the business. Parts and service are going to truly sell more trucks.

Absolutely.

You heard it here first.

Let's start it. Let's start a revolution.

Exactly. Yes. Let's do it.

Let's start a cult.

Yeah, well, maybe not a cult.

Come on. The parts and service cult.

Let's not do any more cults.

What's wrong with the parts and service of maple syrup?

I'll do it.

That's easy to do.

Yeah. I thought you were gonna say something way worse. I don't.

It's too much. Too many carbs and too much sugar.

It is a lot. Yes, I would agree.

So how was your experience coming on the big show? Colleen? Was this comfortable?

Was everything that I dreamed about, Chris.

You dreamt about it?

I did.

You're funny. I love it.

Somebody may be a little more sarcastic than Jeremy.

Oh, what do you mean?

That's possible? Is that possible, Jeremy?

It's possible.

Why'd you get quiet, Jeremy?

I like.

Colleen's a great show. We're talking about sarcasm. Awesome. Good show, you guys. That was fun.

Yeah, thanks for having me. Appreciate it.

We could talk for hours, but Jeremy has another appointment he has to go to, so very important.

Gotta try to drive the.

Yep. Trying to drive service and parts interaction at a dealer by dealer level.

Perfect.

Awesome. Well, thanks, you guys. We'll see everybody next time. Thanks for tuning in.

Thanks again.

Thank you.

Thanks, Adam. And thanks, Colleen.

Thanks, guys.

Yeah.

Thanks, Colleen. That was great. You're a good sport.

Yeah, my pleasure, Chris.

Go Bears.

No, go Seahawks. The Bears. Did you guys pick a quarterback?

Yeah, of course.

Well, sort of learn.

We're just.

You went with the guy that didn't win last year, right? Yeah.

We don't want the guy that was.

In the Super Bowl.

Yeah, yeah. We don't want an MVP or Super bowl champ. We want, you know, the Scrubs.

Yeah, the best he can.

He's doing the best he can. Bye. See you guys.