ALTHOUGH SOME ASPECTS IN OUR INDUSTRY HAVE ADVANCED, OTHERS HAVE HARDLY CHANGED. An old hero of mine, Sir Winston Churchill; once said and I quote: “the further backward you can look, the further forward you are likely to see.” So …
Training represents a huge tax on the bottom line, but it needn’t be Getting penalized for being smart In most industries, bright, well-trained staff at the top of their profession get recognized and remunerated for their high skill levels, or …
Our industry suffers from a perceived lack of trust, yet there are plenty of examples of service departments dealing with customers that seem to reinforce that stereotype rather than break it This past summer I went for a physical checkup …
HOW SOLID BUSINESS PRACTICES OFTEN GET SHELVED FOR TRIVIAL REASONS We once listened to a mass merchandiser who had a very interesting theory. It was that most successful businesses eventually fail because they stopped doing the things that made them …
Dealers need to take a hard look in the mirror when it comes to fixed ops A typical customer today will go one place to buy tires, to another for an oil change and maybe another for a mechanical repair. …
Synergies are the key to solid service business When it comes to generating sales per work orders, just how many bites of the apple do you get? Another question might be: do you really care? Generally, there are three areas …
AUTOMATED TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGIES ARE WONDERFUL. BUT WE ARE IN THE PEOPLE BUSINESS There have been some interesting articles recently about aircraft crashes caused because pilots are relying so heavily on technology to keep the plane in the air. When …
A visit to Cuba reminds us of the lost art of the skilled craftsman Several years ago I had a great experience touring the Morgan Sports Car plant located at Great Malvern in the United Kingdom. The buildings were not …
Getting the mix right between retail and warranty labour Many years ago as a zone service manager I used to tell dealership service managers that they were in control of managing the mix between retail and warranty labour. That meant …
An update on the Mechanics Beyond Borders project Back in the mid-fifties, my dad was a service manager of a Reliant dealership: “A three wheeler as used by Mr. Bean!” I was eight when I started going to the workshop …
A little stroll can reveal lots of good information Have you ever been on board an aircraft when it roared down the runway with the captain sitting in the washroom? Of course not; this is one of the most critical …
Jim Bell launches Mechanics Beyond Borders and needs your help Our Focus on Fixed columnist Jim Bell is spearheading a major new initiative called Mechanics Beyond Borders. We caught up with Jim and asked him what it was about, why …
