There has been a lot of talk recently – almost hysteria, in fact – on the proposed ‘Right to Repair’ Bill, C-273. For sure, it has areas that leave much to be desired. But when was the last time you read an automotive bill written by politicians that you actually liked?
There was a similar bill, called ‘Block Exemption’, brought into law by the European Commission in 2002. It technically could allow independent garages even to carry out warranty work, providing they had the required tools and training. It could also have allowed new vehicles to be sold by your local grocery store. “Hi honey, I am just off to the A&P to pick up my new SUV and a few bananas. Do we need any milk?”
Interestingly enough, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) in the
On talking to automotive people in the
One man’s opinion
My one-man opinion is, instead of sitting back and complaining about Bill C-272, why don’t we look in the mirror and wonder why it is that three-quarters of our customers that are out of warranty spend their money at the independents.
Well, they are cheaper, right? Wrong! At least, not always. There have to be more reasons as to why many OEM service departments run with less than 20-percent retention once the vehicle reaches three years of age, despite them making huge investments in retention programs.
I was telling a domestic dealer recently what great service my friends got with their BMW. His comment was that it is a luxury product and a different business. To which I responded: “They drive a vehicle that cost a hell of a lot less than that truck in your showroom. So what are you telling me? Does a customer who spends $70,000 dollars on a pickup truck deserve less service than a customer who spends $45,000 dollars on a BMW?”
We need a culture change
Probably one of the best customer-driven service department ideas to come out of General Motors was the “Goodwrench 29-minute oil change or your next one is free.” The problem was, it lacked a shift in dealership culture. Many service departments did not implement a process for fast tracking customers and still had staff waiting at the back parts counter for an oil filter, not to mention taking 20 minutes to sell an air filter.
Talking about culture change, we hear that the surviving GM dealerships are going to have to re-image to keep their franchises, yet again. “The king is dead long live the king!”
It is hard to face facts and even harder to change a culture, but having a fancy dealership sign out front and thinking we have a right to ownership of the customer’s business is just not cutting it anymore.
We have a better-educated public making their own choices as to where they spend their hard-earned money. Probably one of the scariest things to hear is that some customers would rather pay to have warranty repairs done at their local, friendly, independent service department than go back to the dealer that sold them the vehicle.
Would you deal with you?
We often hold SWOT meetings in dealerships to discuss our OEM strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. At the end of the meetings we ask: “What are you doing for your customer, that I can’t get down the road faster, with no appointment, on Sunday and for less money?” The answer often is, “not much.”
We ask dealership staff, “when was the last time you took a look at your local Mr. Lube shop and picked up their latest menu guide?” The answer often is, “never,” which has to tell you something regarding keeping your head in the sand. Their warranty-approved menu offers four different oil changes, Standard, Select, Specialized and Superior, seven days a week. How many do you offer? When?
Of course they have guidelines for selling air filters, cabin filters, fuel filters, PCV valves, and fluid changes. Not to mention a courtesy and complementary check. If that is making you think, how can you compete, the last twice we have pulled into a Mr. Lube car park, someone has walked out and asked for our business. Leaving the question: “When was the last time one of your staff walked out to the car park and asked for a customer’s service business?” We often have challenges just getting a service advisor to stand up and greet a customer!
Could it be that we actually need Bill C-273 so that, when the independents take away even more of our market share, we can sit back and have something and someone else to blame – “those rotten politicians!”
This might be a tougher solution, but how about wowing our customers with such a great service experience they won’t want to go anywhere else?
We have developed a very effective tool for making your service department more profitable, If you want a free demonstration, e-mail James at
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