Automotive News Canada - April 2019 - F19

PARTS

continued from Page 18

Dryden, a former fixed ops director, told
Fixed Ops Journal that the parts department is
seldom represented in dealership staff meetings, and that parts and service departments
often maintain an adversarial relationship.
Then there's the pay: Some parts veterans at
larger dealerships earn close to six-figure annual salaries. But getting to that level is tough
and usually takes years.
At many dealerships, parts department
trainees often earn barely above minimum
wage and are not given a clear career path. A
Detroit-area dealership's recent job listing for
a parts trainee offered starting pay that ranged
from 45 cents to $1.55 more than Michigan's
minimum wage of $9.45 an hour.
That's not uncommon, says Stacy Toppa, a
manager at Automotive Dealer Management
Inc., an Ann Arbor, Mich., company that trains
dealerships to run their parts departments
more efficiently and profitably.
"Pay varies greatly across the country," Toppa says, "but even in areas like California that
have a high cost of living, their pay is still pretty darn low."

Pay for performance
Toppa and Dryden agree that fixed ops directors can re-engineer the way the parts department runs to allow employees to earn
more money and increase their job satisfaction, generate higher profits and help the service department increase throughput. Among
their suggestions:

"Pay varies greatly across
the country, but even in
areas like California that
have a high cost of living,
[parts workers'] pay is
still pretty darn low."

FIXED OPS JOURNAL

STACY TOPPA, Automotive Dealer
Management

Offer incentives to move old inventory:

Parts managers shouldn't maintain shelves of
slow-moving parts, because that ties up too
much capital, Toppa says. Instead, dealers
with old inventory should empower parts employees to sell it at a discount.
"Motivate your guys to get rid of" old parts,
she says. "Give them additional incentives. It's
better getting those parts out the door at cost
than having to write them off at 100 percent
somewhere down the road."
Hold sales contests: As part of a flexible

pay program, fixed ops directors should run
sales contests that enable parts counter employees to earn more money.
"Why don't we do contests in service and
parts like we do in sales?" Dryden says. "I tell
dealers they should have a contest every
month. Give them a goal."
Reward speedy parts deliveries: Part of a

counter worker's paycheck should be based
on how fast he or she gets parts to technicians
in their bays, Toppa says.

"The quicker they get those parts to the
technician, the quicker that car can be done
and the tech can get another vehicle in the
shop," she says.
Encourage mail-order and online sales:
Activity in most parts departments ebbs and
flows. Mornings are often busiest, as techs order parts for the workday, deliveries are made
and the parts counter is hectic. Moving parts
sales online can keep the cash registers in the
parts department ringing consistently
throughout the day.
Hodges Subaru recently opened an online
parts store (hodgessubaru.com/parts/
estore.htm) that allows customers to shop
online and pick up parts at the dealership.
Garcia, the parts manager, says that saves time
for the customer and the dealership because
counter employees can spend less time on the
phone quoting prices.
Maintain discretion in pricing: Although

parts workers should be empowered to offer
reasonable discounts to customers, Dryden
says, they shouldn't do so unless the customer
asks.
"One of the ways you can structure parts
counter people's pay plans," he says, "is to give
them a spiff or a bump based on how much of
the gross" profit they preserve.
Engage in suggestive selling: If a custom

er comes to a Ford dealership to buy an oil
filter for a Taurus SHO, the counter worker
could recommend five quarts of Ford Motorcraft oil. Or the employee could offer a special
price to package the filter with a cabin air filter
see PARTS, Page 20

APRIL 2019

PAGE 19

http://www.hodgessubaru.com/parts/estore.htm http://www.hodgessubaru.com/parts/estore.htm

Automotive News Canada - April 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News Canada - April 2019