Automotive News Canada - April 2020 - v2 - F12

FIXED OPS JOURNAL

Shops find ways to keep a distance

n the early days of the coronavirus outbreak, customers who walked in to the
parts department at Fairlane Ford in
Dearborn, Mich., couldn't get near the
counter. Parts manager Shawn Featherston
created a barrier using parts boxes that kept
customers at bay.
As the virus worsened in the Detroit area, Julie Walker, dealer principal, created even more
distance between parts customers and Featherston. She locked the door and had customers either call or talk through the glass. They
paid by holding their credit card up to the window, which Featherston photographed and
processed. The parts were then placed outside
the store for the customer to load.
"We're focusing on training our clients to order parts online," said Walker, who later had to
temporarily close the dealership.
The box barrier is one example of the steps
dealership fixed operations departments are
taking to keep not only customers but their
employees safe. Other examples include adding space between work bays and using tape
on the floor to mark safe areas.
At Paragon Honda-Acura in Queens, N.Y.,
the store has been increasing the distance between customers and service personnel in
two ways. Customers are greeted outside and
must remain in their vehicles as the service
adviser, wearing gloves and mask, gathers information. Another employee, wearing gloves
and a mask, moves the car indoors for service.
"So the steering wheel and the interior components are not going to be touched [without
protection] by any one of our employees," says
Brian Benstock, the store's general manager.
Advisers and technicians have also taken
steps to provide service to customers while remaining at a safe distance. Joe Shaker,
co-founder of TruVideo, says the use of video
between techs, advisers and customers has
"exploded." He said use of video to show customers repair work that is needed "is more
than for just trust now; it is for distancing."
"Techs now appreciate it more because they
don't want to be in customer areas," Shaker
says. "They want distancing inside their own
work environment. They know who walks in
and out of their bay. They have no idea who
walked around the write-up area."
YourMechanic, a Silicon Valley-based startup that deploys certified technicians to perform maintenance and repairs at customers'
homes and businesses, has changed the way
techs and customers interact. Techs no longer

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APRIL 2020

Parts manager Shawn Featherston, behind a makeshift barrier at Fairlane Ford in Dearborn, Mich.

Sanitizing checkpoints

Vehicle hotspots that should be
cleaned and sanitized:
 Steering wheel
 Indoor/outdoor door handles
 Shifter
 Window controls
 Door locks
 Wiper controls
 Turn signals
 Door armrests
 Any grab handles
 Seat adjusters

have personal contact with customers when
they sign repair orders. Techs are also instructed to wear safety equipment, such as gloves.

"We ask our customers to please stay six feet
away from our technicians, " says CEO Anthony Rodio. "There is a part of our experience
where the consumer signs the technician's
app that the work has been handled to their
satisfaction, and that triggers payment. Now
we do no-contact service, and the customer
can verbally approve the job and pay over the
phone."
As the shutdown orders continue in many
states, fixed operations departments will have
to remain creative in how they approach their
work in order to keep employees and customers safe. Shaker says he has no doubts they
will.
"There are more ideas happening daily," he
says. "Our dealers and their customers are innovative and are teaching us new ways to use
video during these crazy times."
- Richard Truett

Automotive News Canada - April 2020 - v2

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