Automotive News Canada - April 2022 - F4

FIXED OPS JOURNAL
A breath of fresh air in Las Vegas
S
oon after I was hired in early
2020 as an editor at Automotive
News, I attended my fi rst NADA
Show. For someone just
starting out covering the fi xed ops
industry , it was a welcome immersion. I
was able to meet trainers and vendors
and fi xed ops directors from across the
country, learn more about the industry
and gather some story ideas.
About a month later, the world shut
DAN SHINE
dan.shine@crain.com
Fixed Ops Journal editor
down. Th e plan to crisscross the country
to meet more service, parts and body
shop managers at their dealerships was
shelved. Instead, it was emails, phone
calls and the occasional Zoom meeting.
Needless to say, it was great to be back
in person last month at the NADA Show in Las Vegas. You could tell
people were happy to be able to see each other, talk face-to-face and
share a drink. I wasn't sure if the buzz was just the result of being
together again or whether people felt good about where the fi xed ops
industry is now and where it's headed.
Dave Foy, vice president of fi xed operations at Quantum5, was out
and about on the NADA exhibit fl oor and said he could defi nitely feel
the excitement. He called the mood " overwhelmingly positive. "
" Everybody is gung-ho, " said Foy, who also hosts the " Fixed Ops
Mastermind " podcast. " Th ey're excited that fi xed ops is becoming the
> Fixed Ops Journal
VOL. 7, ISSUE 2
> Remaining 2022 issues
will be published
 June 13  Aug. 8
 Oct. 10  Dec. 19
> Print copies
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> Digital editions
Sign up to receive the electronic replica
of the print edition of FOJ: autonews.
com/fi xedops. See six years of archives
- 36 issues in all - at autonews.com.
Look for the Fixed Ops Journal box on the
> FOJ webinar
Our next webinar, " How Connected Car
Technology Can Benefi t Dealers,
Customers, " will be
April 21 at 2 p.m.
EDT. Watch live or
catch the replay at
autonews.com/
webinars.
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center of the story, and they're ready to step up their game. "
Similar to how a dealership's fi xed ops became vital when new-car
sales were shut down in some states at the start of the pandemic,
inventory and parts woes once again highlight the importance of
service, parts and collision to a store's bottom line.
Foy said as he toured the convention center talking with vendors,
trainers and dealership service leadership, he heard a lot of talk about
retention. " But not just retention of customers but retention of their
employees. Th ey talked about retention of their staff , " he said .
Indeed, fi nding service department staff ers remains a constant
struggle. A recent Cox Automotive survey found 57 percent of fi xed ops
directors said their service department was not fully staff ed. And 80
percent said they expect the labor shortages to continue or worsen .
While repair orders are down slightly on average, Foy says there is a
silver lining: Service revenue is up because with fewer visits, advisers
have more time to spend with customers.
" Advisers are getting more time with customers, " he said . " Th ey're
building better relationships and ending up with higher-dollar tickets.
It's what they should have been doing all along. "
It was great to be able to talk with so many people involved in fi xed
ops in one place, to hear their concerns and what excites them about
the future. It was also nice to see some of the tools and technology from
vendors that supply service departments . And it was interesting to see
some new startups that are trying to draw attention - and business -
from dealerships. You'll be reading more about many of them in
upcoming issues of Fixed Ops Journal . Which I guess goes against the
well-known saying " what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. " 
Wednesday of each month. Sign up at
autonews.com/emailsignup. Look for
the Special Interest News section.
> Story ideas
Have an idea for a story you think would
be of interest to FOJ readers? Send it to
Editor-in-Chief Dan Shine at dan.shine@
crain.com.
> Follow us
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@FixedOpsJournal
> Join us
Become part of the Fixed Ops Journal
Professional Community on
LinkedIn and contribute to
the dialogue around
dealership service, parts
and body shop
departments.
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fi xedopsjournal
PAGE 4 APRIL 2022
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