Automotive News Canada - December 2022 - F12

FIXED OPS JOURNAL
whether it's mobile service or whether it is in our
service bays.
We have to get them in and out more quickly.
Th ey have to make their appointments for service
quicker. And then we got to turn them over
and get that shop velocity up.
The pandemic is probably the biggest disrupter
you've seen in your career. What
should be the lasting lessons from it?
No. 1, it exposes the depths of a deep problem
in America: We don't have enough people to
work. Th at's a longer-term problem we're going
to have to fi gure out. We're going to have to recruit
more people into our space. But the challenge
is there are just not enough people to go
around.
I think we have to reopen the borders - in a
good way - where people who want to come
here and come to work in America, we let them
do it. Th ere isn't as acute of a shortage of labor in
many European countries and in some of the
Asian countries. But we've got an acute shortage
here.
So some of those people who want to migrate
here, we should let them. Th e second thing is
you have to be the employer of choice so that
you can have the labor you need. Last is the chip
shortage. We're dependent on one or two key
suppliers. I don't believe in single sourcing.
What can you tell us about Dave Bozeman,
who is taking over for you?
In the last couple of months I've been working
ROGER HART
TONEY
continued from Page 10
to drive profi t, the fi rst thing I would do is I
would create a lean environment. Most of our
dealers are front-end oriented. Not enough are
fi xed ops oriented. And so, what is happening is
you can go to 10 dealers and you'll fi nd 10 diff erent
approaches to the business. Th ey may or
may not run a lean fi xed ops business. And lean
to me means you are focusing on how much
time it takes to get the customers in and out.
If I were to canvass the dealers I'd say, " How
many dealers have an individual who's responsible
for only chasing the requirements to reduce
the time to complete the repair? " You might
have 2 out of the 10. So, we don't have nearly
enough focus. Capacity leads to profi ts. And
what I would do is increase shop velocity, get
more customers in and out.
What's the advantage of one-day repairs?
PAGE 12 DECEMBER 2022
You satisfy the customer and you create a high
level of revenue opportunity for yourself. It
builds on itself, but those are so fundamental. It
almost seems trite to some, but the reality is we
don't do it very well collectively. And so that is
just a new frontier for everybody. And if we're
talking to industry, the industry has to overcome
the unfortunate image that sometimes we're too
pricey and sometimes we sell unneeded services.
And so everything you can do to be more
transparent with the customer will lead to greater
profi ts, greater levels of trust and more repeat
business.
Th at's how I would focus on driving both effi -
ciency and optimizing profi t - if I were running
a dealership, particularly in fi xed ops.
What's the biggest problem fi xed ops directors
need to solve right now?
It's folded together: technicians and capacity.
We need to be able to have customers get in and
out for service, whether it's pickup and delivery,
with Dave, I've seen that this guy is so smart.
He's so sharp.
He's got so much energy. I'm really pleased
he's replaced me for this particular role because
he's customer focused. He cares about people
and he's got a level of humility I think is really
important. You've got to do a thousand things
right to get the job done here.
You need to be collaborative. You can't go
point fi ngers. You can't be a victim. You've got to
fi gure it out - you know, working with people.
Dave will do this. Th at's what I always strived to
do.
What are your future plans?
I'm not going to hit a golf ball exclusively. I'm
going to consult. I'm going to work on boards,
but I'm also doing something else for the next six
or seven years.
In our society, we have people who are not in a
position to go to college, people who need a little
help - you know, the 2.8 grade point average student
that none of the big colleges are interested
in. If they were, they would get a diamond in the
rough. And it's for those people I want to advocate
for and fi nd ways to support as I move on. 
Automotive News Canada - December 2022

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