Fixed Ops Journal - October 2019 - F34

FIXED OPS JOURNAL

LETTERS

F

ixed Ops Journal welcomes letters from readers. Send
your letters intended for publication to foj@autonews.
com; please include your name, address, daytime phone
number and title (if any). Letters may be edited for length
and clarity.

Text messages, videos help serve customers better
Your article "Digital by Design" (June) was great. Using text messages and
videos to communicate helps service employees better assist their
customers.
Use of these tools not only improves communication, it saves
customers time. Smart technology gives us faster access than we had
years ago. A text app goes a long way. One can be on a phone call and if a
text alert comes up, we read it and respond to it quickly. The same goes
for video when we show a customer worn tires or brakes.
CELEDENIO GALLOZA
Service Adviser
BMW of Ocala
Ocala, Fla.

To solve tech shortage, focus on technology

The nationwide shortage of automobile service technicians continues
to escalate and handicap our business. Efforts by the National

Automobile Dealers
Association, dealer groups and
manufacturers to address the
causes of the shortage are
having limited success.
There was a time when
manufacturers had traveling auto shows, race teams and how-to
clinics at dealerships across the country. These exciting events were
well publicized. They need to be modernized, perhaps to allude to the
connectivity of cellphones with vehicles and the power that
computers have brought to modern vehicles.
The excitement of alternative powertrains, new designs and
materials and the technology to service these vehicles could excite
young people who are interested in working in high-tech fields and
the computer world - if we get the information to them.
We wonder how we can present our story to school administrators
and counselors who appear predisposed to steering kids to college
prep courses, ignoring tremendous opportunities in the trades. How
can we speak with students in middle school, not just high school,
about the satisfaction, rewards and benefits of solving automotive
service concerns, helping to build customer retention and
contributing to a successful entity?
Solutions require investment. Asking any business to spend money
is typically not met with great enthusiasm unless it correlates to a
return on that investment.
When costs are calculated from lost and unhappy customers, lost
revenue from parts and service and the time managers spend
recruiting, training and appeasing unhappy techs who know they are
impossible to replace, there is a valuable opportunity for
entrepreneurs who can solve the puzzle.
MARK PORCARO
Adjunct Instructor, Automotive Technology
Northampton Community College
Bethlehem, Pa.

Dealerships Down Under have the same issues

Australian dealerships face the same problems as U.S. dealerships
regarding service technicians. In Australia, there is a disparity of
opinion of the service technician vs. the service staff, who seem to get
treated like royalty in comparison. We also share inadequate pay rates,
techs having to supply their own tools and strained relationships
between service advisers and techs.
One factor in the us-vs.-them scenario that plays out every day in
dealerships is the frequency with which management schedules
individual feedback and development meetings with each staff
member.
I've worked at the same dealership six years. Only the dealer
principal and general manager have been here longer. In that time, I
have had only one attempt at a performance or feedback review. This
has had detrimental effects on the dealership's culture.
While we all get along, most working relationships, particularly with
administration and sales, are superficial at best.
Even giving regular praise, so staff feel acknowledged, would have
the effect of increased engagement and a step toward reducing tech
turnover.
MARK WEARNE
Kingaroy, Australia

PAGE 34

OCTOBER 2019
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Fixed Ops Journal - October 2019

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