Fixed Ops Journal - April 2022 - F19

TOOLB X
The
Sound bites from fi xed ops conversations
OVER HEARD IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
" If you build loyalty with your employees,
that will bleed over to your customers.
Your staff will be loyal to your customers;
your customers will be loyal to you. And
you have that profi tability. "
Joe Chambers, co-host of the " Service
Drive Live " Zoom show, on March 27
during a discussion on loyalty vs. profi ts
" I will take a good-mannered lot porter
over a diseased adviser putting up good
numbers. It's a balancing act. If they
don't want to change, if they don't want
to grow, then they have to go. "
Jerry Davis, service manager at Billion Auto
Group Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram in
Bozeman, Mont., on the March 27 episode
of " Service Drive Live "
" If you don't put customers fi rst,
everything else is irrelevant. "
Michael Barich , aftersales director at
Murfreesboro Nissan in Tennessee, on the
March 27 episode of " Service Drive Live "
" Some people think we're just a
receptionist. But we know how to price
out things. We know what questions to
ask [the customer]. We know how to
look up the RO history and explain what
was done on the last visit. We know
about factory recommendations. We
know about safety recalls. People don't
expect us to know that. "
Elizabeth Martin, business development
center manager at Scott Clark Auto Group,
of Charlotte, N.C., on Dave Foy's " Fixed
Ops Mastermind " podcast on March 15
" I don't consider what is happening now
the Great Resignation. I look at it more
as the Great Awakening. There's a lot of
shifts going on right now, and the talent
pool just got so much bigger. What an
opportunity we have to recalibrate the
dealership look, the dealership culture
and the dealership people. If I were to
speak to ownership, I would say to really
focus on culture-based ecosystems.
And that would require more leaders, not
more managers. "
Shawn Armorer, founder of BDC Alchemy,
on National Auto Care's " Fixed Ops 5 "
podcast on March 20
LEGAL LANE
Ex-fi xed ops boss says he was
fi red for reporting harassment
A former fi xed operations director has accused
a Maryland dealership of illegally terminating
him in retaliation for reporting sexual
harassment of female employees by the
male general manager.
James Brown worked at Brown's Toyota of
Glen Burnie for 28 years, the federal suit said.
Th e store is part of Brown Automotive Group.
James Brown is not related to the dealership
owner.
Th e lawsuit says he complained to the
store's comptroller/human resources liaison
and general sales manager about the general
manager's " ongoing sexual harassment, " including
" vulgar sexual comments and gestures, "
but the dealership failed to investigate
or take remedial and disciplinary action.
Th e suit also alleges the dealership fi red
Brown for off ering discounted parts and labor
to customers even though it's a " widely accepted
practice " that dealership managers
and the GM also did. Brown said his inability
to fi nd a comparable job forced him into
bankruptcy, repossession of one of his vehicles
and the near-foreclosure of his home. Th e
suit asks for compensatory and punitive damages,
reinstatement and back pay.
In a statement, Brown Automotive Group
said, in part: " We are confi dent that the evidence
will show that the allegations of the
complaint are completely untrue. "
In authorizing the suit, the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission found a
" causal connection " between Brown's dismissal
and his reports about the general manager's
behavior.
Former technician claims
discrimination over COVID
An ex-technician has accused a Pennsylvania
dealership of COVID-19-related discrimination
stemming from his termination after
his family medical leave expired.
Daniel Gilbert had worked at Scott Honda of
West Chester for seven and a half years before
he contracted the disease in December 2020
with signifi cant symptoms, according to his
federal lawsuit. He claims the service department
manager told him not to worry about his
job, but he was fi red even though his doctor
had cleared him to return to work.
Gilbert's position was advertised online, and
he received no response to his own application,
the suit says. It seeks damages under the
Americans with Disabilities Act, Family and
Medical Leave Act and state human rights law.
A lawyer for the dealership declined to comment.
Ex-employee
sues dealership,
alleging age discrimination
A 61-year-old former shop foreman, technician
and dispatcher is suing a suburban Detroit
dealership for age discrimination for terminating
him shortly after a change in ownership.
Timothy Bunker contends that BMW of
Rochester Hills, where he worked for more
than 36 years, wrongfully fi red him in 2021.
His federal lawsuit claims he was asked his
age and when he planned to retire after Eitel
Dahm Motor Group transferred its franchise
to Rafi h Auto Group.
Despite Bunker's " satisfactory or better " job
performance, the dealership fi red him two
weeks later and " hired a substantially younger
and less qualifi ed individual to assume his former
duties, " the suit says. It seeks damages under
federal and state anti-discrimination laws.
Rafi h Auto Group did not respond to messages
seeking comment.
- Eric Freedman
foj@autonews.com
APRIL 2022 PAGE 19

Fixed Ops Journal - April 2022

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