Fixed Ops Journal - December 2022 - F23

FEEDBACK IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
60% of customers: More
repairs weren't suggested
A
bout 6 in 10 customers - both
mass-market and luxury - who
recently visited a dealership to
have their vehicle serviced said
no additional work was identifi ed by the
adviser or technician. Th e fi nding of the
DealerRater survey conducted for Fixed
Ops Journal in October runs counter to the
criticism levied by some customers that
many service departments try to sell additional
work during service visits.
For those customers who had additional
work identifi ed while visiting the dealership,
about 30 percent had the maintenance
or repairs completed there. Th at was
true for both mass-market customers as
well as luxury ones.
About 6 percent of both mass-market and
luxury customers who reported they had
additional work recommended haven't
had the work completed . And about 2 percent
of the survey respondents who had extra
work identifi ed had it done somewhere
other than the dealership. 
NEWSMAKER IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Competitions a route to career
IIII
H
igh school auto repair competitions
are beginning to
start up around the country.
In early December,
the
North Texas Automobile Dealers held its
third annual Auto Tech Competition at
the Texas Motor Speedway.
And in mid-December, about 50 Pittsburgh-area
high school students gathered
at a nearby community college for
an auto repair competition.
At these events and many like
them across the country this
school year, students can win
prizes and scholarships to continue
their careers and possibly land
a job as a dealership technician.
With the dire shortage of technicians
nationwide, competitions
like these become a more important
recruiting opportunity for
dealerships and the industry.
" Th ere's always been the need
portunities available, the programs and
the possibility of free schooling.
" We've gotten better at selling the dealerships
as a great place to work. "
At the Pittsburgh event, while students
participated in the competition, their high
school instructors had the chance to hear
from representatives of automakers. Several
years ago, the association realized the
instructors spent too much time twiddling
their thumbs while their students competed.
Th at's when the decision
was made to partner with some
manufacturers to provide instruction
the teachers could use
in the classroom.
It proved benefi cial to the instructors
and also helped as a
dealership recruiting tool.
" It's important the instructors
McIntyre: It all
" works together "
for technicians; I think what we've done is
become more focused and better at getting
the kids excited about it, " says Lisa McIntyre,
CEO of the Greater Pittsburgh Automobile
Dealers Association. " Our manufacturer
partners - I'm not gonna say they
make it sexy - but they do a good job of
getting the kids excited about it. Th ey talk
about the career path, the wages, the opstay
on top of what the manufacturers
are doing; that way they
can talk about it in school, "
McIntyre says. " And the instructors are our
best ambassadors to the students to get
them into the dealerships. If they're excited
about what Ford's doing, what Toyota is doing
et cetera, that funnels on to the kids who
they see on a daily basis. It all kind of works
together to just keep these kids engaged
and thinking about dealership careers. "
- Dan Shine
Repairs on top of repairs?
On your most recent visit to a dealership for service
and/or repairs, was any additional work identifi ed?
ALL
No additional service or
repair work was identifi ed
by the dealership
Yes, and I had the work
done at the dealership
Yes, but I have not had the
work done
Yes, but I had the work
done elsewhere
MASSMARKET
LUXURY
61% 62% 60%
30% 30% 31%
7% 6% 6%
2% 2% 3%
Source: DealerRater survey conducted Oct. 6-18 of 7,063 consumers
who visited new-vehicle dealerships
FIXED IN TIME
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE INDIANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
1943
A mechanic at the Downtown Chevrolet
Dealership service department in Terre
Haute, Ind., gets his hands dirty fi xing a
delivery truck engine. The dealership is no
longer in operation.
DECEMBER 2022 PAGE 23
Fixed Ops Journal - December 2022

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