GM Programs Changes

[scotstrong]

As Chuck Hartle said, prices will have to be increased if we are to maintain our margins.
The crux of the "on-a-roll", Goodwrench Service Plus, etc. programs is to help combat the customer perception that having service work done at a dealership is overpriced and inconvenient. Many dealerships have made significant progress in overcoming this stigma. How can we maintain this with increased prices? Seems that GMPSO is helping create a self-fulfilling prophecy here.
GMSPO needs to wake up and realize that they need the parts managers on their side to make any possible program work. Common sense 101 tells us that you don't motivate people and get their buy-in by cutting their pay (which is what anyone who is paid off of gross profit or net profit finds). Does GMSPO
really believe that the bulk of dealers are going to adjust pay plans to compensate for this loss of profit? Some will, some won't, and some will just "wait and see". I believe that GMPSO has GREATLY undepredicted how difficult it will be for them to sell us on a program that benefits no one but GMSPO. It will be interesting to see what the inidiviudal car-line divisions have to say about GMSPO when the net effect of these changes and the AC-Delco restructuring is that is guts their CSI numbers. "Owner loyalty" starts with manufacturer loyalty to its dealer body.

[pgl]

I cannot believe this has happened to us again. GM just taking back money. Yes we can boycott and complain and make an issue of this. In all probability they will just keep reducing our reserves and discounts until there is nothing left. I do not understand why they send their APM's in to sell programs like "on a roll" and ask us to be competitive then pull the rug out from under. We will survive and make adjustments to help recover. It just should not always be the consumer that ends up footing the bill.

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[scotstrong]

Okay now, let's all pull our high-dollar-print-job booklet out from GMSPO that recaps the last National Advisory Council session. Now let's all turn to the section where they ran these proposed changes by the council for their input and response.
What? You can't find that section? must be a mere oversight on the PRINTER's part, huh?

[worldparts]

Just had this thought... I wonder if the general is looking down the road and is laying the foundation upon which they can build a "direct to consumer/installer" program? hummmm....

[wct54]

homeless1 and Michael White are right on. For those of us that were around, remember what GM did to us in 1996? I don't think any dealership has recovered from that one. We make more sales and gross less. Now there doing it to us again. Not only did they hurt us with there discounts to the dealers, they also hurt us with the discounts to the WD's. Remember the days of the thirty to forty percent discount off dealer price from the WD's? I have been a GM Parts Manager for twenty-one years, and in my opinion, GM does not care if your parts department is profitable or not. We have seen our gross profit erode over the years as a result of GM's changes. Let's be honest, our income is predicated on our department's bottom line. If GM were to phase out the WD's it would only hurt us. The best discounts are not from GM, they our from the WD's. The only thing we can do is to support the WD's. Most of GM's programs are not profitable for us. Stay away from them. Whatever we do we will never hurt GM, they will only keep screwing the dealers. There only concern is there bottom line not yours. My advice is to never forget this, and purchase your parts in a way that is in the best interest of your dealership.

[dcharette]

PGL, It doesn't stop there my delco rep told me he will be selling to all my customers, I am talking garages like goodyear, gas stations and delivering every hour on the hour. That mean alot of parts I am selling and delivering to these type places I will also lose.

[sallen1]

Got the bulletin on this Friday and didn't have time to comment. I'll put my thoughts under a new thread, however here's a WD tidbit...

AC-DELCO has always been directed to sell to 'installers', there are even 'AC-Delco' independant shops around. Wonder why those shops still purchase from you? Because it's easier for the AC-Delco WD to deliver bulk to the dealer and let the dealer finish the job. Our WD would rather see us with a large order several times a day instead of delivering a switch or spark plug to some gas station.

Don't worry about the WD's going away. And I have yet to hear of any restriction from who we purchase.

scott

[This message has been edited by sallen1 (edited 04-23-2002).]

[JHUERTA]

WITH THE COMING CHANGES WHOLESALERS HAVE TO START ANALISING IF IT WORTH THE TIME AND EFFORT ANYMORE.

LOOK AT LUSTINE TERMINATING ITS LARGE WHOLESALE OPERATIONS. DOES GM GET THE PICTURE!

CAN GM AFFORD A MASSIVE WHOLESALE ABANDONMENT BY ITS GM DEALERS? DOES GM REALLY BELIEVE THAT 105 WDS CAN ACTUALLY PICK UP THE WHOLESALE BALL FROM THE GM DEALERS AND RUN WITH IT. SINCE THE WD'S HAVE UP TO NOW BEEN RELUCTANT TO DO SO, WHAT MAKES THEM THINK THEY WILL NOW.

WHAT WILL THIS DO TO THE GM STOCK? SHOULD WE START SELLING OUR SHARES....

THE NEXT FEW MONTHS WILL BE INTERESTING?

COMMENTS FROM A LARGE SE GM DEALER....

[This message has been edited by JHUERTA (edited 04-25-2002).]

[mbowers]

Let's cut the thread off here. It's taking too long to get through all the posts.

I'll start a continuation called GM program changes - Part 2

[Jon]

VERY long thread and a lot of good points. It's been too long since anyone has talked about this in the Forum so I'm adding this now to remind everyone of the point made in the last couple of posts above, keep focused and keep making noise about this ! I have just heard that GM is getting ready to throw us a bone on the issue of charging us a $65 minimum freight charge for ship direct returns sent to the CCRC address if not due to GM error. It's a first step, they aren't going to roll back all the damage they did to us collectively with their draconian changes to return and discounts, but every item we win back is a plus for us now. Tell your APM about what these changes are doing to you and tell them EVERY time they come to see you. Bring it up again when they pump you for more business or to sign you up for some new program - this gets them to log it on the summary sheet that they turn in weekly to their boss. You have got to keep the heat on or the issue will drop off GM's radar. If you didn't already do this year's dealer survey make sure that you take the time to detail the shortcomings in every catagory of the survey and make sure the ranking boxes filled in match your verbage, don't inflate their rankings. Think about each item before rating it, GM tells you to think about only the last 30 days, but at least factor in the longer term trends that have been nothing but against the dealer. Explain the areas where GM has made changes that have negatively impacted you and your business. Point out the programs that have been sold to us as being to our benefit and how we have not seen the benefits promised. There is 3/4 of a page of blank space on the back of the survey, use it for more detail or to cover anything that wasn't explicitly asked under one of the sections of the survey. Make a photocopy of the completed survey before you send it, keep it handy where you can have it in hand when GM people start calling you to follow up on your concerns ( and their low score as a result ). You will have a lot better chance that your concerns will be written up on their report to upper GM management if you have your copy in front of you so that you can elaborate on any points that they bring up.

If GM thinks we have accepted this round who knows what they will take next, it's up to us to keep the noise level high enough so that the next round of take-aways doesn't come.