DealersEdge Professional Forums

Anyone else have a Owner that wants to be a Parts Manager 4 days out of every month?

I have one that becomes a professional in his own mind.

The first day he tries to understand why we are not 100% compliant on all GM programs

The second day he has all these theories of how this should all work, and of course we are all dumbasses on this day.

The 3rd day he cannot believe GM would try and rip us off in such a manner, there suppose to be for the Dealer

The 4th day he becomes a Part Time and by the end of the day he has quit.

Next month same thing.....

That is funny! I can see how that might work at some dealerships. I am lucky. Work for a small GM dealer. I have been here for 26 years and I dont remember the owner ever getting in my way. He always just says......thats why I have you here. I feel for you though!

All of the owners I have worked for don't really know much about or get involved in fixed ops. They are usually more involved with the sales department because that is where they came from. That is why in my experience ownership really knows as much about fixed ops as I know about selling a car.

Our Owner knows a little bit about everything whether it's true or not lol.

He is literally involved in every department daily...

Needless to say the moral around here is dismal because were all dumbasses.

I just thought maybe this was normal, must be nice to not have a owner sniffing around all day asking the same old dumb questions
that you have explained 20 times through out the year.

PARTSPHIL wrote:That is funny! I can see how that might work at some dealerships. I am lucky. Work for a small GM dealer. I have been here for 26 years and I dont remember the owner ever getting in my way. He always just says......thats why I have you here. I feel for you though!

Same here!!!!! Went head too toe with GM as you all know. Had the "Big Wigs" here in the DP's office. DP used to be a Rep for Buick back in the day. I spent 45 minutes chewing butt about the worthless programs while the DP sat there and listened. When all was said the GM goons asked the DP, "You have not said a word, is there any thing you would like to add to this conversation?"
At this point he asked, "Is there anything that Cliff said that is incorrect?" They replied "No but we can't have a (lowly) parts manager contacting the Vice President of GM." The DP responded "Well I guess I have nothing I need to add". They left as blind as they came and the DP said "It's amazing when a company can't listen to their own customers."

CMayne wrote: Same here!!!!! Went head too toe with GM as you all know. Had the "Big Wigs" here in the DP's office. DP used to be a Rep for Buick back in the day. I spent 45 minutes chewing butt about the worthless programs while the DP sat there and listened. When all was said the GM goons asked the DP, "You have not said a word, is there any thing you would like to add to this conversation?"
At this point he asked, "Is there anything that Cliff said that is incorrect?" They replied "No but we can't have a (lowly) parts manager contacting the Vice President of GM." The DP responded "Well I guess I have nothing I need to add". They left as blind as they came and the DP said "It's amazing when a company can't listen to their own customers."

Cliff, that's funny. When I refused to sign up for RSG back in the day, GM sent a lowly Vice President down here to force the owner into forcing me to comply. We sat around and he raved on and on about how great this program was. The owner sat and let him run out of steam. Then he asked me why I didn't want to do GM's program. I answered that they don't believe in it; if they did every single part would be on it, and be 100% returnable after 9 months no sale. The GM suit, stammered and said we do believe in it! 110%!! Owner says great, I want it in writing that 110% of the stuff you shovel in here is returnable after 9 MNS. Suit got up and left. Several weeks later I got called back to the office and the Dealer said we have no choice, we're going on RSG or they are going to constrain our vehicle orders. We got stuck with $1,000's worth of junk when that stupid program ended.

i worked for a GM dealership for 18yrs. my DP told me that he did not want a key for the parts dept, that my area and if he needs anything he will come and ask me for it. never tried to tell me how to run it. it seems like the DP's of today are experts on everything even though they can not look up a part.

Never had a DP try to run parts when I was manager, he told me "you know what is expected just handle it" I did have a Service Manager try to tell me how to do it though. Then about 2 months later when my deptment absorbed more of the dealers expense that any other dept. He was shut down.

ask him this; as Lisa asked Dr. Doolittle: "don't speak of love, show me"; calmly ask him to "show you" his better way. This why we try and get parts managers and dealers to start learning how to sing out of the same hymn book. Good Luck

I was fortunate to have a DP who was a joy to work for. He was interested in how parts worked. So he accompanied me for a multi day seminar taught by Mr. Nicholes. From then on he was understanding of the complexities of the job and supportive of what I needed to get it done. I wish they all could be like him.