Maintenance 1 and Maintenance 2

Maintenance 1 and Maintenance 2

Postby robc » Thu Jun 14, 2007 6:33 pm

Corky is good guy and a great background. How can you argue with a guy that has had the staying power that he has with these GM programs through all these years? But to a large extent he's just a paid actor saying whatever words GM gives him.

Do dealerships in a sweeping generalization need to do better - sure - but programs like this does not make things better.

Second, change isn't the issue. Heck, the fact that we might make less money isn't even the main issue. The issue is to me that until proven otherwise, I don't think simplified maintenance is adequate - as the above story relates.

GM will never ask for proof of maintenance because how can you prove home many times the light went off? And they have a history of folding like cards when customers have BS reasons - so something valid like the fact that they really don't have a maintenance schedule is enough to get bought.
robc
 

Maintenance 1 and Maintenance 2

Postby Blaker19 » Fri Jun 15, 2007 10:23 am

Hot Topic!

I am actually in favor of their extended maintenance intervals. BMW has been doing it for years. If it is handle properly on the dealership level it could actually turn out to be a good thing. I do agree that a vehicle should go 5500 - 7500 miles without having their fluids checked, we currently tell our clients to come by anytime and we will check and adjust their operating fluids on the service drive, they don't even have to get out of their car. As for the maintenance intervals themselves, if they are package and priced properly and have value built into them it could be a good thing. Clients "servicing" less, but spending more. If it's done properly and the client is educated, maybe he/she will stop going to jiffy Lube every 2.5 - 3 months.

B
Blaker19
 

Maintenance 1 and Maintenance 2

Postby Harold Braucht » Fri Jun 15, 2007 8:27 pm

Less is not better necessarily. It may be a good EPA political move, however the less you see your customer, the less opportunity for relationship building. When they do come back with more wrong, maybe more money, but is that not at the wrong end of the spectrum? It was not that many years ago that Domestic Vehicles would come back for warranty or repair. You were always fixing problems. Now training them on Maintnenace, which drives your retention initiatives and keeps your name in front of your customer more often, is gone. A Maintnenace 1 LOF and Tire Rotate, hmmmm, Discount and sams does them free, an inspection with your LOF, that's novel, like every shop in town. So what do I tell my customer that for $89.95 or more at some stores, I can do an LOF (which some stores use as a lost leader for $19.95 or less) , tire rotate for $24.95 (never did get a good ELR) so i get $40.00 plus to do a check? I am not sure , but this is not laid out as a very good value added service. Remember, it's not the $89.95 that is the issue, it is the qualifying it properly. I think it will seriously hurt most Dealers who really need Fixed OPS on track now more then ever.
Harold Braucht
 

Maintenance 1 and Maintenance 2

Postby robc » Fri Jun 15, 2007 8:38 pm

Chevrolet customer does not equal BMW customer. That's why it doesn't work for GM the same as BMW. Plus, and this is the biggie, the BMW customer isn't paying for the maintenance.
robc
 

Maintenance 1 and Maintenance 2

Postby dcpdave » Sun Jun 17, 2007 2:34 am

you may make more gross on the first service, but you won't see that customer a second time if your pricing is inflated in the name of less intervals-more money. as i said earlier, in the customers mindset, it's not nessessarily what you get, it's how much money am i spending. think about it from a consumer mindset, not as a business for a minute.
we are, or should be performing the same inspections on a 3k service as we would on a "maint 1-2". the only differences are, maint 1= L/O/F, rotate, inspection. maint 2= L/O/F, rotate, inspection, and cabin filter, if equipped. before this came out, our customers were educated with a rotate every other oil change, and a cabin filter at 15k. they were ok with that step-ladder approach. they didn't have to spend $80.00-$90.00 EVERY time they came in.
you cannot inflate the price and expect the public to buy into the "value" aspect, they ain't that stupid. they can, and will get the same services performed at a much cheaper price, at your competitors. your 40% retention will decline with that approach. as harold eluded to, the more you see your customer, the more they trust you, thus increasing your loyalty, and retention.
as far as the "pit stop" idea, think about it, how many people have time in their busy day to stop in, or IF they would even think about it. it's easy for US to think of these things, but, again, put yourself in a consumer's mind.
jmho,

[This message has been edited by dcpdave (edited 06-17-2007).]

dcpdave
 

Maintenance 1 and Maintenance 2

Postby 69mach1 » Mon Jun 18, 2007 8:06 am

The true problem is " OIL LIFE MONITOR"
I live 23 miles off the pavement that means dirt roads, the temperature can go from -20 to excess of 200-300 under my hood do you think the Oil Life Monitor can really know my oil is dirty and needs to be changed,
why would you do a injustice to your customer its probally his secong biggest investment
69mach1
 

Maintenance 1 and Maintenance 2

Postby carwars » Mon Jun 18, 2007 3:56 pm

I have talked to some people up the ladder at G.M. especially about tire rotations and oil consumption during these long stretches and they told me about this 'pitstop' program where a customer brings his car into the drive and my advisors ck. the levels and tire wear,I guess for free.By the time sales tells the customer and service tells them about pitstop routine everybody is so confused they may ask for a shot and a beer to figure it out.So guess whaT?I'm doing nothing right now.I will do as the customer requests and also not provide these interim services for free under these loose guidelines.We provide enough for free to the customer and the factory.They want to help sell the vehicle with simplified maint.and yet are working on customer retention.The more you confuse the more customers will go to juffy lube where most don't care if their change engine oil light stays on or not but better yet we will take our time to reset it.You know how that goes.The only way this will work sales wise and service wise is to follow BMW and provide BASIC services for free during the initiial warranty period.Then everybody knows whats going on and everybody gets paid.
carwars
 

Maintenance 1 and Maintenance 2

Postby zekensted » Mon Jun 18, 2007 7:13 pm

I talked to a couple of "tire for life" guys and they are doing 5,000 mile service intervals and always rotating tires.

I kinda think this falls somwhere inbetween what GM and dealers are saying....maybe?

Why not create a "Pitstop" service? Couldnt we sell a tire pressure check, fluid level top off, and a tire wear check in between the M1 and M2?

So we dont change oil or filter. We arent making any money off of those parts anyway!?!
zekensted
 

Maintenance 1 and Maintenance 2

Postby capsgs » Tue Jun 19, 2007 8:21 am

Well here's what I did. I made up a service menu outlining the M1-M2 procedure. I will give a copy to my rep and that will satisfy his needs. As for my shop? Business as usual!!! Customer decides what he/she wants to do. We can meet both needs!!!!
capsgs
 

Maintenance 1 and Maintenance 2

Postby Jim Lloyd » Thu Jul 12, 2007 3:47 pm

I switched our menu over to a 5,000-mile oil service/tire rotation interval a couple of years ago. Im not really against the extended intervals as much as I am training people to wait for a light to come on. It sets the stage for the tires to be beyond all hope on the first service or the car running out of oil before the oil life reaches 10%. Think about it, they can put a tire pressure monitor in every tire, but they dont think an oil level monitor is necessary.
I wonder how many engines GM will eat under warranty before their idiot light comes on?

Waiting for a light to come on is just not good business. Thats tantamount to skipping an annual physical just so we can save a buck. Great idea; well save ourselves to death. I wonder if GM has taken notice that no other vehicle manufacturer has followed suit with this nonsense? Hmmmm
Other manufacturers schedule maintenance at specific intervalsthats true simplified maintenance.

In my humble opinion, GM should set a maintenance schedule of 5,000-6,000-miles for an oil service and tire rotation. It will allow us to easily schedule the customers next appointment and properly maintain the vehicle. Furthermore, a regular visit by our customers ensures regular floor traffic across our new and used vehicle showrooms.
Jim Lloyd
 

PreviousNext

Return to Service & Body Shop Managers

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 4 guests