Unfortunately, they are not an isolated opinion
I had an interesting conversation last week with someone who is very familiar with the automotive service business in Canada. He has a long history of covering dealer fixed operations and the aftermarket.
Given that familiarity, I was amazed to hear, throughout our conversation, opinions that I think are simply wrong. More importantly, I think some of the ideas he expressed should serve as a rallying cry to dealers across the country, as he is certainly not alone in his opinions.
Basically, it was explained to me that new car dealers can’t compete for service with the aftermarket. Even more amazing, it was explained to me that new car dealers don’t want to compete for service with the aftermarket, particularly on older cars. Instead, he feels dealers are happy to fill their service departments with nothing but warranty work, and help the aftermarket thrive because dealers get the parts sales from the aftermarket shops now happily taking care of the out-of-warranty customer.
I was asked why our magazines don’t expand our coverage and distribution to include the aftermarket, since a healthy aftermarket would buy more parts from dealers. In this very skewed (though again, not unique) view of the world, everybody wins.
By this point in the discussion, my blood was boiling. So I made my opinions clear.
Dealers can compete
Dealers absolutely can compete with the aftermarket in service, and win. Your techs have the training and tools to do it right the first time, in the time it should take. This isn’t about door rates. How much does a customer save if the aftermarket shop they go to takes three times longer to fix the problem because they don’t have the same training? They don’t save a thing.
As for the idea that dealers don’t want the business, but are instead happy just to sell parts to the aftermarket, I simply pointed out that if most dealers have a parts-to-service ratio around 80 percent or so, why wouldn’t they want the dollar of service revenue along with the 80 cents in parts? What business person would prefer the parts revenue alone?
Dealers have the relationships and the resources to win in the fight for the service dollar. Increasingly, I see dealers also have the resolve. So let’s work together to dispel the myths that surround this critical part of your business, and win.
We intend to do our part. You can expect to see more fixed ops coverage in coming issues, building on the foundation we’ve put in place with Jim Bell. More examples from the field of best practices, more coverage of dealers doing great things to build their service business. More tools to help you win. And no, we absolutely won’t be expanding our distribution to include the aftermarket. Some publishers may think you can play on both sides of the fence, but I don’t.
I’m looking forward to a follow-up meeting with this person. I have a big “I told you so” in my pocket, ready and waiting.
