Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in the May/June edition of Dealer magazine
A parable: A successful car dealer had ten mid-sized buy-here-pay-here used car lots. He called ten of his employees and gave them each one of the used car stores to manage. He planned to go on a long journey.
“Build the business”, he told each of them, “until I come back.”
After a long time, he returned and called a meeting of the ten managers to find out what they had gained with the used car lots.
The first manager came and said “Sir, I have sold a lot of cars and reinvested the money and built the business into ten locations.”
“Well done” the dealer said, “You take charge of ten of my high-line import dealerships.”
The next manager came and said, “Sir, the business has been a success. I have grown it to five locations.”
“Well done” the dealer said, “I will give you five of my new-car dealerships to run.”
Then another manager came and said, “Sir, here is your used car lot back. We are selling about the same number of cars now as we were when you left.”
“Wow,” said the dealer, “couldn’t you have at least run a few ads or beefed up the online website!”
Then the dealer said to his comptroller, “Take the used car lot away from this manager and give it to the one who has ten.”
“But sir,” said the comptroller, “he already has ten!”
He replied, “I tell you that to everyone who has (produced), more will be given. And to everyone who has (produced) nothing, even what he has will be taken away.”
The moral of the story is obvious: He who is faithful with little, will be entrusted with much!
Award Good Employees
The lube guy who always gets there early and has a good attitude is worthy of additional training so he can do fuel and fluid maintenance services… and make more money.
The porter who warmly greets the customers and treats their cars like they were his own, is worthy to become your next “apprentice” service advisor… and make more money.
The wise technician who is always willing to give the new guys a helping hand, is worthy to be considered for a promotion to shop foreman… where he can make more money.
Somebody say “DUH.” I mean, seriously, this only makes sense. Of course, any prudent businessman would do this. Or would they?
Listen my friends, I’ve been around dealerships for over 40 years; in stores from border to border and coast to coast. I can tell you for a fact that this commonsense business principle gets violated hundreds of times each month. I know of one dealership that has had five service managers in the last two years; another that has had an advisor turnover rate of 2.3 times per year. These dealerships ought to put a revolving door on the employee entrance!
Pay Them What they Are Worth
I have never understood how a do-nothing service advisor with lousy CSI, lousy retention scores, and lousy “bedside manner” goes from dealer to dealer, getting hired again and again and again. If he failed on the service drive at Ford, Toyota, Chevrolet, and Nissan; how on earth do you think he will succeed at Hyundai. Yet, it happens all the time as the guy moves all over town spreading the same poison.
Conversely, I’ve seen top notch service managers who are paid according to their ability to produce gross profit, who are making good money for themselves and their dealership, that end up leaving, because their pay plan got changed. Some bean counter decided that the guy was making too much money, resulting in the dealership losing one of its top producers.
The same is true for advisors with production-based pay plans. They work hard, produce lots of customer-pay gross, have great CSI scores and retention numbers—and leave the dealership because somebody in the ivory tower got greedy and cut their pay.
Opportunities Abound
Let’s go back to the parable. Notice that the reward for growth, the reward for faithfulness is not rest; but rather greater opportunity to produce more so they can get more for themselves.
The first manager saw his economic status change as he grew from one used car lot to ten. Then his income went through the roof as he took over the ten high-line import stores; as did his fame in the industry and his respect from customers and employees.
Matthew Henry says it like this: He that has done well with what he has been given – will be given more, so he can have the capacity to get more. Those who have been the most industrious and those who have done the most good should have their opportunity to do good enlarged.
In contrast, those who do nothing with what they have been given (talents, time, customer base, car count) will lose their opportunity. Use it or lose it.
Nothing Too Small
Let me highlight another application for service advisors from the parable. Advisors, don’t ever say “It is just an oil change!”
Don’t ever see an oil change and tire rotation as a no-profit waste of time, a distraction, a mindless transaction that you can do in your sleep. Get’em in, get’em out, and get on to the next one.
Rather, see it as an opportunity to display your customer service skills, and an opportunity for them to have a stellar customer experience. Be faithful with the “little” oil change and the customer will reward you with “much” continued loyalty and a willingness to buy the maintenance services you offer on future visits.
Insist that your lube techs do a thorough multi-point inspection, not just pencil whip everything green. Their faithfulness with “little” will be richly rewarded as they rack up “much” labor hours in the future.
Great stewardship and great faithfulness will always produce great rewards and great job satisfaction.
