“Traditionally, [fixed ops departments have] been tucked away in the back of the dealership and no one wanted to go back in the dank, dark corners. And now it’s at the forefront of the operation. The opportunities that are there have presented themselves with supply chain issues for the dealer’s vehicles. We look to what we know best and what we’ve always done. The concept of absorption always existed in fixed ops, and I think now it’s just a heightened awareness, a push to really invest in [fixed ops].” — John Riffe, fixed ops installer, DealerBuilt, on “Fixed Ops Roundtable” podcast, July 25
“Our leadership team is majority female, and a majority of our leaders on the exec team are female — because we simply look at performance and value and they’ve risen to the top wonderfully well.” — Art Shaw, CEO, RepairPal, on “What the Fixed Ops?!” podcast, July 29
Dealerships’ views of mentorships have “changed not just over the last decade, but probably over the last couple. And it’s fueled by technology. Thirty years ago, when almost every engine operated similarly, you could work on this, you could work on that, it was no big deal. Very little special tools. Now every brand is very brand centric. So the way a Mercedes operates is very specific to that brand. You can’t jump from shop to shop to shop and be successful anymore. It’s important to find someone who is passionate about the brand and then grow them and help them along through the journey of a beginning technician to an apprenticeship tech to a journeyman to ultimately a master tech or diagnostic tech. It takes awhile, but it’s critical to have a process that aids them along that journey.” — Randy Clements, general manager, Euro Motorcars Devon, on “Beyond the Wrench” podcast, July 20