Shon Kingrey is the Director of Fixed Operations at Step One Automotive Group, located in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, and joins the Fixed Ops Roundtable to share his experience overseeing 17 rooftops and 417 fixed operations employees.

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What Ted and Shon discuss in this episode:

04:43 - Shon explains that while 417 employees are a lot, it's important that they stay focused on how many family members are associated with that number. While other dealer groups were doing 30 or 40% cuts during the COVID pandemic, Step One Automotive is proud to have kept everyone gainfully employed.

05:35 - Shon shares how he got into the car business, in particular on the fixed operations side of the business from being a city boy who couldn't change a tire to the position he has now as fixed operations director. He spent three years as a general manager running both the front-end and back-end of the dealership but proudly exclaims, "I'm not a front-end guy. I'm a back-end guy. I'm a fixed ops guy — not a variable guy."

10:50 - Having stores located around the United States means that Shon has to keep track of many different styles of leadership remotely. "There are some managers who I talk to every day because they need that. There are others who quite frankly, don't want to hear from me."

11:23 - Shon explains that he feels his claim to fame is taking the time to really get to know his people — something worthwhile for anyone in a leadership position. There are accountability mechanisms in place that help the entire group function transparently. "I call out the good, the bad. We celebrate the victories and we challenge ourselves on the struggles we're having."

Listen to the full episode featuring Shon Kingrey for even more insights!

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Thanks, Julie Douglas!

1. Connect with Shon on Linkedin

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