Jaimie Bowe is the territory manager of Update Promise, a consumer-experience, lifecycle solutions company that puts dealerships in touch with their customers. With their mobile app and online platform, customers can easily connect with dealerships and service writers for vehicle repairs and related services.

Jaimie shares how innovations provide better solutions for dealerships, especially when it comes to the convenience of customers. Process and communication are important factors in addressing the needs of clients. Technology plays a significant role in making services accessible, and failure to leverage the technology can be disastrous

When it comes to the internal aspects in dealerships, opportunities for training and constant learning need to open for service managers and directors so that they can get updated with the best practices in the industry.

Connect with

LinkedIn: Jamie Bowe

Update Promise’s Official Website: www.updatepromise.com

Three Takeaways

Quote

“Just keep swimming. Just keep moving along. Just take it as it comes.”

Connect with Kaylee

LinkedIn: Kaylee Felio

Website: www.partsedge.com

In this Episode

0:00 Introduction

0:51 Introducing Jaimie Bowe

3:09 What are the challenges of the parts department?

6:28 Tech innovations changed the industry

7:30 Goals as a manager

10:37 Jaimie’s personal experience as a manager

12:21 What does Update Promise do?

17:20 Jaimie’s travel experience

18:20 Jaimie’s hobbies

Mike Gass is the parts director for Rick Case Automotive Group, an auto dealership company with headquarters in South Florida and a store branch in North Atlanta. Mike has been through many roles in dealership departments and has worked his way to the top.

Mike explains the differences between the parts department and the service department. Even though they differ in many ways, both are vital to achieving the dealership’s mission - provide quality service for customers.

Treating company employees right plays a huge part in achieving dealership success. Quality service depends on how motivated the people are in every department. If you give employees the opportunity to grow, learn, and think, they will thrive.

Three Takeaways

Quote

“The customer’s perception is the customer’s reality.”

Connect with Kaylee

LinkedIn: Kaylee Felio https://www.linkedin.com/in/gotopartsgirl

Website: https://www.partsedge.com/

Connect with Mike Gass

LinkedIn: Mike Gass https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-gass-00283917/

Check out what the Parts Girl Podcast has been up to: https://www.partsedge.com/the-parts-girl-podcast/

In this Episode

0:00 Introduction

2:42 What’s so special about the parts department?

4:00 Recalls and challenges in parts department

6:35 Addressing staff shortages

9:00 Is there a divide between the parts department and sales?

10:49 Mike’s biggest challenges

12:08 Mike’s hobbies

13:55 Dealership’s occasional cookout

15:06 How Mike stays motivated

17:10 How departments think outside the box

19:40 Reach out to Mike Gass

“Everything I did, I did with passion.”

Troy Scheer is the director of marketing and communications for the National Independent Automobile Dealership Association. Their mission is to make sure that independent dealers get updated on the latest trends and technology in the automotive industry.

Troy shares his experiences working in the automotive business and the years prior to his fulfilling career. While working in the marketing industry with his wife, he was introduced to the world of automobiles after meeting a client who saw value in his potential.

Working closely with independent dealers made him realize the differences between franchise dealerships and independent businesses. He shares these aspects as well as his insights on the future of the industry in this episode.

Three Takeaways

Quote

“Everything I did, I did with passion.”

Resources

Connect with Kaylee

LinkedIn: Kaylee Felio https://www.linkedin.com/in/gotopartsgirl

Website: https://www.partsedge.com/

Connect with Troy Scheer

LinkedIn: Troy Scheer https://www.linkedin.com/in/troyscheer/

Email: [email protected]

In this Episode

0:00 Introduction

0:55 What’s it like to be part of the National Independent Automobile Dealership Association?

1:49 How different are independent dealerships from franchise dealerships?

8:10 Troy’s hobbies

12:15 What would Troy want to be remembered as

14:18 What the auto business is going to look like in the next five years

19:36 Traveling experiences

24:00 Future projects

26:16 Reach out to Troy Scheer

Brooke Furniss is the CEO of BZ Consultants Group, a consulting agency that specializes in reviewing dealership reports and guiding dealers through their relationships with vendors. Brooke shares why it’s important for business owners to delegate tasks for their staff so they can all learn together.

Brooke also shares her tips to make an automotive business successful - investing in people through training is a key initiative in strengthening the company. Communication also plays a huge role in running the business. In order for a dealership to maintain quality service, all departments must learn how to communicate, fill in the gaps of their services, and work together.

In this Episode

0:00 Introduction

1:55 Why are departments separated in dealerships?

5:17 Overlooked opportunities

10:20 Important auto-business discussions

15:40 The hardest lesson Brooke learned in her career

20:24 How would Brooke like to be remembered?

21:59 Brooke’s favorite mantra

24:53 Reach out to Brooke!

Connect with Kaylee

LinkedIn: Kaylee Felio

Website: https://www.partsedge.com/

Connect with Brooke Furniss

LinkedIn: Brooke Furniss

Check out BZ Consultants Group: https://www.bzconsultantsgroup.com/

“If you’re a dealership, you have to look for the right person you can train and mold. But you have to have a process and core values.”

Corey makes sure that dealership advisors don’t go through a complicated process in providing quality service to their customers. Just like sports, businesses need a playbook that will serve as a guide for systematic procedures. Corey meets with business executives to guide them in coming with the right dealership process.

With the convenience of applying guidelines in their job, dealerships can easily achieve their business goals, complemented by the management’s dedicated leadership, the service adviser’s committed initiatives, and the technicians’ mechanical expertise.

In this Episode

0:00 Introduction

1:52 What are the things that advisers don’t have time to do?

5:41 Solutions to address managerial gaps

7:26 What can dealerships do to fix problems caused by mismanagement?

15:31 What is one of the hardest lessons that Corey learned in his career?

28:22 Reach out to Corey Smith

Connect with Kaylee

LinkedIn: Kaylee Felio

Website: https://www.partsedge.com/

Connect with Corey Smith

LinkedIn: Corey Smith

Website: nationalautocare.com

Reach out via email: [email protected]

Maureen Martin attributes her ongoing success in the automotive industry to her personal mantra: be flexible and stay focused. As the current vice president of client retention and strategy for Dynatron Software, Inc., she applied some of the best business practices in dealerships based on her extensive career in the industry.

She found her passion for automotives and dealerships at the Ford Motor Company in 1985 where she first started working even before she graduated from college at Western Michigan University. She got involved with strategy, consulting, and marketing, and even went as far as relocating an entire customer service division from a “hacienda”  to a stadium, before coming up with her own consultation agency a decade after.

She believes that data-processing is crucial when it comes to dealerships, especially when information helps businesses grow. As change is constant, companies need to find ways to adapt or to set the trends themselves. With Maureen’s dedication to the automotive industry comes her personal belief that learning never stops.

In this Episode

0:00 Introduction

1:21 How Maureen started in the industry

16:46 What it means to come in to the industry

20:30 Lessons learned in the industry

26:17 What does Maureen love most about her job?

29:40 The importance of embracing cultures

31:20 Maureen’s personal mantra

35:13 Reach out to Maureen

Connect with Kaylee

LinkedIn: Kaylee Felio

Website: https://www.partsedge.com/

Connect with Maureen Martin

LinkedIn: Maureen Martin

Reach out via email: [email protected]

Shawn Armorer is the founder and owner of the Montreal-based BDC Alchemy Inc., a consulting and coaching firm that specializes in generating an automotive business’ revenue by aligning their BDC’s initiatives with the departments they serve. April Simmons is the corporate internet and marketing director at Horne Auto Group, LLC in Phoenix, Arizona.

Each of them has a two-decade experience in the automotive industry, and they find value in connections and networking on social media platforms such as LinkedIn. With the industry’s constant innovation and trends, Shawn believes that professionals need to keep up. April shares that being proactive doesn’t require doing all things at once, but learning when to pause and assess what needs to be done in the business.

Making connections in the industry is a great way to achieve success as one would always learn and gain insight from the experiences of other people.

In this Episode

0:00 Introduction

3:21 How April and Shawn met

9:43 The common reality for many professionals in the industry.

12:51 How April and Shawn would like to be remembered

17:56 The importance of having a voice in the industry

25:28 The animal counterparts

29:40 Favorite places to visit and food to eat

Connect with Kaylee

LinkedIn: Kaylee Felio

Website: https://www.partsedge.com/

Connect with Shawn Armorer and April Simmons

Shawn Armorer’s LinkedIn: Shawn Armorer

April Simmons’ LinkedIn: April Simmons

Dealer Solutions Inc. conducts inventories in the parts departments of auto dealers across the country, totaling to about 1,500 inventories per year.

While physical inventories are often overlooked by management, taking annual inventory can help improve the parts department and, in turn, can enhance the quality of the service department.

In this episode, Tom Deane, Jeff Baker, and Becca Kroeger explain the importance of inventories for parts departments, underscoring the value of accuracy and how it relates to the accounting system in an automotive business where passionate people succeed.

0:00 Introduction

1:05 What does Dealer Solutions Inc. do?

2:00 Opportunities along the way

3:09 The importance of taking inventory

7:05 Becca’s background in dealerships

13:54 Becca’s advice for women in the automotive industry

17:24 Jeff’s story

19:55 The guests’ comfort food

Connect with Kaylee

LinkedIn: Kaylee Felio

Website: https://www.partsedge.com/

Connect with Tom Deane, Jeff Baker and Becca Kroeger

Tom Deane’s LinkedIn: Tom Deane

Becca Kroeger’s LinkedIn: Becca Kroeger

Website: https://www.dealer-solutions.com/

“If it’s important to you, you have to set aside the time to do it. You need to get it done.” - Joe Chambers

“Always remain as the best student you can possibly be.” - Erick Jauregui

Joe Chambers & Erick Jauregui both host Service Drive Live, a show that supports a community of professionals in the automotive industry. Just like mastermind groups with weekly episodes, the show accommodates inquiries and provides pertinent information and advice on how to excel in the car business.

Aside from hosting Service Drive Live, both Joe and Erick maintain a thriving career in Fixed Operations. As change remains inevitable in the industry, the best way to succeed is for shops to hire the right talent, and promote their brand on available social media platforms to reach more clients.

0:00 Introduction

0:45 Biggest challenge in the dealership industry

1:53 Changes with the current process

5:30 Dealerships with social media

11:00 Tips to maintain discipline while working at home

13:16 Why does Service Drive Live stand out?

18:46 After party questions

28:50 The importance of training

32:35 Reach out to Joe and Erick

Connect with Kaylee

LinkedIn: Kaylee Felio

Website: https://www.partsedge.com/

Connect with Joe and Erick

Joe Chambers’ LinkedIn: Joe Chambers

Erick Chambers’ LinkedIn: Erick Jauregui

Website: https://www.iaautogroup.com

Service Drive Live: https://www.linkedin.com/company/service-drive-live/about/

Coralee Zueff is the author of the Amazon best-selling book, Five Star Service Advisor where she provides guidelines for advisors, shop owners, and dealerships about proven management techniques. Effective communication keeps customers and technicians on the same page, eliminates conflicts, and increases profit.

Coralee believes that service advisors can diagnose miscommunication issues that can risk the business. With efficient sales skills, service advisors make it possible for shops to achieve their goals. Based in Canada, Coralee provides training and consultations for dealers and automotive businesses.

0:00 Introduction

1:00 The challenges of independent shops

3:00 Coralee’s Five Star Service Advisor

4:19 Women and automotive

7:09 Priorities of an import shop

8:00 Coralee’s hobbies

9:53 Piece of advice for younger self

10:41 Hardest lesson Coralee has learned in life

13:20 Reach out to Coralee

Connect with Kaylee

LinkedIn: Kaylee Felio

Website: https://www.partsedge.com/

Connect with

LinkedIn: Coralee Zueff

Website: https://www.coraleezueff.com