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3 Video Inspection Mistakes That Cost Your Dealership Sales

July 6, 2026

Video inspections have become a standard part of many dealership service departments. Manufacturers encourage them, customers expect more transparency, and technology providers promise they’ll increase repair approvals.

Yet many dealerships invest in video inspection software only to discover their sales don’t improve.

Why?

Because customers aren’t buying technology. They’re buying trust.

A video inspection is simply another tool. Without the right process, consistent training, and clear communication, it can actually reduce customer confidence instead of building it.

Whether you’re a SERVICE ADVISOR or a SERVICE MANAGER, avoiding these three common mistakes can help your dealership get better results from every inspection.

In this episode of Service Drive Revolution #366, Chris Collins, Adam, and Hogy discuss the three biggest video inspection mistakes dealerships make and why many SERVICE MANAGERS fail to see better customer approval rates after implementing video MPIs.

Learn how improving technician training, building customer trust, and creating a consistent inspection process can help your Fixed Ops department increase repair sales and deliver a better customer experience.

Mistake #1: Treating Video Inspections Like a Magic Solution

One of the biggest misconceptions in Fixed Ops is believing software solves process problems.

It doesn’t.

If your technicians aren’t performing thorough inspections on paper today, adding a camera tomorrow won’t suddenly create better habits. Technology only magnifies the process that’s already in place.

Before implementing video inspections, ask yourself:

Are inspections consistent?
Does every technician inspect the same way?
Are recommendations clear and complete?
Do advisors confidently present the findings?

If the answer is “not always,” video won’t fix those issues.

Instead, establish a consistent inspection process first. Once the fundamentals are working, adding video becomes much more effective.

If you’re looking to improve your entire inspection process, check out Why Fixed Ops Systems Matter More Than People in Dealership Service for additional strategies that strengthen your dealership’s inspection culture.

Mistake #2: Failing to Train Technicians for the Camera

Many dealerships spend thousands of dollars on video inspection software but only train technicians how to use the app.

That’s not enough.

Recording a professional inspection requires an entirely different skill set.

Customers immediately notice:

Shaky camera work
Poor lighting
Cluttered work areas
Confusing explanations
Low confidence
Technicians who obviously don’t want to be on camera

Every one of those details affects trust.

Remember, customers usually can’t evaluate whether a technician is technically correct. Instead, they judge professionalism.

A confident technician who clearly explains a repair recommendation will almost always inspire more confidence than someone who rushes through a video while sounding uncomfortable.

Just because someone is an outstanding technician doesn’t automatically mean they’ll be effective on camera.

That’s why practice matters.

Role-play inspections.

Review videos together.

Provide coaching.

Create standard introductions and closing statements.

Most importantly, don’t let technicians practice on live customers.

Professional athletes don’t practice during the championship game, and your technicians shouldn’t learn video inspections while customers are watching.

Mistake #3: Forgetting to Build Customer Trust Before Sending the Video

One overlooked mistake happens long before the technician ever starts recording.

The customer has no idea a video is coming.

Think about what happens every day.

A customer suddenly receives a text message from a random five-digit number with a link they’ve never seen before.

Many never open it.

Others ignore it completely.

Instead, SERVICE ADVISORS should introduce the inspection process during write-up.

A simple explanation makes a tremendous difference.

Tell the customer something like:

“As part of every visit, our certified technician performs a complimentary multi-point inspection. We’ll also send you a short video showing exactly what we find so you can see the condition of your vehicle for yourself.”

Now the customer expects the message.

They’re waiting for it.

They’re far more likely to watch it.

Setting expectations dramatically improves engagement while reinforcing transparency from the beginning of the service experience.

Trust Is What Customers Actually Buy

Here’s the reality many dealerships overlook.

Customers rarely walk into the service drive excited to purchase repairs.

They’re buying because they trust your recommendation.

Brakes eventually have to be replaced.

Suspension components eventually wear out.

Maintenance eventually becomes necessary.

The real question customers ask isn’t, “Do I need this?”

It’s:

“Do I trust these people enough to do the work?”

Everything about your inspection either builds or destroys that trust.

Confidence.

Professionalism.

Communication.

Consistency.

Even something as simple as a clean work area sends a message about the quality of your dealership.

When technicians appear uncomfortable or rushed on camera, customers notice—even if they can’t explain why.

Trust is emotional.

That’s why every part of the inspection process matters.

Don’t Measure Activity, Measure Results

CAnother mistake many dealerships make is celebrating inspection completion rates instead of actual outcomes.

A 95% video inspection completion rate sounds impressive.

But did customer approvals increase?

Did hours per repair order improve?

Did gross profit grow?

If the answer is no, then the process isn’t accomplishing its purpose.

Technology should improve results—not simply create another box to check.

SERVICE MANAGERS should coach toward the outcome they actually want:

Higher customer confidence
Better repair approval rates
More complete inspections
Increased hours per repair order
Stronger customer relationships

Those are the metrics that matter.

For additional leadership strategies that help SERVICE MANAGERS improve dealership performance, read Why Some Service Departments Never Improve.

The Bottom Line

Video inspections can absolutely increase customer confidence—but only when they’re supported by a strong process.

If technicians aren’t trained, customers aren’t prepared, and managers aren’t coaching consistently, even the best software won’t improve sales.

Focus on building trust first.

Train your team relentlessly.

Communicate clearly with customers.

Measure outcomes instead of activity.

Do those things consistently, and video inspections become far more than another piece of technology—they become a powerful tool for building customer confidence, increasing repair approvals, and driving long-term Fixed Ops success.

Feel free to explore the linked articles above for deeper insights into each strategy. If you have any further questions or need additional resources, don’t hesitate to ask!

FULL VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Video Inspection Landscape and Intro

Hey, it’s hump day. It’s Wednesday here on Service Drive Revolution. I hope everybody has had a great week so far. I know that I have; Adam has for sure. We are going to talk about the three mistakes you’re making with video inspections. That’s what we have for you today. It’s a great topic. Video inspections are still being adopted all over the place. Some people are doing really good with it and other people don’t even know what we’re talking about. It’s probably that dramatic of a difference. Good morning, gentlemen. How are you doing? Good. How are you? I’m great. You look good, Adam. You’re a little formal. Yeah, and I’ve got my patriotic gear on. Hogi and I didn’t get the memo. Yeah, I’m all for it though.

Independence Day Celebrations and Lake Traditions

What’s patriotic about it? The stars. I’m wearing a flag shirt on. I am so excited for the 4th of July; 250 years, 250 years. Proud to be an American, love this country, love spending time with my family up at the lake house even more and all the crazy people that’ll blow stuff up. That’s what I was going to say: I’m going to blow some stuff up. I’m way too old to light something and run; those days are over. When I first took Missy up there for Fourth of July—because she grew up in Los Angeles and in Washington State where my people are from—there are Indian reservations everywhere.

Unregulated reservation Fireworks Experiences

The move is you go to the Indian reservation and you make friends and then you’re like, “Okay, where’s the good stuff?” And then they take you in the back and you get the good stuff. So I took Missy because I just wanted her to experience the Indian reservation fireworks and the whole thing. I think that the stuff on the Indian reservation isn’t regulated the same because they sell everything, you can do anything, they probably hand make it. Yeah, it’s real gunpowder for sure. So I bought some stuff and then I put a mat on the dock. The very first thing, because she’s like, “Well, what do you do? How does this work?” And I’m like, “Well, you got to stand back and you got to be careful.”

Computerized Lake Shows vs. Lighting and Running

I’m giving her all the disclaimers and rules. And then I lit something and ran and I was like, “This is dumb. What am I doing? I’m lighting something and running. Why don’t I just watch everybody else?” I’ve got neighbors that compete with each other. And then there are two big fireworks shows on that lake. One is this Boeing executive that literally has a metal float that comes out and it’s all computerized and it’s beautiful, it lasts like 20 minutes. And then there’s this real estate agent on the lake that has everybody contribute, so you can go to a GoFundMe and give a little money. I always give like a hundred or 200 bucks and then he has a big fireworks show. So that’s enough, what do I need to light and run? It’s funny.

Teaching Sparkler safety to the Next Generation

But you’re going to do it, huh, Adam? You’re going to light something and run? Oh, yeah, it’s been—I’ll be honest with you—it’s been some time, but I think it’s about that time. It’s 250 years, man, and you’re trying to teach the next generation that it’s still fun. I got to a period growing up that we used to do that a lot, we’d try to go to the neighboring states to go find the good stuff. Then there’s definitely a lull period. But now having the little ones, we started last year with sparklers. I feel like sparklers are way more unsafe because it’s literally burning in their hands and they’re trying to inch to the pieces not to get burned. I’m like, “We should totally light the wick and then run; I think we can do that.”

Vietnam Veterans and Gratefulness for sacrifices

I was talking to my stepdad this morning and I called and he picked up my mom’s phone. I was like, “Hey, what are you doing?” And he’s like, “Oh, I’m filling out this thing.” They invited him to Washington DC because he’s a vet, he’s a Vietnam vet, and they do these cool tours. He was telling me about it and I was like, “Wow, let me know if I can go watch, it’s really cool what they do.” But it made me think too about how grateful I am for the vets and the people that sacrificed for us to be able to be clowns on a show like this once a week. We take it for granted, but it’s incredible, we’re very lucky. Yeah, I would agree, very lucky.

Holiday Vacation Planning across the Coaching Team

I think a lot of people share that same sentiment. Chris, I was just telling Adam yesterday or sometime recently how many people have special plans for this year because it’s the 250th. There’s just a lot of people; we’re pretty much as a coaching team staying home even though the fourth is on the weekend because just so many clients, so many people have vacation plans and special plans for this particular fourth. Yeah, I was telling Adam how refreshing that was to hear all that, and it’s going to be great. Now, I’m still with you; I have the app, we have a big show here and have a bunch of people over, but it’s an app on my phone. You hit the button and it triggers the thing.

Electronic Apps Over reservation Firework Choices

Oh, you’re at that lightning running—that’s not my style. I don’t think they’re selling that at the Indian reservation, I’m sorry. When you talk, Chris, about the Indian reservation, I can’t help but think about that one spot in Joe Dirt when they’re asking about it. You tell me, you don’t have any whistling bug bombs or whatever the heck it is, like whistles with or without them, funny. Have you seen the stuff that Trump has done in Washington DC with all the fountains and memorials? I know they’re making fun of him because of the reflecting pool, but when we were in Indiana looking at that one art piece monument, it made me think of that and I really want to go see it.

Launching Leadership in Service Drive Academy

Just so everybody knows, this is the first week now that I’m going to start teaching leadership in the Service Drive Revolution Academy. Hogi has been teaching financial statements every other week, and as a bonus right now for anybody that’s in the academy, I’m going to do leadership on the off week. So this is going to be the first one that I’m doing. I’m not sure how well we promoted it, so I don’t know how many people will be in there, but it doesn’t matter because we’ll record it. If you’re in the service drive academy, you’ll be able to watch it at any time, but I’m going to be talking about the magic of leadership. Leadership is magic, and I’m going to unpack that.

Defining Real Leadership vs. Management Training

I have a really fun outline that I’m excited to go through and teach leadership, something that I’m very passionate about, something I think is very misunderstood. The whole reason why I wrote the I Am Leader book was because there wasn’t leadership training out there that I thought was real leadership training. Most training out there that has the title leadership is management training, it’s a completely different thing. I’ve been in thousands of businesses in my career and worked with thousands of people that think that they’re leaders or aren’t, and I can count on one hand how many true leaders I’ve worked with as clients. It’s very few and far between; most of them are managers.

Accessing On-Demand Financial tools for Support

So that’s happening today. If you’re not in the service drive academy, which I know a lot of you aren’t, it is easy to sign up. You just go to chriscollinsinc.com and it’s the on-demand training. There’s a page there that’ll kind of walk you through it, you can click buy. We’ve priced it so anybody can afford it. Also, we priced it so service managers can invest in themselves because a lot of you work for dealers that’ll do sales training, but they don’t think about fixed ops training; it’s not on the radar. If you don’t get the financial statement and don’t have access to that, we are going to provide you with that stuff.

Chasing Net Profit Over Wasted Gross Expense

We had a couple people last week that don’t get the financial and so they were a little lost when we started talking about it, so we sent them a financial that’s a made-up one that mirrors exactly what a financial is for them to be able to go through the exercises and understand. So, we got you. If you want to learn and understand what’s really going on, and you work for somebody who says, “Get me more gross. Get me more gross,” then you understand why you’re always in trouble. It’s because what they mean is get me more net, but you don’t understand how to get net because you’re spending your way into gross, which is the worst mistake that anybody can make.

Expanding One-on-One Accessibility for the Community

We’d love to see you in there if you’re not in there; it is going to be a fun community and kind of already is. I’ve got a couple emails from there, Hogi, from a couple people; it’s been good. Yeah, for sure. I’ve been thinking about getting a phone that you and I have that they can text us. Yeah, that’s a great idea, so they’re working on that. I would love to have a phone that if they get stuck or they have a question they can text us, just in normal hours. I’d probably answer it on a Sunday night if I saw it just because I got nothing going on, but so they can have access that way because sometimes people need a little one-on-one attention.

American Customs, Cheese Whiz, and Hot Dogs

That’d be a way for us to do it on our own time, good like that. But back to America 250, blowing stuff up, this is how we celebrate in America: we blow stuff up and eat bad food. You guys would not believe the garbage that’s going to be served at my parents’ house for Fourth of July, like stuff that isn’t even real food. Cheese Whiz—there’s no real cheese in that. Hot dogs—I don’t think there’s any real beef in a hot dog. I still think it’s hard to find it, but I do believe so. I don’t know, I still like a hot dog with mustard. I’m pretty sure like hot dogs—there’s an acceptable amount of rat hair in hot dogs.

Confronting Diet spectrums and Blood Type Realities

What? Come on, it’s true, there’s a threshold. You will not see me eating a hot dog, it’s so gross. Hogi, do not ruin hot dogs for me, this is blasphemy right now. So what you’re saying, Adam, is that not knowing is better than knowing; you’d rather not know. No, because now ignorance is bliss. Maybe I’m going to find out now. All right, I’m just going to spend more money to buy the real hot dogs. I would advise you not to Google that, just don’t ruin it, it’s gross. Fake news, fake news. I was vegetarian for a year once when I found out what they do to some of the meat.

Transitioning out of Carb-Heavy Vegetarian Cycles

That’s fake news, I don’t believe that. I could never get full because you just eat carbs all the time when you’re vegetarian. I remember going to my doctor; I’d have this yearly visit with the doctor and I was like 300 pounds. He’s like, “What are you doing?” and I go, “I’m vegetarian.” He goes, “Why the fk are you doing that? You’re a type O negative blood type, you need protein.” I’m like, “Yeah, I can’t get enough protein, they say spirulina and all this stuff and none of it works, I’m always hungry.” He’s like, “Yeah, you’re going to kill yourself.” And I started eating meat again.

The Delicacy of Homemade Thin Deer Jerky

When you’re vegan, you can’t just start eating meat, you have to slowly wean yourself back on because you get sick. I kind of feel like that’s any way that you go on that spectrum of whatever diet: you can’t just go back into it or even when you transition into it, whether you’re fasting, carnivore, paleo, or any of those. Going like that, it’s not a switch, you can’t just snip-snap, snip-snap. So, ignorance is bliss because that’s where I live when it comes to meat, but hot dogs is a stretch too far for me, that’s too much. But we’ll have steaks and chicken, there will be a lot of food because that’s just how it is in America: we eat a lot, we blow stuff up, we’re not quiet.

Missing Jerky Portions inside an Expedition Console

Will you at least have deer jerky? Oh, I wanted to talk about that. When we were in Indiana last week, Adam brought some of his deer jerky, and we need to get Adam’s father-in-law in here because I feel like Adam takes a lot of credit, but this jerky is sliced so thin. I guarantee you that Adam does not have a deli slicer; somebody is slicing this so thin. But the funny thing is Hogi had eaten most of it before I got there. My flight was cancelled on Sunday, so I didn’t get there until Monday. I get in the stupid car Adam rented, the Ford Expedition, and in the center console is an empty bag where Hogi had completely killed a whole bag of this jerky.

Lean Meat Marinations and Trial and Error Dehydration

So good, it’s so good. You guys have two more bags. We did have two more bags. The thing I like about it too is when you eat normal jerky, it’s so salty that you feel weird and it makes you really thirsty; this jerky doesn’t do that, it tastes homemade. Yeah, I think that’s one of the things, it’s sliced really good too. The meat is more lean, there’s just a lot, but however that’s marinated and dehydrated, somebody’s done a lot of trial and error to figure that out. I think Adam’s taking credit for it, but we got to get a hold of Bob somehow and get to the bottom of this. You can get a hold of Bob, but for the record, I’m not taking credit.

Sharing Spice Levels and Heat on the End

The one thing, Hogi, that Adam is good at is he’s a great host because he had snacks for us, he took really good care of us. Adam, can you kind of walk me through how Hogi killed that whole bag of jerky before I got there? Was he just hungry, like you picked him up and he hadn’t eaten all day, what happened? Well, we always talk about don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story, but I would say that I kind of just offered it. I said, “Hey, I got two more bags, we’ve got enough for when Chris comes in and then Hunter comes in as well.”

Rationing out Farm Deep Freezer Inventories Yearly

“I’ve already opened this, but it’s the hot stuff and it’s the most recent, let’s take it.” And he’s not afraid to eat it. The good thing on this is that Bob hates spice, by the way, he hates it. You can kind of tell because it’s not super spicy, it’s got a little bit of a heat on the end, but that’s what I feel like makes you want to eat more of it. It’s just enough heat on it to where you just eat the whole bag. I did, man. Well, it was funny too because I was like, “No, I already ate, I’m really not that hungry.” Just try it, just try one, let me know how this one is, and then all of a sudden later I look over and Hogi’s like, “Yeah, it’s good.”

Grandparent Candy dynamics at the Home Front

You are a great host though, you took really good care of us, that was fun for sure. Yeah, it was good, and there was another bag there, so I did get some of the jerky, just not as much as I could have. We need to ship it out, that’s the first thing that goes though; I’m telling you, it’s the first thing that goes. We fight about it every year: how much is left, how fast it goes, how much more should be made, but it’s a process, it’s definitely a process for sure. You’re rationing it out, like we’re special that you’re bringing it to us, I would imagine, because I don’t think there’s a locker somewhere full of that, is there?

Navigating the Zelle App Confusion on the Farm

It’s called the Farm Deep Freezer, it’s whoever gets there first after everything’s done, especially the hot sticks once those are done. We killed those hot sticks that one time. Yeah, we killed them, yeah, it’s fun. Let’s get Bob on here, I want to hear some stories. I bet Bob’s got great Adam stories, don’t you think? Oh, he’s got some, yeah. On our next episode of Hunting with Adam, that’d be more aligned with that for sure. How is Bob with the grandkids? Awesome. So you’re in just because you gave him grandkids.

Washing Trucks and Spoiling Grandkids with Sugar

I would imagine those two cute girls you have, he’s got to be pretty excited about that. Oh, for sure. We were washing the truck on Sunday and they pull up, my mother-in-law and my father-in-law, and instantly the kids run out of the garage: “Papa! Papa!” Just run right there, and then Gamma running around, it’s like wow. I’ve only been hanging out with you guys all week and I don’t get that response at all ever. Yeah, that’s his job is to spoil his grandkids. It’s the candy, he secretly gives them candy, too. When we’re visiting their house and Payton comes over she goes, “I’m not supposed to tell you, but I had a piece of candy.”

Controlling Kid Flows and Processed Food Rules

I’m like, “Bob!” and he’s like, “What? It’s my house.” I’m like, “All right.” and then they’re sneaking more and it’s funny. He’s got the leverage, that’s for sure. The “it’s my house” defense worked. Instantly in my head I had an answer to that: “It’s my kid. Your house, my kid. I won’t bring them over anymore if you keep doing this.” This is like running into the straight of a moose: you control the flow of the kid. Bob and them help out a lot, so I let it roll. I’m quick with that stuff, Adam, I got an answer for that stuff instantly: it’s my kid, don’t get them all high on sugar and then give them back to me.

Grandparent Roles and Venmo Gizmo Myths

I think that’s the role of the grandparents, right, as long as it’s not too late at night, I think we’re okay, but they love it. I have kids, I wouldn’t let them eat processed foods like that. What’s your take on that, Hogi, do you let your kids eat anything? No. Yeah, I wouldn’t let my kids eat a lot of processed food. No, we grill a lot, so sugar and candy would be out. I don’t know how I would keep it from them though, I’d have to lock them on a farm, they’d have no friends. Yeah, it’s very limited. They’d be like, “Dad, can I spend the night over at Jenny’s?” and I’d be like, “No, what do they serve? What do they serve?”

Bypassing Cash Lanes for Zelle Bank Options

You just want to go over there and get sugar. Tell Bob Hogi and I will send any sort of payment if he wants check, I don’t know does he have Venmo and Zelle or whatever all those are for any jerky he has. No, Bob would say no on the Venmo and whatever other gizmos, zesmo. Zillow’s for houses, that always catches me off guard when somebody’s like, “Can you Zelle me?” Yeah, that’s what it is, that’s the Bank of America app talking. Nobody uses cash. Next time you go to the farm deep freeze, there’s going to be a lock on it. Yeah, for sure. Thank God he hasn’t monetized the jerky.

Traveling Disasters on American Airlines Flights

We got to get Adam out of the way, Hogi, we got to get right to Bob, right to the top. Adam’s worried about his relationship with Bob; we just want jerky. Well, it’s a different type of relationship, like, “Hey Bob, when Adam comes, he only has two bags of jerky and Hogi ate all of one in one sitting.” Did you eat that whole bag before the car was parked? It was a two-hour trip. Oh my god, let’s talk about American Airlines again. Oh no, we don’t, we’ll talk about American Airlines next time. American Airlines literally made me cry, I wanted to come home so bad.

Hedging Travel Bets against Morning Delays

I’ve never had an experience traveling with somebody out of the hundreds and hundreds of times I’ve traveled with co-workers where your plane is backing away and I’m getting ready to board. Let’s give them context really quick, Hogi. So, we were flying out in the morning, our flights were at 6:30—or I was like 6:30 and you were 6:50 or something like that in the morning. Our idea, our way to try to hedge our bets against how terrible American Airlines is, is to get the first flight out because you’re not waiting for a connecting flight. That’s the strategy.

Watching Gate Reversals from Airport Windows

So we get up at 4:00 in the morning, we get our butts to the airport, we go through security, it was actually oddly busy and crowded, and then I’m boarding first. So Hogi and I hang out, we’re talking, and then I’m like, “Okay, I’m going to board.” I get on my plane and then you—go ahead then, take it from there. My plane pushes back. Yours pushes back, and as I’m boarding I see you’re texting me. I scan, I board, and then you’re like, “We have a mechanical issue or whatever.” And then I’m looking out the window of my plane and I see yours coming back to the gate and I’m like, “Oh no.”

Airport Tantrums and United Flight Comparisons

Then you’re like, “It’s cancelled, I’m not going anywhere, I’m already booking another flight.” On and on and on, and then my heart just sank. I knew you saw my plane backing out to take off because you’re like, “Have a nice flight. Period.” And I was like, “Bro, I’m so sorry, it’s awful.” Oh, they’re the worst, just gut-wrenching, worst, American Airlines. I don’t know, it’s not American, we should call it Communist Airlines or they got to change the name, we got to make them change the name, un-American. Yeah, American Airlines, it’s funny. So, the guy I was sitting next to—I get on there, and also I had packed for being gone 10 days.

First-Class Bloody Mary Morning Meltdowns

I’d packed everything in a carry-on, but the clothes I wore to fly there and to fly back were kind of like my not-work clothes, but I’d worn those clothes the night before. Hogi and I walked to dinner in the 100% humidity and heat of Indiana, so I was sweating and the clothes were kind of gross. I’m just like, “Okay, I’ll wear these, I’m going to be home by 8:00 in the morning, I’ll be back in LA by 8:00 in the morning, I’ll take a shower, everything will be fine.” So I’m in these gross clothes, sitting in my seat, and then the guy next to me gets there and sits down.

Aggressive Lease terms for Foreign Car Volumes

You could tell he wasn’t all there. The stewardess comes up and goes, “Can I get you guys something to drink?” and I’m like, “Yeah, I’ll have a coffee.” and he goes, “I’ll have a Bloody Mary.” And I was like, “Oh, okay, we’re having that kind of morning.” So he gets his Bloody Mary and just slams it. When they announce that the flight is cancelled, he slams stuff around, he’s hitting things, having a tantrum like a three-year-old. I was kind of like, well, there’s no use of me yelling at anybody, this guy’s doing my work, he’s doing a way better job throwing a tantrum than I would.

Parts Markups and Non-American Sourcing Limits

He had a Bloody Mary, he was ready, he was pissed. I said it to the whole first class so they could hear me: “Yeah, this is the second time I’ve had an American Airlines flight cancelled in a week.” Then the guy sitting behind me goes, “Well, I had a United flight cancelled yesterday.” and I just looked at him like, “Dude, shut up.” I don’t care about your United flight, United’s not here. This is my experience with American Airlines every time: it’s late or cancelled, and the people that work there are miserable, like forced labor.

Capturing Net Revenue over Volume Discounts

Nobody likes their job, they’re just cogs in the machine, Chris, that’s all they are. A little automotive news before we get to the three mistakes you’re making with video inspections: a lot of these foreign car lines I’ve seen are doing crazy leases. Have you guys seen that? I got a thing for a lease on an MX-6, zero down, and the lease is pretty good because they got so many cars sitting on the ground; they’re getting very, very aggressive. Yeah, they are, you can get the Volkswagen electric on a lease if you’re an employee, something crazy, it was nuts.

Operational Surpluses inside Fixed Ops Centers

There’s a bunch of those out there right now. If you just think you add 25% to a Volkswagen or to a BMW or to a Mercedes, and also in service. That’s the thing I was thinking about: if you’re buying parts—like I had to buy a mirror for my Land Rover—every $1,000 is another $250 bucks that they’re marking up. The price of parts gets out of hand really, really quick. None of that stuff is made here, it’s all made somewhere else. I wish they’d make an exception for that stuff, maybe.

Clearing Two-Week Backlogs to Open Capacity

It’s killing some of our clients, especially the non-American-made ones; the volume is just brutal. I get the ‘buy American,’ but we might have moved a little too fast, it’s rough. When I think about that, it didn’t take us overnight to get to this point either, right? It took decades for sure to get here, so it’s not going to be overnight where it’s fixed. I try to look personally at both ends, but there needs to be a little bit different of a transition in how we get to that, I don’t disagree with the theory.

Practicing During a Live Game

It’s going to be interesting because a lot of these Volkswagen and BMW dealers are built to make money, and when you lose 25% of your volume, that’s more than what you were making in profit. It’s kind of like we talk about in service: when you discount 10% of the sale amount of an hour of labor, your net just went away. If you take it off the top, it’s brutal on the bottom. When you lose volume—if you were selling 200 BMWs and now you’re selling 150—you’re built for 200, so they’re losing money and some will have to recapitalize; I think we’re going to see a lot of buy-sells.

Automating Flawed Systems with Software Pill Pitfalls

On the other side of that, consumers aren’t buying cars, so they’re driving their existing cars, which means for us in fixed ops, this is the time to thrive. We’re set up for success, double down, we just need more techs. Beyond that, if the average car age goes from 13 years to 15 years, it works for us, we’re busy. Getting techs is the key. So many people are focused on our RO count—and this should be another topic for another episode all by itself—but they say they need help driving traffic, and then you check their appointments and they’re booked out two weeks or a week on appointments.

Bridging Generational Camera Gaps in the Stalls

In what other world—if I want to go somewhere to eat tonight and get on OpenTable and that restaurant’s booked out, I don’t not go to eat that night, I go somewhere else. We all experience it in our life in different ways. If you’re booked out a week to get somebody’s car in, people don’t wait a week, they go somewhere else. It’s back to a capacity problem in the shop; they need more techs to handle their backlog. Should we get to our three mistakes you’re making with video inspections? Yeah, do it.

Establishing Concrete Inspection Scripts and Re-Racks

Number three comes from our 17 laws of leadership, a section called “not practicing during a live game.” Number three is basically not training. We see with video inspections that it gets rolled out, and the only training the tech sees is how to use the app and stuff like that. Most people aren’t spot-checking their videos, and if they are, they’re usually not very happy with what they see. Some of these tech videos feel like the Blair Witch Project, the camera’s bouncing around so much you get sick trying to watch it.

Selling Emotional Trust Over Suite Sales Rules

When people bring up video inspections, I don’t know what makes them think if they’re not getting the senior techs to do inspections normally, that software will fix it. They say, “Yeah, we do a pretty good job on inspections, but some senior guys don’t like to do them because they don’t think they get any benefit.” Somehow we think that as bad as our old process is, when we get the video inspection software it’s going to fix all of that. For years, Chris, you said with any process, if you can’t do it on paper, there’s no sense in automating it.

The Nixon-Kennedy Media Trust Shift Analogy

That’s the first step: getting a really good foundation with your inspection process consistency and quality before trying to move on. Then you add another layer when you add video inspections because you have younger techs comfortable on camera who will say anything, and then you have older techs who look at it differently. There are Tik Toks going around showing an older salesman saying, “I got to retire, I never thought I’d see salesmen dancing on camera to sell a car.” It’s the same thing with senior techs; they never thought they would last in this industry long enough for this.

The Psychology of MESSY Stalls and Unconscious Objections

We used to joke about not having to fix cars over the phone when customers called, and now we’re literally fixing cars over the phone in front of the camera. You have this gap between younger and older techs, so you have to train really rigidly on this to have a quality inspection. You’ve got to come up with intros and outros, define how they go around the car, and it can’t be too detailed. Then get them together to practice and do re-racks: re-rack a car that’s already been inspected and have five guys make a video on that.

Acknowledging the Awkwardness of Camera Training Cycles

The reason why we achieve the sales we achieve in the service drive is usually not advisor training; it’s a process that takes away decision-making for the client and builds trust. The sale in service is about trust. If I go into a dealership or Neiman Marcus to buy a suit, do I have to buy it? No. Do I have to buy a new car? No. Do I have to buy brakes? Yes. So we’re selling something that eventually has to be done.

Objectivity in drive Operations and Software Hype

You could make the case you don’t have to maintain a car, but everybody understands it saves money in the long run. For the most part, what we’re selling, you have to buy eventually—whether you replace the power steering fluid as maintenance or replace the rack, eventually you’re doing one of the two. What we’re selling is trust, because they’re saying, “I don’t want to do it with you, but I know I have to go somewhere else and do it.” That’s the basis of the emotional journey we’re dealing with.

Alternative Instant Inspections vs. Alignment Checkers

We design systems thinking about people as emotional cocktails; when they feel ignored, when they feel like they don’t matter and are not validated, they lose trust. Nobody wants to be in a situation that feels chaotic, ignored, or where the people you give money to aren’t paying attention to your needs as a human. It’s a pretty low bar if you think about it. We’re in the business of trust. Politics in America is the same thing: these guys go on TV or radio and say, “Free cars for everybody if you elect me.”

Leaving Drive Communication to Chance

Now you got to trust if this guy gets elected, is he really going to lower taxes and fix all this stuff? We’re voting on whether we trust this person to do what they say they’re going to do. A great example in American history is when Nixon was running against Kennedy and TV was new: Nixon went on TV looking like himself, and Kennedy had makeup, practiced lighting, and thought about angles. What came out of those debates revolutionized politics; Kennedy completely got elected because previous to that it was the radio and nobody saw what you looked like or your mannerisms.

Gamifying the Wrong Outcome via Payments

In our business, there’s a new evolution where trust is based on how you look. If you look like you’ve never done this before, why would I want you to do my brakes? If you look like you don’t know what you’re doing, are not likable, and have no charisma, why would I want you to do my brakes? I don’t like you and I don’t trust you. We’re missing the psychology that what we’re selling at the end of the day is trust. Video is one of the easiest ways to lose trust because people are very judgmental.

Unconscious Customer Judgments in the Drive

If you have a messy stall, bad angles, are not confident when talking, or seem like you’re making it up as you go along, who wants to pay you to do a safety item? A lot of these decisions are made unconsciously; people just don’t trust you and say, “Well, if I can wait, I’m going to wait.” We don’t understand that we’re selling trust more than anything else, and how you look, your tone, the angle, and the lighting everything matters. When people say they never thought they’d see the day tech salespeople or techs are dancing or getting makeup to sell a brake job—is my head too shiny today?

The Safe Environment of Roleplay Training

I need a video inspection, where’s my makeup, buff it up. I’m being funny, but there’s truth in that: if you’re not likable and you look at this as just a transaction to not get in trouble with your boss, you’re not going to sell more doing video inspections; you were better off doing paper. What Hogi is saying about practicing means you don’t practice on live customers; you have to roleplay over and over again. How long does it take someone to get comfortable in front of the camera, like three months? I don’t know, how long did it take you, Hogi? Three years. No, it takes a while, it’s a thing for sure.

The True Cost of Hiding Opportunities

If you’re not practicing and starting a dialogue where everybody is involved, you’ve got to acknowledge the awkwardness, make it okay to fail, and make it a safe place. Those old technicians that don’t want to do it are the ones touching the cars that have the most opportunity. Once again, you were better off with paper if you’re not going to do it right with video because you’re missing all that opportunity. You have more trust calling somebody and telling them over the phone that they need brakes than you do with some guy pointing the camera the other way in a messy stall talking like he hates what he’s doing.

Reading Customer Energy and Human Nature

The customers sense that energy, it’s human nature, and then they feel it’s uncomfortable to watch and are not in the mood to spend money. You just don’t do it, you lose sales. You can tell the technician’s uncomfortable, too, and it’s an insecurity even though they could be the best technician in the shop. If I had a shop full of veteran technicians that are really good at fixing cars but don’t want to be on video, I would do paper. I would sell, because our clients that sell the most alignments don’t have an alignment check machine.

Overcoming Software and Alignment Machine Hype

People like to say Chris is against video inspections or alignment check machines, but that’s not what I’m saying; I’m saying I’m for whatever gets us to sell the most. I’m objective enough to pay attention to what makes the customer feel a certain way. Too many times I’ve toured a dealership where they’re super excited about their alignment check machine, but what the service manager says and what actually happens in the drive are two different things. The question that always kills the moment is: “Well, how many are you selling? Have your hours per RO gone up, are you making more?”

The Weaponry Analogy of Unprepared Techs

“Well, no, but we got video inspection.” Okay, here we go; we get hired to increase your sales, not to sell you a bunch of software. Video inspections could be super effective with a young crew, practicing, and making it a thing, but you could be just as effective sticking to a system with paper and just telling people, or doing instant inspection, which outsells both combined. We’re selling trust, you’re missing the fact that we’re selling trust, and you’re sending a bunch of people to war that have never shot a gun.

The Intricate Presentation Elements of Video

You’re putting them in a life-and-death situation when you got to spend hours learning how to shoot the gun, clean the gun, and load the gun. Video is way harder than shooting a gun; it’s tone, look, and lighting. You guys think I look this good by accident—we got a whole team working on that project this morning for 20 minutes, I’m blow-drying my beard really slow so it’s straight and doesn’t look like I got electrocuted. I had the girls do me today, so I think they did all right, my six and two-year-old. I would expect the brush makeup if your kids are doing it, we’re not there yet.

Building Effective Driving Systems to Scale

Does that resonate? Yeah, for sure. Most people would agree as they look out at video inspections and see manufacturers requiring them. But if you’re going to do them, it’s a lot of work. At the beginning of almost every boot camp, this is always one thing that has some of the biggest takeaways from that first day: the key is to have a great system that gets the outcome you want. There is no Ozempic of service, it doesn’t exist, there’s not a magic thing; what I have is a lot of hard work building a system out and training on it.

Evaluating Flawed Manufacturer Timelines

When most people look at their video inspection process, they have kind of thrown the techs to the wolves, so to speak, and they’re just kind of winging it; we’re definitely practicing during a live game. I guarantee you because we’ve experienced this that the person at the manufacturer making the decision to force video inspections has never worked a day in a service drive, guaranteed, no doubt. They have no idea what they’re talking about; they went to college, got a job at the factory, and are trying to create a uniform system whether it gets results or not.

Bypassing Software Pitch Men and Gimmicks

They will be moved a year from now to a different position because that’s what happens at the manufacturers: they just move people around, it’ll all be forgotten, and the next person will say we got to do video inspections because some guy’s selling them software and they’re paying for it, so let’s force everybody to do it. Nobody’s talking about how do we sell more, because if you wanted to sell more you’d come talk to us, we’ll help you. It’s way easier to sell than what you’re doing, and cheaper; paper’s pretty cheap.

Avoiding Mixed Identity Vehicles in Delivery

We were talking about this a couple years ago when video inspections first kind of started getting really popular, and your Land Rover was in the shop and they sent you a video inspection for a Jaguar, wasn’t that you? I still have it, yeah, a completely different car, and I okayed all the repairs on this old Jaguar. It’s funny because everybody has those stories now—I didn’t okay the work by the way, I’m being funny, I would never do that, don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story.

Resisting Temporary Flavor-of-the-Day Training

That affects our relationships with manufacturers; they come to us and say they want us to train on this thing, and I ask if they want to sell more or just train on this thing. I’m not going to create training with a straight face and tell all these poor service managers and dealers they got to do this thing that isn’t going to work six months from now; it doesn’t make sense, it becomes a flavor of the day. One of the things, Adam, that was so great when you were with International was you genuinely wanted to create a better customer experience.

Collaborative Development with Dealer Councils

You were really concerned about the people in the dealership as much as an agenda, and how serious you took the dealer council and how involved you were created this collaboration. You would call me all the time and talk about what they were saying in the dealer council and how we had to fix our thing or promote what we’re doing better; it was built around a collaboration on how this is going to work long-term, it wasn’t this short-term buying software sort of thing.

Flipping Management and Advisor Training Order

In the beginning of our relationship, before you came in, I told them if we do advisor training first and don’t train the managers, the advisors are going to get stuck and the feedback will be, “Yeah, this is all great, but we can’t do it because the managers haven’t set up the systems.” As soon as you came in, we flipped that and started training the managers, and then it started to work. That’s one of very few relationships we’ve ever had with a manufacturer built on actual results for the dealers and customers.

Bottoms-Up Frameworks for Service Drives

Coming from the point of view that we’ve worked in a service drive, we understand that it’s not top-down, it’s bottom-up. Top-down is historically how the automotive industry works—like Ford saying you got to have two techs doing quick lubes in a stall and it doesn’t work, it’s hard to execute and you lose more money, it’s a mess, but you got to do it and we’re going to come certify you or you don’t get this if you don’t do that, playing all these games with the dealers.

Practicing Driving Strategies Prior to Live Moves

They wonder why the dealers just ignore them after a while, and it’s because it’s top-down; it’s got to be bottom-up, you got to listen to what the customers actually want. Video inspections are a perfect example of that: they can work, but it takes a lot of practice. What we’re doing essentially if we’re being completely honest is saying paper didn’t work but this is a magic pill and now videos will work. It ends up videos are harder because you’re opening up people that don’t look good on camera and making them do what they don’t want to do.

Targeting Concrete Out-Of-Shop Results Objective

It gets handed off to a customer that senses that, and then we don’t sell more but we’re doing it, constantly talking about 80% penetration of video inspections. I’m always asking how much our sales have gone up, and every time it’s nothing at all. I didn’t think we were just doing stuff to do stuff, I thought we actually wanted to create an outcome. Let’s focus on the outcome and see the best way to get there with who we have; some shops of techs would be great on video, but others it’s just not going to work.

Maintaining Process Consistency with Reracks

You could do paper and sell a ton, but you got to stick to a system; there’s no magic pill, you got to practice that too, you got to re-rack, have a formal outline of what an inspection is, and constantly check to make sure we’re not just pencil-whipping stuff. You got to be intentional and active either way, you can’t automate it, and we just think we’re going to automate this video thing and it’s going to work, and it’s not; we already see it, we’ve been seeing it.

Leaving Write-Up Communications to Chance

Want to do number two and number one really quick on a following deal? Part of this conversation could be that doing it on paper takes training and effort, and whether you’re doing it on paper or video, the prescription is really the same: part of your process should be to tell the customer about it up front. If you’re doing it on paper, show the customer a copy of a blank multi-point inspection: “Hey Mr. Customer, every time you come in, our goal is to keep you in a safe and dependable vehicle.”

Handling Open Rates and Digital Open Signals

“One thing we do completely complimentary for you every time is a quick inspection of your vehicle. When my certified tech gets those results back to me, is it okay that I share these with you? Here’s what they’ll look like; I’ll be sending this to you.” It’s the same thing with video inspections; people are really struggling with their open rates, view rates, time to response, and all that stuff because they’re sending customers these text messages without them knowing where they’re coming from.

Gamifying the Activity Instead of the Sale

The straight line to that is to tell them about it at write-up. Everybody receives a bunch of junk text messages, and you’re sending them from a weird five-digit number and wondering why you don’t have open rates or view rates. So, number two: don’t leave it to chance, commit to it up front. Number one is paying for the inspection. We could probably have a whole episode on this, but a basic rule of gamification is if you’re going to gamify it, gamify the outcome you want.

Final Veteran Tributes and Outro Links

Don’t gamify the activity; I see a lot of people paying for inspections in hopes it’s going to make the outcome. Whether you’re doing paper or video, however you’re doing your inspections, have games for the techs based on items that have been upsold off of an inspection. Gamify it that way, because if you’re just gamifying paying for the inspections, we’ve seen that go seriously sideways many, many times. We got to leave it there, everybody.

Final Questions and Outro Links

If you’re in the SDR Academy, I will see you in there, we’re going to be talking about leadership. Otherwise, we hope everybody has a great Fourth of July, very grateful to all of our veterans, and we love America. We’ll see you guys next time, happy 4th. Thanks so much for watching this episode of Service Drive Revolution, make sure you subscribe and click the bell icon so you don’t miss out. Call 833-3-ASK-SDR to get questions answered on the show, and for special deals on our books, head over to offers.chriscollinsinc.com. I’m Chris Collins and I’ll see you in the next video.

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