Service Drive Revolution — Episode #3

Official Full Transcript

Host: Chris Collins

Guests: Adam Krey and Chris Hogland

Published: October 26, 2026

Duration: 52:15

Listen on Apple | Listen on Spotify

Building on our ongoing focus on fixed operations growth and dealership leadership, Service Drive Revolution — Episode #381 brings together the Chris Collins Inc. coaching team for a special live roundtable ahead of the annual Top Dog 2026 event. Host Chris Collins, alongside coaches Adam Krey, Chris Hogland, Vicki James, James, and Brian, unpacks what it means to truly “transcend the service drive,” why more service managers are making the leap to general manager, and how building genuine human connections protects dealerships against automated competition.

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Key Takeaways & Highlights

• Transcending the Service Drive: Fixed ops is no longer just about oil and belts; high-performing service managers are expanding their scope across sales, marketing, and overall dealership profitability.
• The Rise of Service-Turned-GMs: More service managers are stepping up into general manager roles because their daily focus on customer retention and operational discipline gives them a broader, more sustainable perspective.
• The Power of the Hospitality Bug: While digital tools, kiosks, and AI streamline check-ins, the human connection on the service drive remains irreplaceable—you either have the hospitality bug or you don’t.
• Accountability and High Standards: Achieving elite departmental performance comes down to a definitive decision to lead, set high standards, and stop accepting mediocrity on the shop floor.

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Why Fixed Operations Leaders Are Taking Over the Dealership

For decades, the traditional path to becoming a general manager ran exclusively through variable operations (car sales). However, as automotive retail shifts and variable margins fluctuate, fixed operations has emerged as the true anchor of dealership stability and repeat business.

1. Thinking Beyond Oil Changes and Belts

Traditional service managers often fall into the trap of operating in a silo, viewing their department as completely separate from used cars or new vehicle sales. Successful leaders take a global view of the dealership, recognizing that a service advisor who builds deep customer trust is uniquely positioned to guide a client’s next vehicle purchase.

2. The Circle of Life in Automotive Retail

Sales sells the first vehicle, but service sells the second, third, and fourth. When dealerships break down departmental walls and incentivize seamless handoffs between sales and fixed ops, customer retention skyrockets. Elite service managers understand that they aren’t just managing repair orders; they are curating lifelong dealership advocates.

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Financial & Operational Impact of Leadership and Connection

When leadership focuses on accountability, culture, and genuine customer engagement, key performance metrics improve across the board:

Performance Area	Operational & Financial Outcome
Customer Satisfaction (CSI/NPS)	Rises consistently when advisors make personal connections rather than treating write-ups as mechanical transactions.
Customer Retention & Loyalty	Strengthens as clients trust their service advisor for ongoing maintenance and future vehicle advice.
Department Profitability	Expands when fixed ops leaders align their goals with overall dealership growth and gross profit targets.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Final Thoughts

Transcending the service drive requires a fundamental shift in mindset. Whether you are an advisor connecting with your clients or a service manager eyeing a general manager’s seat, success isn’t about finding a magic software shortcut—it’s about making a definitive decision to lead, building a culture of accountability, and caring deeply about the people you serve.

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Actionable Takeaways

• Audit your customer greetings: Listen to how your advisors greet clients in the lane today—replace transactional checklist questions with genuine conversational starters.
• Break down dealership walls: Schedule a meeting with your new and used car sales directors this week to create a seamless referral and handoff process between sales and service.

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Ready to Strengthen Your Fixed Ops Systems?

Achieving and exceeding your goals is possible with the right systems in place. With Service Drive Revolution OnDemand, you’ll gain access to the proven systems that have made thousands of SERVICE MANAGERS IRREPLACEABLE. Start transforming your department today!

Need help updating your playbook? Let us know how we can support your team’s growth.

Book a 15-minute strategy session with our team. We’ll explore how to unlock your dealership’s real value.

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Service Drive Revolution – Episode #381 Transcript

Top Dog 2026 Coaches Roundtable | SDR #381

Service Drive Revolution

Hosts: Chris Collins, Hogi, Adam Krey

In This Episode

• Why relying purely on new car sales volume is causing traffic to drop in service departments, and how losing customers after the warranty period impacts repair order counts.
• The real truth behind customer acquisition: why driving new traffic is expensive ($50 to $200 per customer) and why focusing on retention is always a better strategy than chasing new leads.
• A comprehensive breakdown of multi-channel traffic generation tactics, including effective reminder systems, phone follow-ups for declined work and lost customers, and purifying your database.
• Why independent shops outperform dealerships on social media by focusing on taste and lifestyle storytelling instead of standard car photos.
• The secret to utilizing Business Development Centers (BDCs) as a force multiplier for outbound calls, tracking no-shows, and managing customer follow-ups effectively.

Opening

Introduction and Special Guests

Chris Collins: Welcome everybody to Service Drive Revolution, the big show. We have quite a crowd for you today. Adam and Hogi are here, but we have some guests. Vicki Say hello, Vicki.

Vicki: Hello, Vicki.

Chris Collins: James, better Hello, everybody. better known as Captain.

James: Hello, everybody.

Chris Collins: Brian.

Brian: Brian, hello.

Chris Collins: We’re going to get into some deep stuff. We’re going to talk about aliens and conspiracies, Star Trek, and ASMR. Oh, okay. What should we start with? It’s a full day.

Chris Collins: to our episode. I wonder if the audience knows what ASMR is.

James: I don’t know. You should do a video about that one time.

Chris Collins: Yeah, but not on this channel. No. We have other channels. It wouldn’t be I don’t think it’d be a big hit on this channel.

Top Dog Event Preview

Chris Collins: Well, so everybody is here because we have Top Dog this week. Yeah. Yeah. And so, starting tomorrow, we have our elite group. And we’re doing some fun stuff with them, and then Friday is the the big day. We have Jefferson speaking. We have a bunch of cool speakers. I’m I’m pretty sure that it’s going to be the best Top Dog ever. I know we say that every year, but I’ve Do you guys get the sense that things are in more control than they’ve ever been?

Adam: Yep.

Chris Collins: of people coming. Yeah. It’s exciting. Are you able to hint about what the elite guys are going to be doing? Cuz they’re watching right now. They’re on the way out here. I don’t know. Should we run in, or should we wait make them wait?

James: Make them wait.

Chris Collins: Okay. It’s going to be good. I’m excited to talk about what we’re doing with the elite on Friday. Cuz it’s in the theme So, the theme this year of Top Dog is transcending the drive. And we have a lot of really talented man-managers in our group that have become general managers, but services affecting sales, marketing, all you know, all parts of the business. And so, we want to inspire the managers inside of our group to think bigger than just oil and belts. There’s more. Is that a way to say it?

Adam: Yeah, that’s good.

Chris Collins: Who’s transcend the service drive?

James: Mhm.

Chris Collins: What is the What is the Go beyond the service. Beyond the horizon or what is it?

Star Trek and Sci-Fi Talk

Chris Collins: You know what’s funny is I went I went to a Star Trek thing when I went to T with James, but one of them had this this trivia game. And he [clears throat] he There was smoke coming out of the back of it when he was done. He got every answer right.

James: I love Star Trek.

Chris Collins: Did you get high score?

James: Oh, I I was a long time It wasn’t a score. It gave you like uh medals like a badge. And he got like admiral, you know, I don’t know, whatever.

Chris Collins: I’m to the point now where I’ve watched the episodes from the original series so many times that if I’m having a hard time going to sleep at night, if I’m on the road, I actually just play an episode. I just turn down the video and I just listen to it in the background. It’s just like an old song that I’m familiar with.

James: Is there an episode that you feel like you have memorized?

Chris Collins: Oh, all the original 79. I could say the words before they come out of their mouths. Yeah.

James: Wow. Yeah. Yeah, all of them for That’s pretty crazy. Do you dress up when you go?

Chris Collins: What do you mean?

James: He’s got the whole shirt. He’s got the whole Do you know what the bridge is?

Chris Collins: Yep.

James: Yes. His garage has I was there when he bought like the layout for a bridge.

Chris Collins: Do you just go sit in the captain’s chair and just

James: I don’t have a captain’s chair, but I have a three-stall garage and two stalls are filled with Star Trek stuff.

Chris Collins: Just think about his kids when he goes. Like they got to get rid of all that stuff. I feel bad for them. And all this Actually, think of it’s worth money, though.

James: Yeah. Well, it’s funny that you should say that cuz I do look some of it up. None of it is worth any Worst investment ever.

Chris Collins: Really?

James: Oh, yeah.

Chris Collins: Oh, that’s I was hopeful it would gain some value. Most of it I took out of the package, though, which was a mistake cuz I wanted to play with this stuff and I thought we just left it

Adam: I’m just getting like 40-year-old virgin vibes like when you talk about it. Do you have a lunchbox?

James: I have a lunchbox.

Adam: Do you take it to the dealers when you go?

James: No.

Adam: You need to start. Just just embrace it. That’d be a constant

Chris Collins: You know what I do? I just go to the stores dressed up as Captain Kirk. That’d be awesome. It’d be like the Big Bang Theory.

Trekker vs. Trekkie and Doppelgangers

Chris Collins: Yeah. Are you a a Trekky?

James: No, he wants to be called I wrote this down. He wants to be called a Trekker. I think Trekker sounds better than a Trekky. Oh, yeah. I’m thinking about the bicycle brand Trek. So, the reason I I bought a bicycle a couple years ago, the sole reason I bought this brand is cuz it says Trek on the side. That was it.

Chris Collins: I love it. It’s a good brand, though. That’s what I came to find out. Yeah, it is a really good brand. But yeah, I bought it for the ride it?

James: I do ride it. When I’m in town, yeah, I do ride it.

Chris Collins: Is there a difference between a Trekker and a Trekky?

James: Uh I have No, not really. Is Trekker older? Is that like the older generation? It was always Trekky Trekky Trekky and then people were making fun of that term, so then they

Chris Collins: You got to get more serious. You know what You know where my head went, my ADD mind? I was like, “What night is In-N-Out Burger coming?” I’m thinking about cheeseburgers.

Adam: Yeah, we’re boring him is what he’s saying.

Chris Collins: Well, I just don’t understand it. I would think you would be into the one with Captain Picard cuz you kind of look like him.

James: Okay, so I grew up wanting to look like Captain Kirk. Turns out, yeah, I ended up looking like Picard instead.

Chris Collins: But they cast him probably trying to look like you.

James: Mhm.

Chris Collins: Mhm. Never thought of things like that. That’s nice. You know what’s funny is that coach who was the coach of the Buffalo Bills that everybody said he looked like? Sean McDermott.

James: Yeah.

Chris Collins: What’s his name? Sean McDermott. Now he does like he does commentary cuz he doesn’t have a job. That’s a job. That’s a job. And uh he’s like the nicest guy. His commentary isn’t very good cuz he’s too nice.

James: Mhm.

Chris Collins: You want a guy like Stephen A. Smith that just like now he’s an idiot. You know, like But he’s just very thoughtful like he he’s just very nice. It doesn’t make for the best TV. He was not on my radar at all. Those of you that know me knows I don’t follow football and I’m not he’s

James: Yeah, it would be a surprise to everybody that James knows nothing about any sports, not just football. So last year someone showed me a picture of that guy. Holy crap, that does look like me even. Yeah. He could be a he could be a brother or cousin or something. I have two, bought a hat I bought one of those whatever his team is, I bought that hat, I still wear it. It was the Buffalo Bills. Bills. He’s not employed right now.

Chris Collins: I don’t think you can be a Star Trek fan and a football fan. I think that’s one of the one of the codes.

James: Well, now I own this Bills hat and I that was a waste of money. I’m never going to wear it ever again. It was worth a laugh. Yeah. So you can throw it away. He’s your doppelganger. Yeah. You can probably wear it and do like speaking engagements or whatever.

Aliens and Conspiracies

Chris Collins: You’re telling me So I had a I forget who it was but there was somebody on Books That Changed My Life and like one of the first questions they asked me like they came out like firing was do you believe in aliens? And I thought about you.

James: I’m honored.

Chris Collins: I’m not the only one that believes in aliens. Yeah. Oh.

James: Nobody nobody said you were. Why are you so you’re defensive?

Chris Collins: I’m not the only You thought about me when you heard that somebody believed in aliens. Yeah, cuz I don’t know how to answer that question. Like I believe that it’s possible but I’ve never met one. So until I see one it’s all hypothetical.

Adam: You should try to get him to say answer that. Books that changed my life. He would be so awesome. They wheel him in in a wheelchair, oxygen, and

James: He’s barely holding on, James. He reads all the time. That’s what you hear out of other actors. That’s all he can do, I think.

Adam: James would be down here James would be there in a second. Yeah.

James: Oh, I would I would totally embarrass myself, for sure. Yeah. It’d be restraining order time, for sure.

Chris Collins: I thought I thought at one of the Star Trek conventions we went to, I thought I was doing James a favor cuz I was buying him a picture with him. So, I thought that would be like meeting him, but it’s not like meeting him. No. You walk up. They They tell you right up front. First of all, there’s a line of 300 people. Yes. Right. They go, “Don’t talk to him. Don’t say anything. Don’t distract his attention on He’s just sitting there, staring forward. I got a picture of me and him. I got a picture of me with the deer in the headlights look. I’m completely terrified. Next. Next. It’s It’s about that quick. But, I’m sure he remembers.

James: hanging up in there on a wall or like

Chris Collins: It’s in my uh garage in my Star Trek collection. How many conventions do you think he does? Or has done?

James: He still works really hard. He’s out there all the time. Yeah. He’s broke.

Chris Collins: I went to a Walking Dead one one time, and I wanted to do a picture with one of the guys, and he was so nice. He looked at my shirt cuz it was a New Orleans shirt. He’s like, “I’ve been there.” So, it was pretty cool guy. It still cost like 100 bucks.

James: To get your picture with him? Yes. Yeah. This was more than that. I think it was like 450 or something. It was a lot. gosh. It’s just sitting in the garage, wasting money, too.

Chris Collins: Yeah, well, it was his money. He spent But, uh Nimoy was in the picture, too. Oh. If you do the math, that’s 200 bucks apiece. Was he just standing there? Did he have his ears on?

James: there. They’re talking to each other. But, you’re not listening to or talking to anybody else. You can’t talk to anybody else. Yeah. Well, they have handlers, too. Like they Wow. They’re right on you. Cycling through. Cycling through.

Client Competitions and Fun Stories

Chris Collins: You guys excited to see some of our clients?

James: Oh yeah. Yeah. Yes. Got a fun group coming. fun. Yeah. Yeah, it’s going to be good.

Chris Collins: Yeah, when you it’s different seeing them when they’re outside of the outside of the store, right?

James: Mhm.

Chris Collins: You see more of the the human in people and it’s a lot of fun. We have Give them a couple margaritas and they start telling stories. Oh yeah. Cuz they’re all Yeah, there’s a lot of pressure on them when they’re in the the stores and they want to perform and we want to perform for them and here it’s it can just be relaxing and I think the most fun part is when one store beats another store and they’ve been competing against them in the competition.

James: you got to explain to everybody what the comp is cuz a lot of people listening to this don’t know.

Chris Collins: Well, we have a competition for our advisors that we work with in the service managers. So, you’re competing against other dealers or other advisors. Could be across the country. It’s very cutthroat. Yeah, especially the teams or the stores that are in the top three or four in the rankings. They figure out how to get in, you know, the on the podium and they just live there. So, these other stores coming in that you know, our recent partners, they’re just trying to beat those but it’s hard. We have some stores that’ll hang up a picture of the other store’s manager. Yeah, that’s the game with the darts at it.

James: Oh, James used to send Vicki flowers from like a secret admirer and Natalie sent you pizza. Pizza at the last of the month service. Nick Alexander. There’s no I don’t think anybody comes close to the mental games you guys played with each other. Those are fun. It was all good nature. Yeah. But I get stores in the top three or four in a league, um, they’ll call me when they see a new group that joined up and they’re coming up in the ranks and they’ll call and they want to know if they’re going to be a threat.

Who is it? Yeah, do I have to worry about that store? Of course I tell them, “Yeah, of course. Like they’re superstars. They’re going to kill you.” But it is fun to see that. I had a owner one time that Nick Alexander and I did something that he was wondering about what what I did and he’s like, “Have we gone too far?” I said, “No, we haven’t gone too far.” He goes, “Okay, game on.” I put the head of the service manager in the back of one of my urinals and the tech

Chris Collins: No, I think I think that that’s a that’s an actually good point is like if people aren’t going too far, you probably aren’t really doing it.

James: Mhm.

Chris Collins: Like No, it’s not too far. No, it’s not too far. That’s why I said to him, he goes, “Okay.” Even she still he still didn’t beat me.

Vicki: No, you are hard to beat.

James: Mhm.

Chris Collins: And I think it’s great when our clients come. I mean, everybody’s willing to share with other clients. It’s It’s like a fraternity. Yeah. of dealers. What else is funny is if there’s somebody that keeps beating you and then you meet them. And you’re like, “Oh no, I’m the problem.” They they don’t have

James: Right.

Chris Collins: They don’t have superpowers. They just are doing it and I’m not basically.

James: Mhm. Yeah, that’s true. Yeah, it’s good.

Transcending the Service Drive and AI

Chris Collins: Um So, the theme is transcending the service drive. You’re out there in the field, Victor. What do you What do you think about it?

Vicki: So, if we’re just thinking future next 10 years, AI, automation, like all the things that are that are coming. It’s exciting. I know that that I’ve really embraced like ChatGPT. I call her my girlfriend.

Chris Collins: You have a female voice?

Vicki: Yeah, definitely cuz she’s more organized. And um

Chris Collins: Is that a dig at the guy?

Vicki: bit, but you know, just just reality. Uh I use her all the time and I I try to talk about it a lot cuz some people still are afraid of it and I think it’s it is something to use to build job descriptions and pay plans and so many things that you can use that it will save you time. And uh you know, sometimes us service managers are stuck in a rut and it’s nice to to go forward with that.

I know when I was a service manager when we talk about our our theme, I was so service focused that I didn’t look at the bigger picture and I didn’t see the dealership as one. I just saw it as a service department and that’s all I concentrated on and so I was very defensive or about my gross profit or when the used car department had a car that they sold and it came in here. I’m like, well, that’s not my problem and I think that I didn’t think very globally and I still see service managers doing that that they forget that we need to take care of our sales brother and cuz forever they took care of us. They were our best customer. And It doesn’t mean we have to give it all away, but

Chris Collins: There you go.

Vicki: But yeah. We’re a team and and I think the the more walls we break down in the dealership

James: Mhm.

Vicki: um you know, the better we’ll be because of it, right?

Chris Collins: More synergy. Well, the better the better it is for the customer. Yeah. Cuz the customer perceives it as one business. Yes. One brand. What So, that’s the same thing with if someone bought their car down the street and then they’re coming to you, they just think of you as BMW and not Hendrick BMW or BMW Concord. They just think of it as one and when we start to put up defenses or start badmouthing the other dealer, it doesn’t do anybody any favor and it’s the same thing with a new or used car.

Bridging the Gap Between Sales and Service

Oh, well, you bought it as is or what have you instead of saying, we’re going to help you and make this the best service and keep you keep you coming back. Yeah, it’s good. I think there’s a world coming up soon where the advisors are selling cars direct to the customer. Yeah, I need to you. They’ll they’ll have a portfolio of customers. Yep. They’ll have like 200 people Yeah. that they manage. And yeah, it just makes sense. They have the relationship with the customer already. And to have Customers want an easier buying experience. Yeah, and then yeah, I trust my advisor.

I would buy a car from him. And interestingly enough, that would be an advantage for the dealer in the marketplace. Right now the dealerships are losing their advantage. And to And to Vicki’s point with AI, I mean we see it in stores, you know, AI service advisors or you know, whatever. I think the connection with the customer and us as humans, that’s the only way that we prevent AI from taking over is if we do a better job with the customers cuz one thing AI is not going to do is make a connection, right? Right. I think that’s what’s going to separate us.

Vicki: Well, AI is pretty good at making a connection. Like Yeah, I think when you start calling it a he or her, we’re you know. Oh, she knows me. Well, I’ve had friends like tell me like they’ve they’ve put their problems in there and like they’re taking the advice from the AI. Yeah. And so that’s very personal. It does. It does. If we don’t want to be replaced, we got to be better. Yeah.

Chris Collins: I heard a general manager say to me the other day, we in sales, we just date the customers, you in service, you marry the customers. yeah, I like that. And I’d never heard it put that way and I thought that was so so true. And I had a I had a dealer in in Utah that tried a Toyota store that tried those kiosks and they would do it initially, kind of like at McDonald’s as in the airport, you’d do it initially, but they still want to talk to that service advisor.

The Advisor’s Role in Customer Retention

They still want to say, okay, I filled out the paperwork, but I want to talk to the service advisor cuz I want to express what’s going on with the second largest purchase that I that I have. Yeah. And we know them the best. The good service advisors know everything about their customers. Absolutely everything. You know, in the old way of doing things, you would have that relationship. The advisor would tee up a customer, basically sold the car, and then the dealer would offer some small bird dog fee, right? It was tiny. It didn’t And then a lot of times they wouldn’t end up giving it to them. Yet the advisor had to fight for it.

And so then the next time they’re like, “I’m not even going to waste my time anymore.” But it needs the advisor needs to have a bigger role in that. Or maybe their commission’s based on how sales is doing and their performance. Yeah, like you remember when you were an advisor how many sales you influenced. Like Yeah. I mean, to the degree that when I was an advisor, they let me sell cars for a while just because this I would turn it over and the sales people would lose the deal.

And I would then I would lose the car, too. Right. And so like I had the relationship and they trusted me for a reason, you know. At the very least, if as a service foreman or as a service advisor, we’re connecting on that deeper level, the customer should be coming to the advisor and asking what car to purchase next.

James: Mhm. Yeah.

Chris Collins: And the advisor has a really good feeling of when that car needs to get traded in. Like it’s used up its life first, you know. Yeah, we say that the trade-in light is on, right? But advisors are motivated in keeping that customer coming into service, where really they should be open-minded about turning them over to sales and keep them in the the circle of life.

Breaking Down Department Walls

Yeah. I hope you’re right. I hope I hope that it that we are moving towards that. You’re you’re seeing a little bit of it and I think we as a community need to keep encouraging that.

But like I’ve I’ve seen we have a couple of clients that have a really aggressive uh you know, spiff or bonus program for the advisors that goes way beyond the traditional, you know, $150, $250 bird dog. And and I think that’s getting more and more important. Like Yeah. uh And when you do that, you probably have a better handoff from sales to service. Yes. All all of it. But he’s curating the relationship a little bit better. Yeah. Yeah. Honda downtown Chicago does that and they do it very well and the GM’s going to be here this week and they they don’t make the service advisors afraid to kind of pass along the customer cuz they know they’re still going to get either the RO

Vicki: Yeah, they have a list of stuff, right?

Chris Collins: they do. Yeah, he does a good job with that. Because they saw it was necessary. But they’ve also broken down those walls in the store. Right? Yeah. Well, it starts at the top. Yeah. He’s an incredible leader. He is. Yeah. I think it’ll start where they pair up a salesperson and an advisor and then it’ll go to one person. Yeah. So I hope I hope just as an industry, uh, you know, that that kind of beginning of the bell curve, that first 16% uh, starts to really embrace it and and it starts to move that way and then the rest of the crowd will will kind of follow.

Um, but yeah, there’s like a glimmer of hope. So like I I I hope it is as an industry that hasn’t been us, right? Like uh, there’s been no major change to a service advisor in, you know, a hundred something years. Except for the turnover. Yeah. But even ones that have been doing it 20 years, you know, we talked about it earlier, they have really two years of experience or two years of growth that they’ve just repeated 10 times. Um, we got to keep growing it.

James: Mhm.

Chris Collins: You know. Keep learning the ins and outs of this industry. Yeah.

Comments, Aliens, and General Managers

Chris Collins: We got a comment here from Craig. He says, “When I was a GM, I didn’t I didn’t who sold the When I was a GM, I didn’t who sold the car. I would pay the porter if he sold the car. Forget bird dogs. Maybe I shouldn’t have just read that.”

James: I think he paid whoever sold the car.

Chris Collins: Yeah, he didn’t care who sold it. Whether it was a porter or a Yeah. Like a Anonymous Minor 2 says hello Brian. Hello Anonymous. a Is that one of your fans?

Brian: It could be.

Chris Collins: Do you Do you have meetings about aliens? Like do you attend like That is a alien. That’s Like a Star Trek convention? Is there like an alien thing? It’s an alien. Like is there a yearly Mecca to Area 54?

Brian: No. No, but I you know, I do believe we’ll we’ll get disclosure soon and then

Chris Collins: What’s the timeline for that?

Brian: Um by 2028.

Chris Collins: What Why?

Brian: It’s coming soon.

Chris Collins: I think it’s Area 51. Because I think

Brian: It’s Studio 54. Yeah.

Chris Collins: He is right. What He He was trying to get Brian to correct him. Okay, but Area 51 is It’s also funny when I when I say Star Wars Star Trek. It’s not the same thing, Chris. We’ve been through this before. I know and it’s funny to me. But like most Why 2028?

Brian: Um that get proven right, you know, I’ll just be on that side of it and then uh you know.

Chris Collins: Sure. Well, it’s not a conspiracy anymore if it’s proven right. The fun is in the not not being proven right, isn’t it? The mysteriousness. Then it’s a fact. Do they look like the Men in Black type aliens or do they look like the alien aliens?

Brian: are the grays, right? Those are the you know, the big head, big eyes. They get the reptilians. Um

Chris Collins: You’ve really thought about this.

Brian: I not I haven’t thought about it. I’ve just heard about it.

Chris Collins: Well, they uh they made a bunch of it unclassified. Put it this way, if it’s in a movie it’s probably Oh, so it is like Men in Black. Something that exists. I like Men in Black. Where’s Will Smith? He’s an alien. Yeah, that’s kind of uh That’s kind of what we got. That’s what we’re doing this week. Is there anything else you guys want to talk about? James, any words of wisdom?

Service Managers Moving into General Manager Roles

James: I I tell you I I see We’ve talked about this as a group, more and more service managers that are moving into GM roles. Yeah. So, they’re looking at things completely different than the old way where it was a salesperson that came up through the ranks. And I think they just generally see things uh more more open-minded, different way of doing stuff, and I love seeing that.

Chris Collins: Let’s unpack that a little bit. How much easier is it to coach somebody who has the goal of being a general manager?

James: Oh, I think it’s a lot easier. Yeah, cuz they’re thinking bigger, right? Right. Yeah. And then they’re trying to bring up somebody underneath them to fill that role. So, But all ships rise. Yeah. I guess it’s a positive for everybody. And And no offense to any GMs that have been out there that came up through sales, but really the service people are they’re going to start taking over as service becomes more and more important.

Chris Collins: What? I heard taking over. It’s a We’re taking over. It’s your like a theme song. Is it a war? Hey man, you started out with Star Trek.

James: there’s strong GMs from both sides, but uh it’s certainly easier for

Chris Collins: Well, there’s strong GMs from both sides, but for a long time uh fixed ops wasn’t represented, and we’ve tried to change that. Yeah. Um But there there’s some GMs out there that know how to sell cars. Yeah, oh, no kidding. The most important part of this equation is selling cars. If you can move If you can move metal, I have a service manager that came from sales, anwed I was really nervous about that because he started from just scratch in the service, and I thought, “Ah, how how is this going to work?” But he’s incredible. And he teaches me how to think like a salesperson with think, and how much that works in the service department cuz we’re just selling labor. advisors were previous sales people. This guy’s so good. Uh but uh in Pennsylvania at a Patriot store.

James: Yeah, I mean I I think you could just summarize that by saying the best ones are good with people. Mhm. That’s That’s exactly what it is. Exactly right. with people. They’re

The Hospitality Bug and Advisor Connections

Chris Collins: I interviewed this person that was a GM of a big restaurant chain for something and she was like uh you know, they have that thing. And I’m like, “What do you mean?” And they’re like, “The hospitality bug.” Like they just have You either have it or you don’t. Mhm. It’s It’s very clear when somebody has it. It’s the same thing with advisors. Like they’re either attentive to people or not. Mhm. They just look at them as a disruption, which is very unfortunate. Mhm. Yeah, you see the advisor the customer comes in and they’re like pick up the phone.

Trying to hide. Yeah, that was a big topic on the last uh academy. In fact, the next academy we’re actually having to like go off outline a little bit and talk about recruiting and vetting and like how do you find that person that has the hospitality bug? Like how do you recruit for that and um you know, in all positions, not just service advisors.

Like So, we’re going to talk about group interviews and like a couple different tools to um to help with things. I think people are arriving at that fact more and more as they stare down the barrel of um you know, the competition in the business today. Like I think the hospitality is more important than ever. Yeah, like I’m I’m okay with hiring a green advisor, but they got to have that. Right, cuz you can’t teach That spark.

Yeah. You know, one question I I like to ask is uh if you’re like headed out to write up a customer, what are you thinking before you get to the customer? What’s going through your head? And if they say selling something, Mhm. it’s not the answer I’m looking for. Yeah. Connect. Yeah. Serve. Yeah. The selling is easiest part.

Making Real Connections with Customers

Sometimes when we’re in the driveway, we play the game of tell me what you know about your customer and they’ll come running up.

They have a blue car and it’s a this and they’re in here for this and this and that. No, no, no, that’s the car. What do you know about your customer? And they just looked stumped. I don’t know anything about the customer. How well did you do when you wrote them up? Yeah. And that’s why you every CSI score belongs to to the advisor, every outcome belongs to advisor because, you know, you look at some of these surveys that come in that say the lounge chair was uncomfortable. Um and the advisor wants to blame that, right? But what they’re really saying is I didn’t make any connection with that customer.

So, all they focus on was lounge chair. You know? Um you know it’s all about the connection. When I go into stores and it’s really sad and I tell this to the service managers all the time, I know more about your customer than you do. How is that? It should not be that way. But I can’t see them standing out there and the service advisors just walking around the car without them or whatever they’re doing. Okay, well, I need to talk to them. or a kiosk can do that part. Yeah, exactly. Um and and one thing that the kiosk always says is good morning, right?

Um you know, and even these kiosks at McDonald’s that they they offer an apple pie every time, right? They sell women apple pies from the kiosk and they do it at the counter. We have to be better as humans, um you know, with that element of it, the connection part of it. Otherwise, they’re just going to put 360 things in that take pictures of the car and let the customer type on a kiosk and the technician will be the only one left. Yeah.

The Harris Effect and Customer Connection

Chris Collins: We were talking about CSI the other day and and I brought up Harris cuz like going back to the comp like people thought he was cheating cuz he would have perfect CSI. And most people couldn’t have perfect CSI with 10 surveys. He’d have like 40 to 50 surveys in a month, all perfect. For months and months back to back.

And one thing that that really stuck out to me is one time I saw Harris out talking to a new technician that was on his team that that you had hired, and it looked like a very uncomfortable conversation out there in the drive. when Harris came back in, I was like, “Hey, what what was going on with that?” And he’s like, “Oh, I got a new tech, and uh customer left here in their washer fluid light came on.” He he was just Livid. every like he was QC’ing like the attention to detail.you just you instantly are like, “Oh, yeah, it’s no mistake. He’s got perfect CSI. He cares that much like every little thing matters to the point where he’s training the techs how to behave. You know, I I saw this this interview last night with Davante Adams. Do you know who that is?

James: Not a chance.

Chris Collins: So, he’s a wide receiver. Still. And I think he started in Green Bay, I think. Yeah, he did. And then he went to the Raiders, and then now he plays for the Rams. Yep. But he’s he’s he’s an exceptional player. In in in American football, the goal of a wide receiver is to get open, and then they throw him the ball. And he gets open. Like he Catches. He has a unique ability to get open, so he catches a lot of balls. And then he also is known for scoring touchdowns. But anyways, he said this thing about he his dad

James: Lies. You should be writing all this down in a football

Chris Collins: Yeah, but listen. He said about football. I hear the words, I understand the words, but not all strung together in a sentence. Just I Yeah, no, it’s like when you were talking about Star Trek, I started thinking about In-N-Out Burger. But uh um he said this thing, he said, “My dad taught me something when I was really young, that you train people how to treat you.” Mhm. Oh. Like by the way you look, by the way you act, by your energy, by what you take from others, like the respect you demand, like and it’s the same thing with Harris is like he’s controlling that.

He’s not leaving it to chance. I think Harris is a great example and I hope he’s listening. He’s still at the same store, but uh of an outlier that we run into every once in a while who has the same personality traits as every other outlier that we go to. There’s not a single paper on Harris’s desk. He’s super calm. He’s making it super easy and he’s right there. nice And yeah. super nice And he’s right there double the guy who’s in second place. And but he looks like he’s doing absolutely nothing.

Well, and there was a Harris effect in the comp that when when people got past the idea that he wasn’t cheating, all of the sudden there were advisors doing 30 perfect scores in a month. Like I don’t think anybody ever caught him, but there were a bunch of advisors around 20 or 30, which we never saw before that. It was always like somebody would have eight perfect, but never 30. Like that was unheard of. So, there was a Harris effect across the board because you know, it’s like the 4-minute mile. When they see that it’s possible, then a bunch of people do it. Yeah. Well, we talked about that with net to gross.

For the longest time we were talking about you had to get 25% net to gross to get into elite. Now people blown that away. Yeah. to have to raise that bar to get into elite. Yeah. I think it’s It’s funny how the even like uh sorry, but even with uh minimum requirements. Mhm. It’s like so funny. Like you you pick a number and then everybody gets to that number. You got to raise the bar. Yeah. I I think when you go into a dealer and you see especially around the holidays and you see a service advisor’s desk and it has the bottles of booze and the candy and the biz, you know they’re a good service advisor because they have reached past that client relationship.

Yeah. Or when you’re standing there like we’re as coaches are in the store and that the advisor that does really, really well with all this stuff, he has customers coming in just to say hello. Yeah. They’re not even there for a service appointment. But that advisor is also the one willing to give his customer his cell phone number. Yes. And willing to to have a long-lasting relationship. And at the end of the day with all this, you know, all Harrison was making a decision. Yeah. Right. Yeah, he did. Anybody listening to this call, anybody that we deal with, it’s just a decision to do it. Yep. Do you I I just had a flash of Billy Graham doing an altar call. It’s just a decision. Accept Christ into your heart.

But it is You told me that a long time ago when I wanted to win the comp, you said it’s just a decision. Yeah, but once you made the decision, there’s no going back. Then you bullied everybody. Then everybody just gave up. But I have a I have a store, a Honda store that we’ve worked with since 2018. And they couldn’t win the comp and win the comp. And then they made a decision they were going to win the comp, and she won manager of the year. Yeah, she’s won a bunch. And once you make the decision, nothing stands in your way. You know, if you look at your staff and they’re a bunch of people that don’t want to connect or don’t like

James: Then they need to go away. change them or you change

Chris Collins: Yeah. Right? Because you’re on this mission to to something greater, and nothing’s going to get in the way. No. Right? And and the one thing that’s true with every store that that crushes it, um whether it’s our system or whatever, it’s they have Aces. Mhm.

Audience Chat and Best Questions

Chris Collins: So McRollerPig, these names on here hilarious. What’s your name on YouTube? Captain’s Log. Uh just my name. Yeah, me too. What if So this is McRollerPig. It’s my cousin. Is he asking about me? No, he says uh what is the best This could be she, I don’t know. Are you assuming that McRollerPig is a guy? Yes. You shouldn’t do that. You are. I don’t know that you can make that assumption. We are the What are the best relationship building questions that you found to ask clients when they’re coming in for a service visit?

James: Ask them about profession, family, hobby. I mean, really anything other than taking out the car or what they’re driving in for.

Chris Collins: Yeah, I think that’s where you you got to have the bug, because if you have the hospitality bug, it’s easy. Like, I had a an old advisor once tell me, like, you Monday and Tuesday you ask them what they did on the weekend, Thursday, Friday you ask them what they’re doing this coming weekend, and Wednesday. I still I still use that one just as a default if someone is struggling. I still use that one cuz there’s no world where you ask somebody that.

Now, I I have had other feedback that I’ve added to it cuz I I had an advisor uh one time was like, “Hey, I’ve I’ve been doing that and do you notice that every time you ask that, their first response is really superficial?” Like he’s like, “People could have been at the Super Bowl on Sunday, but if you haven’t connected with them yet, they’ll be like, ‘Oh, I just hung around the house’ or whatever.”

James: Yeah, it’s important to pay them a compliment or find some common ground. So, that’s why whenever you’re walking up to the car, like you know, it should be genuine, but oh, I like your wheels. Oh, the color. Oh, you you know, your kid’s an honor roll student or whatever. You know, it’s that old What’s that Chase you’re saying? He’s like, “I knew it within 10 seconds of her walking in the bar she was a vegan and loved yoga. You know how I knew?”

She told She told me. Like people People are dying to do There everything in their car is showing you who they are. Like, if you got a Subaru customer with a dog, like it’s not hard to figure out. But the ones that are good at it, I mean, come hell or high water, they’re making a connection, right? And and again, it’s just a decision. Find something to talk about. You know, I promise they’re wearing a Vietnam veteran hat because they want you to talk about, right?

And customers give us these Easter eggs all the time. Mhm. And we don’t pick up on them a lot of times, right? type of car they have tells you a lot about them, the color. Like, if you you know, if you’re really paying attention, all of that stuff. Like, you got a guy in an M3 that’s bright red, you kind of know what you’re dealing with. Mhm. Yeah.

You know, and then that the easiest thing right there that’ll just make me smile like, “Okay, how fast do we have this thing?” Yeah. Yeah. Done. Yeah. Do the little stuff. If they have a kid, talk to the kid. If they have a dog, give it a biscuit. Um just If they have a Seahawks bumper sticker, talk about the Seahawks. Yeah, I don’t know what to do with that. Good thing you got a manager mostly here. it the other night. You’re like, “Oh, I saw him catch that ball. It was great. The defense.” It’s a big big game. believe that defense?

What I was It was a game tonight. When I was in got the Gaslamp District the other day, I don’t know, was that like a week ago? Mhm. I was just thinking about how you got how good you were at making friends. We used to go down there just to practice. Yeah. Mhm. But you were good at it. We got good at it. Yeah. It wasn’t easy at first. Yeah. But if at the end of the day, if you had to summarize it, it’s not we were both single at the same time. We were both going through divorces at the same time. And we would go down there.

Chris Collins: Divorce? The third one? I stuck at divorce. See, never never again. No. But that’s what I was it when you said never again, too. He doesn’t even talk to women anymore. Yeah, it’s crazy. But we would go out. We were single and we would go out in the Gaslamp District in San Diego is a great place with dance clubs and bars and there’s a lot of opportunity there, I guess you would say. And we we were scientific about it. We would try. We would compare what had worked, what hadn’t. Yeah. And very similar to writing service, like, you just got to pay attention

Like, if you say something to somebody and their body language closes up, like, “Okay, you’re coming on too strong. Like, just pay attention. But, if they start smiling or they start talking with their hands, you you know, you ask the right thing. One way you can’t do it is go out there and say good morning or you’re here for an oil change, go sit in the lounge and I’ll come talk to you later. Yeah, what what what did you have an appointment? What’s wrong with with the like the the walk around at the vehicle is the the least important part of it and you said it already is the vehicle. Yeah. Are you here for service today?

Of course they are. They’re not here to order a cheeseburger. Yeah, you just shut off that part of their mind and now it’s just transactional. You’re just practice, it takes role play, you know, for all the managers listening, I mean, you should be practicing this stuff with with the service advisors. Um, you know, and and you should kind of already know what you would have connected on when you’re listening to this and then you can coach them through how to do it a little bit better next time.

Um, but you can’t just say go do it and and expect them to do it and that’s why we have coaches coming to the store and stuff because it’s it’s a hard thing to get used to, but once they get it Mhm. I mean, these are the go to an airport and you’re making a connection with the person next to you and you you know, you walk down the street and you make a connection with some complete stranger.

Well, like you said, it’s a decision to do it. Like, I can’t tell you how many and we’re going to have some of them here this week that won their their league in this competition. But I’ve had many, many advisors, uh, over the years that are are, you know, easily within the top 10% of the country in their brand. Um, and they’re not necessarily Mr. or Ms. Congeniality. Like, and a lot of them when they first learned it, it’s from a simple tool like Chris talked about, like, hey, what did you do last weekend? And when you ask people that, you start to know what their answers are going to be and like you know, and and um

James: Yeah, they’re usually more introverted. Yeah. Harris was introverted. Yeah. Big time. You he wasn’t the guy that you can to a party and make friends with everybody, but he he’d make one friend. Yeah, but you start to see that they have, like, systems and tools that that people appreciate the consistency of it, and that somebody cares and is trying to connect with them. And, uh, you know, even if you’re asking a customer, like, every single time they come in, “What did you do last weekend?” or whatever, um you know, just sparks the conversation cuz if they say, “No, I just hung around the house.” you know, “Oh, whereabouts do you live?” Like it makes it an easy kind of trail to follow.

Chris Collins: think that’s the key to it is uh Yeah, ask the question, you know, get the conversation going, but then continue the conversation. Have a second question, drill in a little bit. Um you know, not just “What did you do last weekend? I hung around the house.” Oh, cool. I’m going to go walk around your car. Yeah, it’s usually the third question that you get them to kind of open up. People love the the effort of it and um it’s funny cuz we we have this Mexican restaurant we go to all the time and uh you know, it’s it’s pretty good. It’s really consistent, but this family runs it.

And, uh, it’s one of those places where you’ll go into. Even if it’s busy, you’ll still go in, and there’s a little bit of a wait or whatever, but they’re hustling in there and you appreciate it. And, um, the the guy that owns it, um, like he’s bald and I’m bald, and and, uh, every time I go in there, he makes a bald joke. And uh, even though he does that every time, it’s his way of connecting, you know, or whatever; and I just appreciate it, and it’s even fun.

Like when we have family in for town for the holidays and stuff, I’ll, like, you know last year sometime, uh, we went when we had a bunch of family in town, and I was telling my brother-in-law when I walked in, like, “Hey, watch.” He’s going to make a, you know, bald joke when we walk in.” We walked in and he’s like, “Oh, Mr. Chris, do you have any new hair brushes lately?” or whatever, you know, he always has something.

James: Sounded like a different kind of restaurant.

Chris Collins: uh it’s it’s Mexican.

James: Sounded like sounded like Chinese.

Chris Collins: Yeah, a little bit. I I Yeah. That’s the best That’s the That’s the That’s the Oklahoma. That’s the Oklahoma. In Oklahoma, they sound Chinese. Yeah. Yeah. Better than like Borat or something. But they’re trying to connect. In three languages. to get Hogi to do We got to get Hogi to do impressions. They’re actually smart. Oh, that’s so funny. Do an impression. Do the whole show in an an impression.

Service Drive Leadership and Process

Chris Collins: And it I think that it definitely starts with the greeter because if you have a greeter that’s standing out there that’s that you walk up to the car and they say, “Do you have an appointment today?” Yeah. Why, yes I do. And I know you’re going to take me anyway, even if I don’t have an appointment today. So, why are you asking me that? Yeah, but it starts with the leadership, right? It the leadership has to be has to be pushing everybody to do this. I mean a manager shouldn’t look in the lane and and see somebody get booted to the lounge if we’re doing this thing right.

Um so, it is you know, it’s the greeter, it’s the advisors, it’s everybody, but Playing their part. It’s the uh it’s the guy or gal with the the sight glass looking at the end of the boat that needs to kind of steer this thing and guide it. I have a store that I go to in Michigan, Lasco Ford, and they have a really really good greeter. And sometimes I’m in the driveway and I’ll look down waiting for the car, but she’s still talking to the customer up there. It’s like, “Okay, come on now. Make her an advisor. She’d be good advisor, actually.”

Chris Collins: So, Craig is asking a question about pre-writes, but Craig, are you in our program and who’s your coach? Would be my question. Don’t say Brian. There’s a bunch of high Brians in here. Oh, hi Brian. That’s cuz uh Uh Could you type that, Craig, in the in the thing for me? Who’s your Are you on our program and who’s your coach? Yeah, the question sounds like maybe

Yeah, very specific. It’s not a single high Brian in there. Yeah. Well, they would call you Captain. Okay. You know, do you guys see when the managers are out on the drive too making connections with customers? Oh my gosh. That’s even like that’s the Yeah, that’s ultimate. That’s the cherry on top when they’re out there just and they’re not taking up the advisor’s time, but if there’s a gap between the greeter and the advisor, they’re out there talking to them. That really goes well. And I love when they have name tags and it says service manager. it is. He needs an accordion, I think.

Chris Collins: So he’s saying high volume and what do I do with all the pre-rates? Yeah, Craig, it starts with scheduling your appointments by advisor like we’ve talked about. I’ll see you in a couple weeks. Walked into that one. He’s not coming to talk. Okay, Dad. I’ll talk to you when we get home. Oh, he’s fresh he’s new. He’s he he We’ll we’ll get with you Craig on that. Yeah, I don’t know that the general audience is interested in pre-rates. Mhm. But it’s a great question. All these high brains don’t look human. Just saying. Is your whole family right now? Just putting comments on there? Hey. Every client I have is my family. Maybe he didn’t make it back. Wow. But but Craig has the I don’t think he’s that great. He’s quick. Yeah. That was fast. that coming. That’s fair.

Wrap-Up and Top Dog Final Thoughts

Chris Collins: Any any closing thoughts you guys?

James: No excited See everybody this week. It’s going to be a ton of fun. Action packed for sure.

Chris Collins: It’s going to be really fun. I know it you never even remember cuz it goes by so quick. It’s like I’m already just thinking okay, I got to be here. Got to do this. Like it goes And as much as we talk about it, we never do it justice. Like you got to be here. Yeah. You got to be part of it. Yeah, there’s energy. a trip to LA, but it is they’re going to be talking about Jefferson for You leave a different person. Yeah, I don’t think a lot of them know who Jefferson is. He’s sparking up a little here and there, but it’s That’s other Historically, we’ve been really, really good at at getting a lot of people on kind of on the way up and stuff.

And um He’s definitely I wouldn’t say I don’t He I wouldn’t say that he’s on the way up. Adam and I saw him uh speak, and that’s why we got him. But I had I’d watched his YouTube channel for a while. It’s he like an I don’t know if it’s an algorithm now, but like he’s he’s on other stuff now, and he’s So that That’s why I said that is cuz it seems like it And then and it could just be the last year or so I’ve watched more of his stuff than than ever, but uh But it resonates. He’s definitely in more places.

Um If you don’t know who he is And then we have fun. We got comedy stuff. We got, you know, we’re all throwing a couple drinks back and and breaking bread. It’s going to be a good time. Yeah. Do you Do you feel loved now? I just got to hide, James. Hey, Joe. Any more? No. Did you just text him? The really the purpose of this show is not to solicit comments. It is. I don’t have any, but You just got two My clients are coming here, so Go ahead. Did you hear that? Vicki, what’s that? The total elite. I said they’re not saying hi because my clients are coming here.

The plane. Oh. They’re on the plane. That’s me, too, then. Should we Should we talk about the Should we talk about the disclosure that we have to give for Vicky and now maybe Jean? Oh. Yeah. Jean Jean’s going to get the I had to take the Vicky playbook and apply it to Jean. What is this? Jean Do you know our coach, Jean? Yeah. Yeah.

He’s He’s getting the disclosure that we give for you. What’s that? And then when Well, when we when we’re when we’re taking on a client and they’re you know, they’re all gung ho, we’re like, “Okay, we have two choices for you. We have a coach that’s really going to hold you accountable and push you, or somebody who’s who’s not.” And then they always say we want the one that’s going to hold us accountable. Until I get there. Yeah, but it uh But Jean’s got that voice that I don’t have that it Well, he’s also a bulldog. He’s just tenacious. He looks like a bulldog, too, like me.

He’s a little bit a Canadian bulldog. But he’s the the same thing we got to kind of like, “Okay, you really want to get good.” Yeah. The Vicki disclosure, that’s what we call it. I was just at a store that was James store in Ocala and this this person, she was a service manager for years and she came up to me, she goes, “You’re the hammer.” I’m like, “Oh, well, how do you know that?” Okay. Oh, yeah, I I am.

It’s so funny how uh how how much harder you are on female managers than male managers. They need to have it harder. It It’s hard. It’s hard to be a female service manager. It still is. but you would think that there would be some sort of like, you know, like let’s say there’s let’s say there’s a manager that’s a Seahawks fan, I might be a little different. I don’t know.

But you’re almost harder on the on the females. Yeah. I mean, you know, too, for the audience that doesn’t know, like Vicki was a female manager when that didn’t exist and uh helped um a lot of of people along the way. But yeah, it’s just funny that you hold them to a higher standard. Mhm. Yeah. Which they don’t always want to. No. Even though they say they do. Yeah. They don’t. Their actions would tell you that. They do at the end.

Oh, yeah. No, for sure, there’s always that that, but more and more female service managers, so it’s pretty awesome. It’s like those are all my children in an alien way. Can you imagine me going back in uh in time and like when you would go to the like the annual meetings, like you would No. It was you and maybe Julie and that was is right? And I don’t even know if it was Julie.

Yeah, she never One other Sandy Sansing BMW, one other female BMW service manager in the US. That was it. Yeah. So, I had to decide, was I going to be me, or was I going to be a different one? Think about that early group of how many females we had. Not a lot. Yeah, we did. Well, at the elite, yeah. our Yeah. We did have a lot, didn’t Terry, Natalie Yeah. There was a quite a few. And they were good.

You’re talking about like going to NAC or something. Yes. Yeah, NAC had a lot of facial hair, for sure. a lot of dudes. I even got, “Honey, can you drive a stick?” Oh, man. I remember getting Remember he first pulled the hammer out? Oh, man. now it’s all “Hi, James is in here.” okay. I see how it is. Something like that. And then there’s a “Hi, Vicki” from Oh, who? Wait, and I said “Hi, Chris” to myself. Somebody’s logged in as me. We’re going to shut this party down. It’s getting out of hand.

Yeah. Well, we’re excited to see everybody that’s that’s headed here for Top Dog. If you’re not, I don’t know how much of it we’ll post online, but we’ll post some of it on on demand. But, it’s going to be a great time. Mhm. And we uh we hope you have a great week. And um Play games. Any last words, James?

James: No, I can’t wait to see everybody. It’s going to be great. Yep.

Chris Collins: Cool. Thank you. Thanks, everybody.

[Outro]

Chris Collins (Outro): I know from experience that a lot of our dealers, owners won’t invest in training for fixed ops. But, eight service managers in our coaching group have been promoted to general manager, something that doesn’t happen enough in our industry. Prove that when you’re given the right tools and the right mentorship, you can do amazing things. And I’d like to personally invite you to something that should exist already, but unfortunately, it doesn’t.

And that’s It’s live fixed ops academy, a mentorship, a community, but what it really is is a service drive revolution. Anybody can afford it. Anybody that wants to invest in themselves. We are going to teach what we know about running a healthy fixed-ops service business. Our average coaching client performs well above the industry average and a handful of them are in a league completely their own. In fact, if I told you their numbers, you wouldn’t even believe it. They’re so good.

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About Service Drive Revolution Academy

I know from experience that a lot of dealer owners won’t invest in training for fixed ops — but eight SERVICE MANAGERS in our coaching group have been promoted to general managers. That doesn’t happen enough in our industry. It’s proof that when you’re given the right tools and the right mentorship, you can do amazing things.

I’d like to personally invite you to something that should exist already, but unfortunately doesn’t: a live Fixed Ops Academy — a mentorship, a community. It’s a Service Drive Revolution Academy. Anybody can afford it; anybody who wants to invest in themselves can join. We teach what we know about running a healthy fixed-ops service business. Our average coaching client performs well above the industry average, and a handful are in a league completely their own — if I told you their numbers, you wouldn’t believe it.

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🔗 Related Resources

• Explore traffic strategies: How to Drive More Traffic to Your Service Drive | SDR #379
• Master leadership transitions: Making the Jump: What It Really Takes to Go From Service Advisor to Service Manager | SDR #378 
• Fix underlying systems: You Don’t Need Advisor Training | SDR #377 

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!