Service Department Solutions - Who are they?

[Emily Stott]

Hello, this is Mike Volkman. Many people have thanked Emily and myself for sponsoring dragracer.tv in D2 this year. Warren, who is the producer, is a great guy, easy to work with and we appreciate what he does for our sport. He reported that the Baby Gators was the biggest audience ever. That's good for the sport. I asked Ken M. if it was ok to make a post here regarding what our company does rather than answering one on one.

I had worked for both auto manufacturer's, GM and Chrysler, for 34 years before leaving FCA almost 5 years ago. Lots of experience with dealerships in the service and parts department arenas. Our business is 3 fold.

1. At a new car dealership's request (we call on all 25 nameplates) we will come in, consult, train and/or implement processes that will help the dealership's bottom line and customer satisfaction. This is the consulting end.

2. When you take your vehicle into a dealership for a warranty repair the dealership actually pays for the repair and the manufacturer will reimburse them the monies paid. 44 out of 50 states have some level of law (4 more slated by end of year) that say the OEM must reimburse the dealership what they charge their average retail customer for parts and labor. Many OEM's don't play fair and twist the state law to mitigate their cost. It's like the trick of the week. We know the laws and the manufacturer's behavior and will calculate and submit the increase for parts and/or labor reimbursement for the dealership. Increases for the service/parts department usually begin at $25k for a small store, over a year, which goes directly to their bottom line and the new found monies increase as the dealership volumes does. So, if you have any dealer buddies, send them our way. We don't charge for calculating their potential lift and can tell them what the state/manufacturer says.

3. Lastly, there are sometimes rubs between the OEM's and dealerships over warranty practices. We will work with the dealership's attorney and the OEM to have the issue resolved.

Thanks for reading. If we can help, call us or stop by the trailer. Thanks to Ken and Warren for their support.

Mike@ServiceDepartmentSolutions.com

Michael Volkman
412-651-2356