My buddy Richard A. Browne, who is a huge talent in automotive fixed operations wrote this awesome blog that dealers need to read.  I reposted it here. So here goes...

Scams, Rip Off Report, Poor Business practices, Misleading, Painting the picture of this could be you. Are you a the victim of giving it your all and not seeing your pay check increase but your hours have? This is the current trend in most of today's automotive dealerships and automotive vendors. In the past 3 weeks I have spoken to over 10 dealerships in the New Jersey and New York region that have placed adds for new staff, from BDC manager to Fixed Ops manager. I have seen a huge trend of dealers that truly want more for less, obviously its a smart business move on their part if they get YOU as a professional to bite. I say STOP the insanity! There are more and more dealerships that are jumping on the band wagon of low balling talented individuals do to the current high unemployment. I say the buck stops here!

Any and all automotive companies always want more for less and can not get over the fact that they are truly getting what they pay for and yet they wonder why there CSI is poor, there Gross profits are dropping faster than a 2011 Chevrolet Equinox timing chain, and most important they are spending thousands on job placement companies and adds. You ask yourself why is this dealership known as a "Whore Store" and they have adds for management positions hence the same position every 3-6 months? The answer is simple and Fram oil filter commercials say it best "Pay Alittle Now Or Alot Later"  Automotive professionals wake up and realize, pay the people! Offer a obtainable pay plan! Make your employees happy! Turn over is the most expensive expense in a dealership or any business for that matter.

Turn Over Cost:

• Hundreds of Thousands In Add Placement
• Unapplied Time To Interview Candidates
• With Every Manager Change There Is Always Some One Who Follows Them
• Loss Of Customer Base/Revenue Due To Constant Change/Loss Of Relationships
• Other Employees In Location Are Unsettled/And Begin Job Hunting As They Feel They Are Next To Be Eliminated, Hence Loss Of Productivity
• Poor Online Reputation/Community Reputation
• Training
• Continous Change/No Growth!

The Fix:

• Trust Your Managers
• Hold Them Accountable, By Creating A Agenda And Give Them The Tools To Succeed
• DO NOT MICRO MANAGE!!!
• Create A Pay Plan That Will Yield Financial Results. Give Alittle And Get Alot!!
• Have A Open Door Policy, Every One Claims To Have One But I Truly Ever See It
• Have A Weekly Recap Of The Week EVERY Monday NO MATTER WHAT!
• Think Before You Make A Hasty Decision Based On Personal Feelings

Dealers you need to realize the problem isnt the employee's alot of the time, its your inability to give them the tools and you speculating they being your managers can read your mind. Do not just say this is what we need to do, create a Game Plan and execute. If you can not do that and  your employee's feel they have to call Ms.Cleo's mind reading services to figue out your thought process,then you are failing and your turn over and expense with continue to climb and business with remain stagnent. It is not rocket science.Design, create and execute. Most and I say most automotive professionals have only been as great as they have been allowed to be. With that being said , if you want to cut expenses, take a look at yourself before you start eliminating people that are either scared of you or do not know what you want or how to get there. BE A LEADER not a Puppy Mill!!

Regards,

Richard A. Browne