Sal Seragusa is the National Fixed Operations Director for Rick Case Honda, part of the Rick Case Automotive Group. The chain operates locations in Northeast Ohio, South Florida and Atlanta, and sells a variety of import brands including Honda, Hyundai, Acura, Audi, Mazda and Mitsubishi.
What are the biggest challenges dealership fixed operations departments are facing right now?
The biggest challenge we're seeing right now is economy. People are being very careful about their spending and whether or not they will perform repairs on their vehicles. Some are doing the minimum, some are spending the money to repair their cars to keep them on the road longer because they don't want to get into any kind of a car payment. The Rick Case organization, in fixed ops, is actually doing very well right now. We're on pace to set a record even in a down economy.
Did Cash for Clunkers or the dealer-led incentive program have any impact on fixed-ops?
Cash for Clunkers was a great plan, and the government put a requirement on there that the trade-in had to get 18 miles to the gallon or less. The majority of the cars that we saw cashed in were all GM, Ford, Chrysler, those big pick-up trucks. So we got a whole new line of business, because we sold to people who were mainly in other brands. Down the road, we'll reap the benefit when those customers come back in for service work.
Some of the domestic OEMs like GM and Chrysler have exercised more control over dealership parts inventories over the past few years. Have any of the OE brands that Rick Case carries instituted similar programs?
Most of our brands haven't really laid down the law on what we need to do and what not to do. Hyundai has gotten a little tighter on they way that we order and the return policies, but mostly we have free will on how we want to run the departments when it comes to inventory and parts ordering.
What are some ways that you've found that the parts and service departments can work together to improve sales or customer service?
First, competitive pricing and price matching to aftermarket repair shops. We also market that we have factory-trained technicians at all of our facilities.
We offer certain services at our Honda store here in Florida, like having a county clerk office on site. There aren't a lot of Broward County court offices, so we have a clerk here to make things easier on our customers. You can pay a ticket here, and we've even had people come here to get married. We have a café on site, and we service all makes and models. We have a separate express center for customers who need to get in and out quickly.
The Rick Case philosophy is to treat every customer like your best friend, and if you treat them that way, they'll come back and give you their repeat business, and provide word of mouth to get other customers into our facilities.
