『Service Drive Revolution with Chris Collins』のカバーアート

Service Drive Revolution with Chris Collins

Service Drive Revolution with Chris Collins

著者: Chris Collins
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Got a question for the show? Call us at 1-833-3-ASK-SDR! Chris Collins, the leading Automotive Service Manager Coach and Service Advisor Trainer in the world, discusses little known service drive secret weapons to help pull your service department ahead of the pack. Everything from hiring technicians, increasing dealership CSI, building relationships for long term customer retention, to increasing customer pay sales and more, is all discussed here on Service Drive Revolution. All from the automotive industries #1 go-to guy for Fixed Operations; Chris Collins. Listen, and enjoy!Chris Collins, Inc. マネジメント・リーダーシップ リーダーシップ 出世 就職活動 経済学
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  • Socialism In The Service Drive | SDR #375
    2026/09/08
    Is socialism coming to your service drive? In this episode of Service Drive Revolution, Chris Collins, Chris Hogland, and Adam Krey dig into one of the biggest conversations building inside fixed operations: technician pay, flat rate vs. hourly, student debt, apprenticeship programs, entitlement, leadership, and why dealerships have to stop ignoring the people who actually produce the labor. The team also answers a live fixed ops question about labor gross percentage, posted labor rate, and Effective Labor Rate. Chris explains why posted labor rate is one of the least important numbers in the service department, why ELR is the number that actually matters, and how smart dealerships separate labor into categories like competitive labor, maintenance labor, repair labor, diagnosis, diesel, and heavy-duty labor. If you are a service manager, fixed ops director, dealer principal, general manager, technician, or advisor, this episode is about the future of your service department. CHAPTERS: 00:00 Welcome to Service Drive Revolution 01:05 SDR Live Academy and weekly live training 03:00 Top Dog 2026 and transcending the service drive 09:30 Why service managers should think bigger 13:20 Listener question: labor gross, door rate, and ELR 16:45 Why posted labor rate does not matter as much as ELR 21:00 Competitive labor, maintenance labor, repair labor, and diagnosis 25:30 How smart pricing strategy increases ELR 30:00 Is socialism coming to the service drive? 35:30 Student debt, college, trades, and workforce problems 42:00 Why the technician shortage is bigger than pay 47:00 Flat rate vs. hourly technician pay 52:30 Heavy-truck shops, car dealerships, and productivity gaps 58:00 Technician frustration and the future of fixed ops 1:05:00 Why dealerships need better systems for technicians 1:10:00 Final thoughts and SDR Live Academy invitation KEY FIXED OPS LESSON: Your service department does not make money because your posted labor rate looks good on the wall. It makes money when your advisors, technicians, managers, pricing strategy, inspection process, and leadership system work together. Effective Labor Rate, Hours Per RO, technician productivity, advisor communication, customer trust, and shop flow are all connected. FAQ: What is Effective Labor Rate? Effective Labor Rate, or ELR, is the actual labor revenue your service department collects per flagged technician hour. It is different from the posted labor rate because it reflects the real money collected after maintenance pricing, repair pricing, warranty, internal labor, discounts, and labor mix. Why does Chris Collins say posted labor rate does not matter? The posted labor rate is only one number. Customers care more about the outcome, the repair, the trust, and the experience. A dealership can have a high posted rate and still have weak ELR if the pricing strategy, advisor process, and labor mix are broken. How can a dealership improve ELR? A dealership can improve ELR by separating labor categories, improving advisor communication, reducing unnecessary discounting, selling maintenance consistently, inspecting every vehicle properly, tracking labor mix, and holding the team accountable to the right KPIs. Is flat rate good or bad for technicians? Flat rate can be powerful for productive technicians because it gives them more control over their income. But if the shop is poorly dispatched, badly managed, under-supplied, or unfair with warranty time, flat rate can feel broken. The pay plan is only as good as the system around it. Why are technicians leaving the automotive industry? Technicians often leave because of workflow problems, pay frustration, lack of respect, poor leadership, warranty time issues, weak career paths, and shop cultures that treat technicians as an afterthought. What is SDR Live Academy? SDR Live Academy is the live fixed ops training community from Chris Collins Inc., built for service managers, advisors, fixed ops leaders, and operators who want real-time coaching, practical systems, and ongoing training. Ready to train your service drive? Join SDR Live Academy and get access to live fixed ops training, Service Advisor training, Service Manager University, technician recruiting systems, BDC training, OnDemand courses, and the Top Dog Underground 🛑 SDR Live Academy Online Training For Huge Results: https://chriscollinsinc.com/op/sdr-live-weekly/?=sdrpod 🛑 Book your Profit Gap Analysis Now: https://calendly.com/byron-webster/30min 🛑 Best Selling books on making Fixed Ops a money printer: https://chriscollinsinc.com/shop/ 🛑 Got a question? Call us at 1-833-3-ASK-SDR 🛑 Want to work with the best? https://chriscollinsinc.com/careers/ 🛑 Chris' Top-Selling Leadership Book I AM LEADER: https://iamleader.com
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    56 分
  • SDR #374: Fixed Ops Should Carry Dealerships
    2026/08/31
    Why isn't Fixed Ops saving dealerships while vehicle sales and front-end gross are falling? In Service Drive Revolution #374, Chris, Hogi and Adam examine why service and parts departments are remaining flat when they should be carrying dealership overhead. Customers are keeping vehicles longer and driving more, yet many stores are booked out for weeks, losing customer-pay work and allowing independent shops to capture market share. The team identifies technician capacity as the primary constraint. When warranty repair orders begin matching or exceeding customer-pay ROs, it may reveal that customers who have a choice are going elsewhere. Chris explains why dealers must add technicians before the shop feels ready, price labor correctly and stop waiting for the mythical "unicorn" tech. They also challenge leaders to mystery-shop their own appointment process, reinvest in customer experience and replace systems that have barely evolved in a century. Plus: Is the AI bubble finally popping? The crew discusses failed AI phone systems, advisor kiosks and why AI works best as a tool that amplifies expertise—not as a replacement for human relationships. KEY TAKEAWAYS * Fixed Ops Should Carry the Store: When sales decline, service and parts should protect dealership profitability. * Capacity Is the Constraint: Being booked out sends urgent customer-pay work to competitors. * Watch the RO Mix: Warranty ROs exceeding customer-pay ROs can reveal technician shortages and lost retention. * Hire Before It Feels Comfortable: More technicians can improve work distribution, efficiency and available capacity. * Price Labor for Reality: Labor rates should reflect technician compensation, demand and the cost of timely service. * AI Should Amplify Talent: It can accelerate research, coding & internal systems, but cannot replace customer connection. * Mystery-Shop the Process: Leaders often don't know how difficult their own BDC & appointment experience has become. FAQ Q: Why isn't Fixed Ops saving struggling dealerships? A: Many departments lack technician capacity, lose customer-pay work, use outdated systems and underinvest in retention and customer experience. Q: What does it mean when warranty ROs exceed customer-pay ROs? A: Warranty customers must return to the brand, while customer-pay clients can leave. A rising warranty mix may mean customers with choices are defecting. Q: Should a dealership hire technicians before its current techs are fully efficient? A: Yes. Additional capacity can improve workflow and efficiency while allowing the dealership to capture more work. Q: Should higher technician pay reduce service gross? A: It does not have to. Labor rates can be adjusted to reflect technician wages, market demand and the cost of timely service. Q: Can AI replace Service Advisors or the BDC? A: The team says current AI is better used as support. Advisors create trust, validation and relationships that automation cannot reproduce. Chapters 0:00 Live From Indiana 1:45 Why Isn't Fixed Ops Saving Dealerships? 2:35 Summer, Boats and Power-Sports Dealers 8:30 Buying Without a Test Drive 9:25 The Power-Sports Technician Shortage 1 0:20 Seasonal Service and Motorcycle Storage 17:55 Power-Sports Absorption 19:20 Parts and Service Between Two Flames 22:35 Is the AI Bubble Popping? 24:00 Tablets, Kiosks and Digital Inspection Hype 26:35 Why AI Phone Systems Are Failing 27:20 Where AI Actually Saves Time 30:40 AI vs. Human Customer Service 33:20 Use AI to Amplify Expertise 36:50 AI Is Changing Search 37:50 Why Fixed Ops Historically Carried Dealerships 40:55 Falling Sales and Flat Fixed Ops 44:00 Technician Capacity Is the First Problem 44:30 Warranty vs. Customer-Pay ROs 46:00 Add Capacity Before the Constraint 47:00 Why Independents Are Gaining Market Share 48:40 Mystery-Shop Your Dealership 50:40 Paying More for Technicians 53:25 Antiquated Dealership Systems 54:00 Consolidation and Customer Experience 57:20 Fixed Ops as a Force Multiplier 59:00 Dealership Leadership Needs Fixed Ops Experience 1:00:40 Final Thoughts 📞 GOT A QUESTION OF YOUR OWN? Call 833-3-ASK-SDR — we answer on the show! 🛑 SDR Live Academy Online Training For Huge Results: https://chriscollinsinc.com/op/sdr-live-weekly/ 🛑 Book your Profit Gap Analysis Now: https://calendly.com/byron-webster/30min 🛑 Best-selling books on making Fixed Ops a money printer: https://chriscollinsinc.com/shop/ 🛑 Got a question? Call us at 1-833-3-ASK-SDR 🛑 Want to work with the best? https://chriscollinsinc.com/careers/ 🛑 Grab Chris' New Leadership Book I AM LEADER: https://iamleader.com
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    1 時間 2 分
  • SDR #373: 5 Things Great Service Managers Do
    2026/08/24

    Great service managers don't simply survive the month—they build stronger teams, improve the customer experience and create consistently profitable service departments.

    In this episode of Service Drive Revolution, automotive fixed operations expert Chris Collins reveals five overlooked habits that separate great dealership service managers from average ones.

    Great service managers:

    1. Reject the status quo and continually improve their processes.

    2. Know their numbers and understand how to change them.

    3. Become "people collectors" who constantly recruit, develop and retain talented employees.

    4. Make the customer experience easy, trustworthy and worth returning for.

    5. Find coaches and mentors who challenge them to keep learning.

    Chris explains why dealership service departments are closed-loop systems, how tribal knowledge keeps managers trapped in outdated processes and why exceptional performance can actually make a manager's job easier—not harder.

    The conversation also examines service department profitability, net-to-gross, unproductive wages, CSI, NPS, technician recruiting, service advisor performance and customer retention. You'll learn why sales scripts and objection handling cannot replace customer trust, why technology such as video multipoint inspections cannot fix a broken process and why successful service managers are always recruiting.

    Chris also discusses former CIA intelligence officer Andrew Bustamante and his book Outsmart Everyone: Spy Skills to Gain an Unfair Advantage in Work and Life. The team explores charisma, vulnerability, intentional leadership, parenting and the ability to make genuine connections with people.

    This episode is for: Dealer principals General managers Fixed operations directors Service managers Parts managers Service advisors Automotive technicians Dealership and repair-shop leaders.

    If you want a healthier, more profitable automotive service operation, this episode provides a practical leadership framework you can immediately apply.
    🛑 SDR Live Academy Online Training For Huge Results: https://chriscollinsinc.com/op/sdr-live-weekly/?=sdrpod
    🛑 Book your Profit Gap Analysis Now: https://calendly.com/byron-webster/30min
    🛑 Best Selling books on making Fixed Ops a money printer: https://chriscollinsinc.com/shop/
    🛑 Got a question? Call us at 1-833-3-ASK-SDR
    🛑 Want to work with the best? https://chriscollinsinc.com/careers/
    🛑 Chris' Top-Selling Leadership Book I AM LEADER: https://iamleader.com

    Chapters: 0:00 Introduction — Five Things Great Service Managers Do 1:02 Andrew Bustamante's New Book and CIA Wisdom 7:35 The Jason Kelce Lookalike Story 14:06 Team Travel and the Airbnb Debate 18:00 Credit Card Roulette 21:38 The Five Traits Great Service Managers Share 22:17 #1: They Reject the Status Quo 28:18 #2: They Know Their Numbers 30:20 #3: They're People Collectors 34:09 #4: They Make the Customer Experience Easy 40:57 #5: They Have Coaches and Mentors 46:10 Real Dealership Results and Momentum 50:23 Recap: All Five Traits 51:02 SDR Academy and Closing

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    53 分
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