A New Year in Fixed Ops Means New Thinking
Every new year, dealerships talk about change in fixed ops. New goals, new targets, new ideas.
But what I’m actually seeing from the dealers who are improving isn’t flashy marketing campaigns or creative spiff ideas. It’s something far more simple — and far more effective.
Their focus has shifted to the details.
There’s a quote I come back to often:
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking that we used when we created them.”
For a long time, the industry has chased big ideas to fix everyday problems. New promotions, new pay plans, new advertising. Meanwhile, the biggest opportunity has been sitting right in front of us.
The basics.
The Opportunity in the Basics
The strongest fixed ops departments are obsessing over the fundamentals. Not because it’s exciting — but because it works.
Customer experience should be consistent every single time.
Not most of the time. Not when the right people are working. Every time.
That means clearly showing customers why your service department is different from every other option they have. And that difference can’t just live in a mission statement or on a website.
It has to show up in the day-to-day.
How the phone is answered
How appointments are booked
How the walk-around is done
How recommendations are presented
How follow-up happens after the visit
None of this is complicated. But it does require discipline.
Defining “What Makes You Different”
Most dealers struggle when I ask one simple question:
What does a great customer experience actually look like in your store?
Not in theory — in practice.
If your team can’t clearly describe it, they can’t consistently deliver it.
The dealers making progress are defining this in detail:
What the customer should feel
What the advisor should do
What “good” looks like at each step of the visit
Once it’s defined, it becomes trainable. Once it’s trainable, it becomes repeatable.
Making It Happen Every Time
This is where leadership matters most.
Consistency doesn’t come from motivation or reminders. It comes from:
Clear expectations
Simple, documented processes
Coaching in the moment
Holding the standard — even when it’s uncomfortable
If the experience only happens when certain people are working, you don’t have a process — you have individuals carrying the department.
The goal this year shouldn’t be to do more.
It should be to do the basics better, every single day.
A Different Way Forward
The fixed ops departments that will win this year won’t be the ones with the best campaigns or the biggest incentives.
They’ll be the ones who slowed down, focused on the details, and built an experience their customers can count on without fail.
Because real improvement doesn’t come from new ideas.
It comes from better thinking — and better execution of the basics.