June 24, 2025
11:00AM - 12:00PM EST
Service Can Drive Customer Trust and Dealership Profits
OADA Webinar, complimentary for OADA members
The service department generates the most traffic at a dealership on a daily basis and is an integral part of the dealership's overall financial success. It also presents the greatest opportunities for fostering customer loyalty and trust, developing long-term relationships with customers, and upselling and cross-selling.
It is hard to deny the advantages of having maintenance services and repairs performed by a dealership, especially when a vehicle is still covered under a warranty or a maintenance or service contract. Most customers recognize the benefits of using factory-trained technicians, OEM parts and state-of-the art tools, having access to current recall notices and technical service bulletins, and the warranties offered on both parts and labor, not to mention the convenience of courtesy transportation and loaner vehicles. But complaints related to vehicle repairs remain near the top of consumer complaint lists year-after-year. These complaints are the main reasons service departments have historically lost business to independent repair shops. Some of the principal complaints about dealership service include higher service costs, poor communication, longer repair times, charges for unnecessary parts or services, and not diagnosing or fixing problems properly.
Consumer complaints and service paperwork can also expose the dealership to potential lawsuits and regulatory actions. The service department is subject to many of the same laws as the sales and F&I departments, including the FTC Act, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, the ESIGN Act, and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the FTC's Privacy and Safeguards Rules, to name a few. Ohio's Consumer Sales Practices Act and the Repairs or Services Rule further mandate that certain disclosures be made and prohibit unfair and deceptive acts and practices by motor vehicle repair facilities. In addition, laws governing the advertisement and sale of motor vehicles require dealers to have procedures for conducting pre-sale inspections, performing certain repairs, and ensuring that disclosure obligations are fulfilled. Yet, when it comes to training and reviewing the dealership's paperwork, signage, and policies and procedures, the service department is often the last in line.
The good news is that many of the issues causing the most significant problems for dealers can be remedied with a thorough review and some due diligence! And resolving service issues can go a long way in earning customer trust and loyalty and increasing the dealership's overall profitability.
Please join OADA on June 24, 2025 at 11 a.m. as we welcome Deanna Stockamp, a partner with the law firm of Stockamp & Brown, LLC, OADA's outside counsel, to discuss:
- Common Service Paperwork, Signage, and Procedural Issues;
- Lease Buyout and Pre-Sale Inspections, Repairs and Disclosures;
- Communicating via Text Messages and E-mails;
- Shop Supply and Other Charges;
- Best Practices for Handling Declined Repairs;
- Service Contract and Limited Warranty Certification Processes and Fees;
- Mechanic's Liens, Abandoned Vehicles and Much More!
There is no cost for OADA members to attend. Register today!