Guest blog by Larry Schlagheck, Managing Director, WardsAuto   The times they are a-changin’ was Bob Dylan’s hit single in 1965 and was intended to be an anthem of change. No disrespect to Mr. Dylan and his intent behind the mission of this song, but I’m going to use this famous song title to sum […]

The unemployment rate is the lowest it’s been for 10 years, which is great unless you’re trying to hire skilled and experienced employees—especially technicians. To overcome shortages, service directors often resort to poaching from the competition, which ultimately drives up local wages and shrinks your profit margins.   The reality is, technicians are like any […]

Have you signed up for Auto/Mate’s customer User Summit yet? If not, you better hurry because the deadline is Friday, October 12th and this is an event you don’t want to miss!   If you’re wondering whether it’s worth your time to attend, here are seven reasons why you don’t want to miss this special […]

Did you see us in the news this month?   Publications     Automotive News How Vendors Sell Dealers Mike Esposito shares tips on how vendors can put their best foot forward when it comes to building trust with potential customers.               Ward’s Auto DrivingSales Executive Summit Sessions Include […]

By Ken Rock, Customer Care Manager, Auto/Mate   In my job I travel and work with many dealerships, and when I say many, I mean a lot. So I get to see firsthand what really happens in dealerships, as opposed to what dealers think is happening.   My specialty is fixed ops, and lately, I’ve […]

by Dave Druzynski, Chief People Officer   Employee engagement is the strength of the mental and emotional connection that employees feel toward their workplace. It affects every part of your business, including revenues, customer experience, turnover, talent acquisition and brand awareness.   Studies show that companies with high levels of employee engagement also have high […]

Did you see us in the news in August? Here’s a summary in case you missed us. Publications     Auto Dealer Today Empowerment Plus Training Equals Success Sales and F&I professionals underperform when dealers fail to tie training to performance or empower managers and staff to make good decisions. Melissa Maldonado breaks down what […]

by Mike Jordan, Senior Systems Engineer     We often forget about technology until it’s broken. It’s easy to assume everything is fine, until it isn’t. That’s why having a server down that runs your entire operation will test your disaster plan (You do have a disaster/business continuity plan, don’t you?). Days. Let that sink […]

by Ken Rock, Customer Care Manager   When dealership management system (DMS) vendors introduced auto dispatch years ago, many service managers tried it and quickly gave it up. The first auto dispatch systems were buggy and complicated, so avoidance by service personnel was understandable.   As programming and features improved, auto dispatch became more user […]

A roundup of the latest news and events from Auto/Mate.   Publications       Fixed Ops Magazine, July/August issue Is Parts Obsolescence Eating Your Lunch? Fixed Ops expert Ken Rock reveals how much revenue your dealership is losing due to parts obsolescence, and shares a strategy to turn parts into a profit generator.   […]

Guest blog by Todd Stewart, CSO, Dealer Wizard, LLC   One of the core challenges for automotive retail dealers continues to be new vehicle margin compression. This is certainly not a new topic, evident by the amount of discussion and debate it has sparked between manufacturers and dealers over the past several years, especially in national […]

by Mike Esposito, president and CEO, Auto/Mate   Recently Auto/Mate won a “Special Award for Managers” from Energage as part of their annual Top Workplaces program. The award made me think about how important a management team is to a company’s overall success.   Sometimes managing your managers can be trickier than managing an entire […]

A roundup of the latest articles, events and news from Auto/Mate.   Publications     Car Biz Today, June 2018 issue How to Interview a Job Candidate Have you ever hired someone only to be disappointed in their performance? CPO Dave Druzynski outlines a step-by-step hiring process so that next time, you’ll hire the right […]

by Joy Wilson, Scan 123   Since the beginning of time, natural disasters have caused havoc to people and the areas surrounding them. Right now, Hawaii residents are dealing with the latest eruption of Kilauea Volcano. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in 2017, there were 16 severe weather events that each cost […]

Congratulations to Team Auto/Mate who raised nearly $7,000 for the American Diabetes Association! On Sunday, June 10, 17 of our employees rode, ran and walked in the Tour de Cure, The American Diabetes Association’s signature fundraising event. Proceeds fund diabetes research, advocacy, programs and education.   Sunday was a beautiful, sunny afternoon in Albany, NY. […]