June 19, 2025 • 21 mins
In this episode, my guest is Nicole Dolphin, Retail Development Manager at Groupe Touchette, and we’re digging into the part of the dealership that doesn’t always get its fair share of attention—Fixed Ops.
Nicole shares how the service department isn’t just about oil changes and tires. It’s a relationship hub. It’s where trust is built (or lost). It’s often the reason someone decides to buy their next vehicle from you—or not.
We talk about how dealerships can better introduce customers to the service side before problems happen, what most teams get wrong about customer handoffs, and how to make your fixed department feel less intimidating for first-time visitors. Nicole also shares her journey from receptionist to parts manager in luxury stores and what she learned about emotional intelligence, leadership, and navigating a male-dominated industry.
If you’re trying to figure out:
- How to actually retain customers long-term
- What emotional intelligence has to do with customer loyalty
- How to develop your people without micromanaging them
- Why knowing where to park can make or break a customer’s trust...
...you’ll want to hear this one all the way through.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
MC (00:00):
This episode is brought to you by FlexDealer.
Hey auto industry, welcome tothis episode of the Dealer
Playbook Podcast.
Of course we are here at theToronto International Auto Show.
(00:22):
I'm with my new pal, nicoleDolphin.
Yes, I said it, pal, nicoleDolphin.
Yes, I said it, right, NicoleDolphin, we were just joking
that so many people have yourlast name tattooed on them, but
in the form of a dolphin.
I think that I love names, buteverybody in my audience already
knows that you are the retaildevelopment manager at Group
Touchette.
Nicole (00:40):
Yes.
MC (00:41):
We're going to be talking about the value of the service
department and of course I lovethis topic because typically on
a show called the DealerPlaybook people are always
talking about the variable sideof the business, very rarely the
fixed.
You know it's kind of thestepchild side of the business,
but I think that's why I'mfascinated by it.
Your perspective from fixedoperations, I think, is highly
(01:02):
valuable.
So I want to ask you this tokick things off from your
perspective, doing what you doon the fixed side of the
business, what do you see thevalue point for the customer
experiences?
Because I know a lot of ithappens in the fixed department.
Nicole (01:19):
Well, it's usually what helps sell the next car right,
it's what keeps them coming back, it's what helps keep the
lights on.
So I think it's super importantto keep your clients engaged
through the second half of theprocess, after they've purchased
that car.
When they have, they appear tohave so many options to do that.
MC (01:37):
Right it's.
It's like the thing where theyalways forget about on the
variable side too is like thatintroduction into fixed.
So, from your perspective, howdo you guys do it in your group?
Is it a part of the salesprocess that there's an
introduction to fixed?
Is it shortly after the sale?
How does it look in an idealsituation?
Nicole (01:55):
The ideal situation is different than often what occurs
.
But I mean the ideal situationis that there is some sort of
handoff between your salesdepartment and your service
parts side of things, mainlybecause customers are usually
very uncomfortable with thatside Unless they've done
business with you before.
That's a whole separate area ofthe dealership.
Often it feels different.
(02:17):
They don't necessarily alwaysknow what's going to happen to
them when they walk in there,what you're going to ask of them
or tell them that's required,and I think it helps people get
a little bit more comfortablewith dealing with that side of
things.
So it's vitally important butoften overlooked.
MC (02:31):
What's interesting, we had a conversation here I think this
is now the second time, maybethird time I've referenced an
interview we did here in Torontowith the vice president of the
Royal York Fairmont.
He's the general manager of thehotel.
He actually shared anexperience he had where he was
out of town the check enginelight, I think, came on and he
(02:54):
went to a dealership he wasn'tfamiliar with and it was because
of the experience he had inservice that he is now willing
to drive out of town to thatdealership to go and buy his
next vehicle.
That's incredible.
So kind of a full service.
I almost said full service, buta full circle of where you just
started with your firststatement, which is recognizing
(03:16):
how much fixed actually drivesvariable, where so much of the
narrative in our industry isthat variable drives fixed.
Yeah, narrative of our industryis that variable drives fixed.
So what I want to ask you about, based on what you said, you
had mentioned that it is theaspect of the dealership that so
many are unfamiliar with.
(03:36):
I feel like it's the placewhere we can be most consistent
from a hospitality perspective.
Nicole (03:41):
I agree, I think it definitely is.
But I think when consumers aredriving down the road and they
see so many different places todo business, there's a
perspective that they're justnot comfortable.
They don't know what to expectwhen they walk into your
dealership.
So I mean, if they've donebusiness with the service
department for years, thenthat's one thing.
(04:02):
They know what to do when theycome in.
They know the people that theysee at the counter, they know
all of that.
But if they're brand new, theydon't know even where the
counter is, they don't know whothey're talking to, they don't
know what the process is wherethey're putting their car, and
it can just be reallyuncomfortable, especially if
you're a female walking in whichoften they're tasked with those
jobs.
MC (04:18):
Now, Right, not as easy as having fresh baked cookies in
the service department.
Nicole (04:23):
Yeah, but it probably helps?
MC (04:25):
Probably helps, though I would definitely come to that.
You bring up a good point, andso what do you think about, or
what's your vantage point, asfar as how do we mitigate some
of those friction points so thatpeople are more familiar with
where to go and who to talk toand where to park their car?
Nicole (04:43):
Well, I mean, I think it starts with even first
impressions of the dealership.
It starts on your digital sideof things.
I mean you can have tours, youcan have welcomes, you can have,
you know, here's meet the teams, all those sort of things that
sometimes people will go andlook at when they're trying to
calm some nerves before they'rewalking in someplace new.
MC (04:58):
Sure.
Nicole (05:05):
But I think that happens just as the customer is
becoming a client of yours, iswalking them through what that
process looks like.
I mean, I think a goodsalesperson will take their
client through that process andwhen you come in your car will
go here.
When you you know phone in,this is the person you'll be
talking to.
Here's what will happen on yourfirst appointment.
I think that's where thingslike second delivery and get to
know your car nights and allthese sorts of things come in
really handy because it makespeople more comfortable with the
other half of the dealership.
(05:26):
You know, sometimes a side theydon't physically even wander
into.
MC (05:29):
Yeah, Isn't that interesting .
Now I'm curious as I thinkabout it retail development
manager, sales and profit.
How did you get into this?
What was your journey into thecar business?
Nicole (05:41):
It was very I was taking a break from university and
picked up the phone because backthere you didn't have the
internet quite as much andstarted looking for what type of
office, sort of jobs existed.
And automotive was near the topof that top of the phone book
list and I started out at a BMWdealership.
(06:02):
So that was pretty close to thetop of that too, and I went in
there and they were looking fora receptionist.
So I started out at a BMWdealership yeah, so that was
pretty close to the top of thattoo, and I went in there and
they were looking for areceptionist.
So I started in reception andthen I was moved into the parts
department fairly quickly,because I got a little bored
with just reception, yeah, andkind of the rest is history.
I kind of went through thosedifferent processes, different
dealerships, kind of worked myway up to parts manager and then
parts operations, so mostly inthe luxury world.
But yeah, it's been a littlebit of a random journey.
MC (06:25):
What did you see?
So you start as reception?
Usually that's where it endsfor most people, right?
Whether it's the car businessor the restaurant industry, or
it's like usually that first jobthat weeds out so many people.
What was it about yourexperience that you're like yeah
, I'll lean into this a littlebit more.
Nicole (06:44):
I mean, I suffer from wanting to stay busy and not
wanting to to just settle withwhere I am.
So I, you know, suffer from inthe fact that I'm always
changing, always moving.
My staff have had to flex withthat too, as we've kind of
changed processes and stuff andthey always used to hate the
question of so, guys, I have anidea, because that meant that
(07:05):
things were about to shift realquickly for them.
MC (07:07):
You're an optimizer A little bit.
That's what I'm hearing.
You're an optimizer, and butisn't that interesting.
I want to key in on that,especially for those that are
tuning in.
I don't know if it's that youstruggle with it as I look from
the outside, and I think that isthat the key to your success
right Probably the those of uswho because I dare I say I
(07:30):
probably struggle with this too.
In the back of my mind, I'malways like there's got to be a
better way.
Right, like I'm always.
I wake up in the morning I'mlike just got to be a better way
to sleep, so I go buy a newpillow.
You know there's got to be abetter way to not have arm pain
all day.
Oh, buy a new keyboard.
You know like I'm constantlylooking to optimize it and you
know friends of mine sharesimilar sentiment to you.
(07:51):
But I'm finding it's the thread, it's the common thread of
those that didn't just stop andhit the brick wall but actually
push through.
So you go from reception andthen you said into parts yeah,
what was your experience likecoming from reception into the
parts department?
Nicole (08:07):
I was as green as you could get.
I knew nothing.
I didn't even drive at the time, I knew nothing about cars.
They stuck me with a partsmanager that nobody got along
with.
So they thought, well, let'sjust see how it works.
And I usually tend to just kindof roll with things and kind of
see how things go.
And so him and I got alongenough that I didn't ruffle any
feathers and he wasn't throwinganything at me like he was other
(08:28):
people.
And then a few months laterthey let him go and looked at me
, went you got this right, and Iwas like three months part-time
and parts I know nothing.
So I spent some time withanother parts manager who was in
the same brand, every night onthe phone with him learning how
to do things for a week or twoand then kind of took things off
by myself for the next fewmonths until they brought
(08:48):
somebody in who I kind of workeda little more collaboratively
with at that point.
MC (08:52):
Have you always been this way, like this determined, or is
it something you grew?
Yeah, you were.
Just as long as you canremember.
You're like I am going for thething.
Usually, typically and I don'thave better words to say it I'm
a I'm big, I'm a big intentionguy.
My intentions are usually verypure, but then the Italian in me
lacks the right words.
But in a, dare I say, maledominant industry, here you are
(09:17):
having these opportunities alongthe way.
Does that give you fight topush forward?
Does that give you unnecessaryor necessary pressure?
I want to key in on others whomight be in a similar position
today, who maybe are thereceptionist, who maybe were
asked to be in the partsdepartment or, as you said, kind
of fell into this elevated role, who are feeling overwhelmed or
(09:42):
stuck.
Or what do I do to kind of takea similar approach to you?
What was your mindset like atthat time to be able to accept
that challenge?
Hey, does your marketing agencysuck?
Listen, before we hop back intothis episode.
I know you know me as the hostof the Dealer Playbook, but did
(10:05):
you also know that I'm the CEOof FlexDealer, an agency that's
helping dealers capture betterquality leads from local SEO and
hyper-targeted ads that convert.
So if you want to sell morecars and finally have a partner
that's in it with you, thatdoesn't suck visit flexdealercom
.
Let's hop back into thisepisode.
Nicole (10:20):
I think it was about setting little goals for myself,
and honestly, I'm not a reallybig goal setter.
I have a lot of like.
You know, I keep a thought inthe back of my mind, but I'm not
one of those people with visionboards and making all these
notes regularly.
I don't dream up my goals thatway, but it's more like okay, I
feel like this is where I wantto be next, and so at that point
(10:41):
I start making small decisionsthat kind of help me there and
trying not to ruffle too manyfeathers to get there either.
I have no problem standing upfor myself or my team or
anything else when need meet,but I don't try to create
problems where there doesn'tneed to be.
So, as a female, sometimes youjust have to let some things go.
It's not worth the argument,especially in an industry that's
been very heavily maledominated.
(11:03):
There are some habits that havebeen formed and not all of them
are intentional.
So sometimes you kind of haveto let some of those comments
slide or some of thosesituations go, to just kind of
keep moving forward and not letit hold you back, because it
usually isn't intentional, andwhen it is, then you address it.
So I think it's just kind oftrying to move through things
that way and kind of take peopleby surprise.
MC (11:25):
It's.
You know, we, obviously.
You know, rose, we werechatting about this the other
day.
I have four sisters, nobrothers.
Now I have two sons and adaughter, and I grew up in an
environment Italian-Portugueseimmigrant parents.
You know, four sisters, strongbelief systems, not realizing
(11:49):
until I had my own sons that Ididn't have the opportunity to
be a stupid boy Like I didn't.
And now that I'm a father oftwo boys I'm like so someone's
not right Sometimes with thesetwo.
They say really dumb thingssometimes and I realized I
didn't have that opportunitybecause if I even got close I'd
get a doll over the head or aBarbie or something.
(12:10):
But what you're saying is reallyintriguing to me the tenacity
to speak up when you're like youhave.
There's a I'm just readingbetween some lines here, nicole
which is the emotionalintelligence is huge aspect of
growing in this business to knowwhen to open your mouth and
(12:33):
have the tenacity and theability to articulate and to
address, like you said, and thenalso, on the flip side, the
resilience and the tenacity toknow when to keep your mouth
shut because people are going tosay stupid things sometimes.
And how do you?
So what is it about you thatyou've been able to develop that
ability.
Nicole (13:09):
Because I think as a whole, as a society, we struggle
with that there has to be.
Biggest difference betweenstaff and management is that
management have a big picture inmind and staff are often
looking at the small picture,what's in front of them at that
moment.
And the ones that usually moveinto management are the ones
that have been able to slowlydevelop that skill, if they
didn't have it how to lookbeyond, right at the second, and
look a step or two ahead, or atthe people around you or the
(13:30):
team environment around you.
And I think some peoplenaturally have some of those
skills, but other people developthem and just keeping your mind
on what the big picture is like, is it going to help that or is
it going to hurt that?
I think that's some of it.
It can be taught, especiallywith your staff, when you're in
charge of people, kind ofhelping them along, especially
nowadays.
Like you said, it's a lot ofart Right.
(13:51):
But I think it's also somethingthat, yeah, that people kind of
naturally just have.
They have goals set up and theystrive for them and they don't
let things distract them.
I mean, they said, I'm not thatgoal oriented, but I find that
but you have a vision, yeah,yeah.
Keeping your eyes on exactlywhat the important thing is kind
of is part of that and notletting other things distract
you.
You know, whether it be, youknow, relationships in the
workplace or certain friendshipsthat can go sour or even too
(14:16):
heavy of opinions.
I mean, have an opinion,there's nothing wrong with that,
but Automotive is a very smallindustry.
MC (14:21):
Very tightly knit, isn't it?
Nicole (14:23):
Things come back.
I have a way of coming back atyou.
MC (14:25):
Isn't that true?
It ties in perfectly to where Iwant.
What I want to ask you next,especially as it ties into
customer retention, because weknow fixed that is the customer
retention player of thedealership.
Yeah, but everything you'resaying, you know, because of our
(14:47):
industry, everyone wants thatlike black and white checkbox
approach of like, oh, if I dothis and this, then it'll work.
And then they do those thingsand they get discouraged because
and because it doesn't work out.
And what you shared with metoday so so well is actually the
secret sauce to why then we dothe checklist.
It works.
It's that emotionalintelligence, it's what you've
developed over your career thatcan't be replicated.
(15:08):
That becomes the guiding forceto checking off those boxes and
having it work.
You bring up the ability to beagreeable doesn't necessarily
mean that you have to agree.
Like you said, everyone's goingto have an opinion, and I think
we live in a society where youeither agree oh, I vehemently
(15:31):
disagree, right, so everybody or, oh, I agree.
You know, on LinkedIn, love it,agree.
That's the number one commenton LinkedIn.
But I don't have to agree withyour opinion, but I can agree
that you have an opinion.
And what would the world belike if we became more agreeable
Customer retention by workingwith customers to ensure they
(15:54):
understand their vehicle, thatthey understand the process.
Nicole (16:16):
I imagine people are coming to you with an opinion oh
, this was the worst experienceI've ever had, or this is the.
You know, this car keepsdinging at me or whatever it
might be.
How does everything?
You've shared up a problem andyou know sometimes they come in
pretty aggressively because thatproblem has disrupted their
entire day or week or trip orsomething.
And it's just about kind oflistening to them moving on, not
letting it get underneath yourskin, because it's usually not
(16:38):
personal, and if they'refamiliar with your process and
you have a solid process forhelping them, then it can
usually take away a lot of thatanxiety that they have
surrounding whatever it isthat's gone on.
You know, whether it be justthe newness of where they're
walking into, the tripinterruption they've experienced
, or just the fact that you knowsomething's happened that they
now have to pay for that.
(16:59):
They don't know what's going onyet, like all the unknowns in
there, it's people don't likethe unknowns.
MC (17:04):
Right.
Nicole (17:04):
So you know, most people don't know all that much about
their car and walking in, andhaving to ask you to figure it
out for them is pretty humbling,I think.
MC (17:11):
How do you ensure and I mean yes, training would be the
blanket answer here but how doyou help your team, who are at
varying levels of learning andexperience, understand that?
To really key in on.
But here's how we help thecustomer.
Here's how you don't take itpersonally Like, ok, I get it,
you're Italian, irish and youwant to beat everyone up, but
(17:34):
how do you teach them tosuppress that fire when a
customer comes in and says youknow, doesn't have better words,
so they just attack youpersonally?
Nicole (17:43):
Yeah, yeah, which which happens often enough, I mean,
and I've had staff that are likethat.
They're a little bit ofhotheads.
They have trouble kind ofletting it go.
There's triggers that you cansee and watch in them as they're
interacting with clients.
And I think, first of all, youmodel it yourself.
They're watching you all daylong.
It's like a parent with theirchildren.
They're watching you all daylong, whether you like it or not
(18:08):
.
So you have to monitor it,model it yourself, sure.
The second thing is you use theopportunities when you can to
kind of explain things to themand in a conversational,
collaborative sort of way.
So I regularly would haveconversations with some of my
staff after a situation that didnot go the way we had all
intended and go so maybe therewas a different way we could
have done something like that or, you know, just kind of
open-ended to kind of get whattheir thoughts are on it.
And then the last thing is as aleader, as a manager, my job is
(18:28):
to support them.
So I need to make sure theyknow I have their back in that
situation and I would sometimeswith one of my employees as he
was learning all these skills.
He was young he was a littlebit of a hothead.
I'd literally stand beside himon the while he's on the phone
with a customer, knowing he'sgetting triggered going.
Hand me the phone mid sentenceat any point in time and I will
take over for you, just so thathe wouldn't put himself into
that situation that then we'dhave to have a different type of
(18:49):
conversation going.
Okay, so we've talked aboutthis before.
You can't use that languagewith clients and you know like
you didn't want to get there soyou'd sit there and to be kind
of be present and everything.
But that was really importantand I think when you're trying
to teach people who don't havethose skills, it requires you to
be absolutely present, in thatyou can't hand it off to someone
(19:12):
else.
You can't expect it tonaturally occur and they're
definitely not walking off thestreet with these skills anymore
.
So I think it's one of thosethings that it requires a lot
more of your middle managementteam in people personality
training Our chief revenueofficer, emer.
MC (19:27):
he's a Marine, retired Marine.
He says OTJ, on the jobtraining.
And as I listen to you, thatmakes sense.
To me it's like getting withthem in the moments that really
matter, because if you wait toolong they'll be like oh, what
are you talking about?
What?
Experience with the customergives them the opportunity to
play dumb, but, as you're saying, it's like no, in the moments
(19:50):
after an experience to get withthem and to be very clear and
concise.
In a world that is becomingincreasingly, dare I say, afraid
of conflict, how do youapproach those conversations so
that the hothead or the fieryfurnace person just doesn't walk
(20:11):
away and hate your guts after?
Nicole (20:13):
Well, they don't always go very well, okay, I honestly,
I think it's just getting toknow them.
It's getting to know your staffin a way where, when you're
sitting down with them, you'renot sitting down there to
discipline, you're not sittingdown there to even educate.
They don't feel educated.
They feel like you're having aconversation with them and,
while still drawing that line,that when you really need to
pull out those tools wherethere's a line drawn and you
(20:35):
can't and you need to, you knowthat you're approaching them on
the relationship side of thingsthat you have that hopefully
you've developed, which, let'sface it, when somebody's brand
new, you don't have a chance todo that yet.
If you're correcting thoseright at the very beginning, you
might have made a bad hiringoption.
But if it turns out that youhave a little bit of rapport
with these people, then it'skind of using those skills and
doing it really casually whenthey're not in front of their
friends and the people aroundthem and you just kind of, you
(20:59):
know, find out where they werein that situation too and what
you can do to help them.
We're not, they're not theproblem.
We're working on a solutiontogether.
MC (21:05):
You know like that must tie in so deeply to the retention
side of customers in buildingthat same relationship or
building some measure of rapportwith them.
100 yeah, 100 I love this topic.
It doesn't get enough oxygen.
It needs more oxygen.
Thank you for being an advocateand a voice for it.
N Nicole, how can thoselistening and watching connect
(21:25):
with you?
Nicole (21:26):
Best way is probably LinkedIn.
Yeah, that's the platform,isn't it?
MC (21:31):
Yeah, I love it.
Yeah, Nicole Dolphin, thank youso much for joining me on the
Dealer Playbook Podcast.
Nicole (21:35):
Thanks so much for having me.
MC (21:38):
Hey, thanks for listening to the Dealer Playbook Podcast.
If you enjoyed tuning in,please subscribe, share and hit
that like button.
You can also join us and theDPB community on social media.
Check back next week for a newDealer Playbook episode.
Thanks so much for joining.
This episode is brought to you by FlexDealer.
Hey auto industry, welcome tothis episode of the Dealer
Playbook Podcast.
Of course we are here at theToronto International Auto Show.
(00:22):
I'm with my new pal, nicoleDolphin.
Yes, I said it, pal, nicoleDolphin.
Yes, I said it, right, NicoleDolphin, we were just joking
that so many people have yourlast name tattooed on them, but
in the form of a dolphin.
I think that I love names, buteverybody in my audience already
knows that you are the retaildevelopment manager at Group
Touchette.
Nicole (00:40):
Yes.
MC (00:41):
We're going to be talking about the value of the service
department and of course I lovethis topic because typically on
a show called the DealerPlaybook people are always
talking about the variable sideof the business, very rarely the
fixed.
You know it's kind of thestepchild side of the business,
but I think that's why I'mfascinated by it.
Your perspective from fixedoperations, I think, is highly
(01:02):
valuable.
So I want to ask you this tokick things off from your
perspective, doing what you doon the fixed side of the
business, what do you see thevalue point for the customer
experiences?
Because I know a lot of ithappens in the fixed department.
Nicole (01:19):
Well, it's usually what helps sell the next car right,
it's what keeps them coming back, it's what helps keep the
lights on.
So I think it's super importantto keep your clients engaged
through the second half of theprocess, after they've purchased
that car.
When they have, they appear tohave so many options to do that.
MC (01:37):
Right it's.
It's like the thing where theyalways forget about on the
variable side too is like thatintroduction into fixed.
So, from your perspective, howdo you guys do it in your group?
Is it a part of the salesprocess that there's an
introduction to fixed?
Is it shortly after the sale?
How does it look in an idealsituation?
Nicole (01:55):
The ideal situation is different than often what occurs
.
But I mean the ideal situationis that there is some sort of
handoff between your salesdepartment and your service
parts side of things, mainlybecause customers are usually
very uncomfortable with thatside Unless they've done
business with you before.
That's a whole separate area ofthe dealership.
Often it feels different.
(02:17):
They don't necessarily alwaysknow what's going to happen to
them when they walk in there,what you're going to ask of them
or tell them that's required,and I think it helps people get
a little bit more comfortablewith dealing with that side of
things.
So it's vitally important butoften overlooked.
MC (02:31):
What's interesting, we had a conversation here I think this
is now the second time, maybethird time I've referenced an
interview we did here in Torontowith the vice president of the
Royal York Fairmont.
He's the general manager of thehotel.
He actually shared anexperience he had where he was
out of town the check enginelight, I think, came on and he
(02:54):
went to a dealership he wasn'tfamiliar with and it was because
of the experience he had inservice that he is now willing
to drive out of town to thatdealership to go and buy his
next vehicle.
That's incredible.
So kind of a full service.
I almost said full service, buta full circle of where you just
started with your firststatement, which is recognizing
(03:16):
how much fixed actually drivesvariable, where so much of the
narrative in our industry isthat variable drives fixed.
Yeah, narrative of our industryis that variable drives fixed.
So what I want to ask you about, based on what you said, you
had mentioned that it is theaspect of the dealership that so
many are unfamiliar with.
(03:36):
I feel like it's the placewhere we can be most consistent
from a hospitality perspective.
Nicole (03:41):
I agree, I think it definitely is.
But I think when consumers aredriving down the road and they
see so many different places todo business, there's a
perspective that they're justnot comfortable.
They don't know what to expectwhen they walk into your
dealership.
So I mean, if they've donebusiness with the service
department for years, thenthat's one thing.
(04:02):
They know what to do when theycome in.
They know the people that theysee at the counter, they know
all of that.
But if they're brand new, theydon't know even where the
counter is, they don't know whothey're talking to, they don't
know what the process is wherethey're putting their car, and
it can just be reallyuncomfortable, especially if
you're a female walking in whichoften they're tasked with those
jobs.
MC (04:18):
Now, Right, not as easy as having fresh baked cookies in
the service department.
Nicole (04:23):
Yeah, but it probably helps?
MC (04:25):
Probably helps, though I would definitely come to that.
You bring up a good point, andso what do you think about, or
what's your vantage point, asfar as how do we mitigate some
of those friction points so thatpeople are more familiar with
where to go and who to talk toand where to park their car?
Nicole (04:43):
Well, I mean, I think it starts with even first
impressions of the dealership.
It starts on your digital sideof things.
I mean you can have tours, youcan have welcomes, you can have,
you know, here's meet the teams, all those sort of things that
sometimes people will go andlook at when they're trying to
calm some nerves before they'rewalking in someplace new.
MC (04:58):
Sure.
Nicole (05:05):
But I think that happens just as the customer is
becoming a client of yours, iswalking them through what that
process looks like.
I mean, I think a goodsalesperson will take their
client through that process andwhen you come in your car will
go here.
When you you know phone in,this is the person you'll be
talking to.
Here's what will happen on yourfirst appointment.
I think that's where thingslike second delivery and get to
know your car nights and allthese sorts of things come in
really handy because it makespeople more comfortable with the
other half of the dealership.
(05:26):
You know, sometimes a side theydon't physically even wander
into.
MC (05:29):
Yeah, Isn't that interesting .
Now I'm curious as I thinkabout it retail development
manager, sales and profit.
How did you get into this?
What was your journey into thecar business?
Nicole (05:41):
It was very I was taking a break from university and
picked up the phone because backthere you didn't have the
internet quite as much andstarted looking for what type of
office, sort of jobs existed.
And automotive was near the topof that top of the phone book
list and I started out at a BMWdealership.
(06:02):
So that was pretty close to thetop of that too, and I went in
there and they were looking fora receptionist.
So I started out at a BMWdealership yeah, so that was
pretty close to the top of thattoo, and I went in there and
they were looking for areceptionist.
So I started in reception andthen I was moved into the parts
department fairly quickly,because I got a little bored
with just reception, yeah, andkind of the rest is history.
I kind of went through thosedifferent processes, different
dealerships, kind of worked myway up to parts manager and then
parts operations, so mostly inthe luxury world.
But yeah, it's been a littlebit of a random journey.
MC (06:25):
What did you see?
So you start as reception?
Usually that's where it endsfor most people, right?
Whether it's the car businessor the restaurant industry, or
it's like usually that first jobthat weeds out so many people.
What was it about yourexperience that you're like yeah
, I'll lean into this a littlebit more.
Nicole (06:44):
I mean, I suffer from wanting to stay busy and not
wanting to to just settle withwhere I am.
So I, you know, suffer from inthe fact that I'm always
changing, always moving.
My staff have had to flex withthat too, as we've kind of
changed processes and stuff andthey always used to hate the
question of so, guys, I have anidea, because that meant that
(07:05):
things were about to shift realquickly for them.
MC (07:07):
You're an optimizer A little bit.
That's what I'm hearing.
You're an optimizer, and butisn't that interesting.
I want to key in on that,especially for those that are
tuning in.
I don't know if it's that youstruggle with it as I look from
the outside, and I think that isthat the key to your success
right Probably the those of uswho because I dare I say I
(07:30):
probably struggle with this too.
In the back of my mind, I'malways like there's got to be a
better way.
Right, like I'm always.
I wake up in the morning I'mlike just got to be a better way
to sleep, so I go buy a newpillow.
You know there's got to be abetter way to not have arm pain
all day.
Oh, buy a new keyboard.
You know like I'm constantlylooking to optimize it and you
know friends of mine sharesimilar sentiment to you.
(07:51):
But I'm finding it's the thread, it's the common thread of
those that didn't just stop andhit the brick wall but actually
push through.
So you go from reception andthen you said into parts yeah,
what was your experience likecoming from reception into the
parts department?
Nicole (08:07):
I was as green as you could get.
I knew nothing.
I didn't even drive at the time, I knew nothing about cars.
They stuck me with a partsmanager that nobody got along
with.
So they thought, well, let'sjust see how it works.
And I usually tend to just kindof roll with things and kind of
see how things go.
And so him and I got alongenough that I didn't ruffle any
feathers and he wasn't throwinganything at me like he was other
(08:28):
people.
And then a few months laterthey let him go and looked at me
, went you got this right, and Iwas like three months part-time
and parts I know nothing.
So I spent some time withanother parts manager who was in
the same brand, every night onthe phone with him learning how
to do things for a week or twoand then kind of took things off
by myself for the next fewmonths until they brought
(08:48):
somebody in who I kind of workeda little more collaboratively
with at that point.
MC (08:52):
Have you always been this way, like this determined, or is
it something you grew?
Yeah, you were.
Just as long as you canremember.
You're like I am going for thething.
Usually, typically and I don'thave better words to say it I'm
a I'm big, I'm a big intentionguy.
My intentions are usually verypure, but then the Italian in me
lacks the right words.
But in a, dare I say, maledominant industry, here you are
(09:17):
having these opportunities alongthe way.
Does that give you fight topush forward?
Does that give you unnecessaryor necessary pressure?
I want to key in on others whomight be in a similar position
today, who maybe are thereceptionist, who maybe were
asked to be in the partsdepartment or, as you said, kind
of fell into this elevated role, who are feeling overwhelmed or
(09:42):
stuck.
Or what do I do to kind of takea similar approach to you?
What was your mindset like atthat time to be able to accept
that challenge?
Hey, does your marketing agencysuck?
Listen, before we hop back intothis episode.
I know you know me as the hostof the Dealer Playbook, but did
(10:05):
you also know that I'm the CEOof FlexDealer, an agency that's
helping dealers capture betterquality leads from local SEO and
hyper-targeted ads that convert.
So if you want to sell morecars and finally have a partner
that's in it with you, thatdoesn't suck visit flexdealercom
.
Let's hop back into thisepisode.
Nicole (10:20):
I think it was about setting little goals for myself,
and honestly, I'm not a reallybig goal setter.
I have a lot of like.
You know, I keep a thought inthe back of my mind, but I'm not
one of those people with visionboards and making all these
notes regularly.
I don't dream up my goals thatway, but it's more like okay, I
feel like this is where I wantto be next, and so at that point
(10:41):
I start making small decisionsthat kind of help me there and
trying not to ruffle too manyfeathers to get there either.
I have no problem standing upfor myself or my team or
anything else when need meet,but I don't try to create
problems where there doesn'tneed to be.
So, as a female, sometimes youjust have to let some things go.
It's not worth the argument,especially in an industry that's
been very heavily maledominated.
(11:03):
There are some habits that havebeen formed and not all of them
are intentional.
So sometimes you kind of haveto let some of those comments
slide or some of thosesituations go, to just kind of
keep moving forward and not letit hold you back, because it
usually isn't intentional, andwhen it is, then you address it.
So I think it's just kind oftrying to move through things
that way and kind of take peopleby surprise.
MC (11:25):
It's.
You know, we, obviously.
You know, rose, we werechatting about this the other
day.
I have four sisters, nobrothers.
Now I have two sons and adaughter, and I grew up in an
environment Italian-Portugueseimmigrant parents.
You know, four sisters, strongbelief systems, not realizing
(11:49):
until I had my own sons that Ididn't have the opportunity to
be a stupid boy Like I didn't.
And now that I'm a father oftwo boys I'm like so someone's
not right Sometimes with thesetwo.
They say really dumb thingssometimes and I realized I
didn't have that opportunitybecause if I even got close I'd
get a doll over the head or aBarbie or something.
(12:10):
But what you're saying is reallyintriguing to me the tenacity
to speak up when you're like youhave.
There's a I'm just readingbetween some lines here, nicole
which is the emotionalintelligence is huge aspect of
growing in this business to knowwhen to open your mouth and
(12:33):
have the tenacity and theability to articulate and to
address, like you said, and thenalso, on the flip side, the
resilience and the tenacity toknow when to keep your mouth
shut because people are going tosay stupid things sometimes.
And how do you?
So what is it about you thatyou've been able to develop that
ability.
Nicole (13:09):
Because I think as a whole, as a society, we struggle
with that there has to be.
Biggest difference betweenstaff and management is that
management have a big picture inmind and staff are often
looking at the small picture,what's in front of them at that
moment.
And the ones that usually moveinto management are the ones
that have been able to slowlydevelop that skill, if they
didn't have it how to lookbeyond, right at the second, and
look a step or two ahead, or atthe people around you or the
(13:30):
team environment around you.
And I think some peoplenaturally have some of those
skills, but other people developthem and just keeping your mind
on what the big picture is like, is it going to help that or is
it going to hurt that?
I think that's some of it.
It can be taught, especiallywith your staff, when you're in
charge of people, kind ofhelping them along, especially
nowadays.
Like you said, it's a lot ofart Right.
(13:51):
But I think it's also somethingthat, yeah, that people kind of
naturally just have.
They have goals set up and theystrive for them and they don't
let things distract them.
I mean, they said, I'm not thatgoal oriented, but I find that
but you have a vision, yeah,yeah.
Keeping your eyes on exactlywhat the important thing is kind
of is part of that and notletting other things distract
you.
You know, whether it be, youknow, relationships in the
workplace or certain friendshipsthat can go sour or even too
(14:16):
heavy of opinions.
I mean, have an opinion,there's nothing wrong with that,
but Automotive is a very smallindustry.
MC (14:21):
Very tightly knit, isn't it?
Nicole (14:23):
Things come back.
I have a way of coming back atyou.
MC (14:25):
Isn't that true?
It ties in perfectly to where Iwant.
What I want to ask you next,especially as it ties into
customer retention, because weknow fixed that is the customer
retention player of thedealership.
Yeah, but everything you'resaying, you know, because of our
(14:47):
industry, everyone wants thatlike black and white checkbox
approach of like, oh, if I dothis and this, then it'll work.
And then they do those thingsand they get discouraged because
and because it doesn't work out.
And what you shared with metoday so so well is actually the
secret sauce to why then we dothe checklist.
It works.
It's that emotionalintelligence, it's what you've
developed over your career thatcan't be replicated.
(15:08):
That becomes the guiding forceto checking off those boxes and
having it work.
You bring up the ability to beagreeable doesn't necessarily
mean that you have to agree.
Like you said, everyone's goingto have an opinion, and I think
we live in a society where youeither agree oh, I vehemently
(15:31):
disagree, right, so everybody or, oh, I agree.
You know, on LinkedIn, love it,agree.
That's the number one commenton LinkedIn.
But I don't have to agree withyour opinion, but I can agree
that you have an opinion.
And what would the world belike if we became more agreeable
Customer retention by workingwith customers to ensure they
(15:54):
understand their vehicle, thatthey understand the process.
Nicole (16:16):
I imagine people are coming to you with an opinion oh
, this was the worst experienceI've ever had, or this is the.
You know, this car keepsdinging at me or whatever it
might be.
How does everything?
You've shared up a problem andyou know sometimes they come in
pretty aggressively because thatproblem has disrupted their
entire day or week or trip orsomething.
And it's just about kind oflistening to them moving on, not
letting it get underneath yourskin, because it's usually not
(16:38):
personal, and if they'refamiliar with your process and
you have a solid process forhelping them, then it can
usually take away a lot of thatanxiety that they have
surrounding whatever it isthat's gone on.
You know, whether it be justthe newness of where they're
walking into, the tripinterruption they've experienced
, or just the fact that you knowsomething's happened that they
now have to pay for that.
(16:59):
They don't know what's going onyet, like all the unknowns in
there, it's people don't likethe unknowns.
MC (17:04):
Right.
Nicole (17:04):
So you know, most people don't know all that much about
their car and walking in, andhaving to ask you to figure it
out for them is pretty humbling,I think.
MC (17:11):
How do you ensure and I mean yes, training would be the
blanket answer here but how doyou help your team, who are at
varying levels of learning andexperience, understand that?
To really key in on.
But here's how we help thecustomer.
Here's how you don't take itpersonally Like, ok, I get it,
you're Italian, irish and youwant to beat everyone up, but
(17:34):
how do you teach them tosuppress that fire when a
customer comes in and says youknow, doesn't have better words,
so they just attack youpersonally?
Nicole (17:43):
Yeah, yeah, which which happens often enough, I mean,
and I've had staff that are likethat.
They're a little bit ofhotheads.
They have trouble kind ofletting it go.
There's triggers that you cansee and watch in them as they're
interacting with clients.
And I think, first of all, youmodel it yourself.
They're watching you all daylong.
It's like a parent with theirchildren.
They're watching you all daylong, whether you like it or not
(18:08):
.
So you have to monitor it,model it yourself, sure.
The second thing is you use theopportunities when you can to
kind of explain things to themand in a conversational,
collaborative sort of way.
So I regularly would haveconversations with some of my
staff after a situation that didnot go the way we had all
intended and go so maybe therewas a different way we could
have done something like that or, you know, just kind of
open-ended to kind of get whattheir thoughts are on it.
And then the last thing is as aleader, as a manager, my job is
(18:28):
to support them.
So I need to make sure theyknow I have their back in that
situation and I would sometimeswith one of my employees as he
was learning all these skills.
He was young he was a littlebit of a hothead.
I'd literally stand beside himon the while he's on the phone
with a customer, knowing he'sgetting triggered going.
Hand me the phone mid sentenceat any point in time and I will
take over for you, just so thathe wouldn't put himself into
that situation that then we'dhave to have a different type of
(18:49):
conversation going.
Okay, so we've talked aboutthis before.
You can't use that languagewith clients and you know like
you didn't want to get there soyou'd sit there and to be kind
of be present and everything.
But that was really importantand I think when you're trying
to teach people who don't havethose skills, it requires you to
be absolutely present, in thatyou can't hand it off to someone
(19:12):
else.
You can't expect it tonaturally occur and they're
definitely not walking off thestreet with these skills anymore
.
So I think it's one of thosethings that it requires a lot
more of your middle managementteam in people personality
training Our chief revenueofficer, emer.
MC (19:27):
he's a Marine, retired Marine.
He says OTJ, on the jobtraining.
And as I listen to you, thatmakes sense.
To me it's like getting withthem in the moments that really
matter, because if you wait toolong they'll be like oh, what
are you talking about?
What?
Experience with the customergives them the opportunity to
play dumb, but, as you're saying, it's like no, in the moments
(19:50):
after an experience to get withthem and to be very clear and
concise.
In a world that is becomingincreasingly, dare I say, afraid
of conflict, how do youapproach those conversations so
that the hothead or the fieryfurnace person just doesn't walk
(20:11):
away and hate your guts after?
Nicole (20:13):
Well, they don't always go very well, okay, I honestly,
I think it's just getting toknow them.
It's getting to know your staffin a way where, when you're
sitting down with them, you'renot sitting down there to
discipline, you're not sittingdown there to even educate.
They don't feel educated.
They feel like you're having aconversation with them and,
while still drawing that line,that when you really need to
pull out those tools wherethere's a line drawn and you
(20:35):
can't and you need to, you knowthat you're approaching them on
the relationship side of thingsthat you have that hopefully
you've developed, which, let'sface it, when somebody's brand
new, you don't have a chance todo that yet.
If you're correcting thoseright at the very beginning, you
might have made a bad hiringoption.
But if it turns out that youhave a little bit of rapport
with these people, then it'skind of using those skills and
doing it really casually whenthey're not in front of their
friends and the people aroundthem and you just kind of, you
(20:59):
know, find out where they werein that situation too and what
you can do to help them.
We're not, they're not theproblem.
We're working on a solutiontogether.
MC (21:05):
You know like that must tie in so deeply to the retention
side of customers in buildingthat same relationship or
building some measure of rapportwith them.
100 yeah, 100 I love this topic.
It doesn't get enough oxygen.
It needs more oxygen.
Thank you for being an advocateand a voice for it.
N Nicole, how can thoselistening and watching connect
(21:25):
with you?
Nicole (21:26):
Best way is probably LinkedIn.
Yeah, that's the platform,isn't it?
MC (21:31):
Yeah, I love it.
Yeah, Nicole Dolphin, thank youso much for joining me on the
Dealer Playbook Podcast.
Nicole (21:35):
Thanks so much for having me.
MC (21:38):
Hey, thanks for listening to the Dealer Playbook Podcast.
If you enjoyed tuning in,please subscribe, share and hit
that like button.
You can also join us and theDPB community on social media.
Check back next week for a newDealer Playbook episode.
Thanks so much for joining.
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