Transcript 0:00 This is In the Dirt with ASOTU. [car revving] All right, so here we are with Yaz. You are the fixed ops director- Yes, sir... for the 40 store and growing Ciocca Group. Um, I, people know why we're here tonight. 0:15 What I'd love to talk to you about is what your role is looking like. As a group expands and acquires, you're trying to keep all the cats herded in the same direction. Can you talk a little bit about what it's been like? 0:26 Absolutely. I, first of all, thank you for having me, I appreciate it. You know, it's, uh, it's definitely been a challenge for sure, but we have a great team of people. You know, it starts with Mr. 0:34 Ciocca first, and it trickles down through all of us. We have a great process in place. We really care about our people, and we put the people first, I should say that. And we go from there. 0:45 So as we grow, as we continue to grow, you know, truth be told, all these new stores coming on board, they really seem to adapt to our culture. 0:53 You know, it's nerve-wracking at first, especially with technicians and so forth, but- Yeah... our, you know, our background also speaks for itself. We, as far as taking care of our people- Track record. 1:02 Yeah, absolutely... and, and, and our processes, you know? So i- it's definitely nerve-wracking but, you know, we're having one of our best years ever. 1:09 Um, especially on the customer pay performance side and I, I really couldn't be happier. I know it's kinda weird to say with, with how the world is right now- No, I mean, that's, that's ki-... 1:17 but it's been going unbelievable... that's kind of the dichotomy of what's happening, right? Yeah. Like, I feel like anyone who does something tangible, right? Sure. Fixing a car, repairing a house- Sure... 1:26 renovating a house, plum. Those sides of any business seem to be doing really well because there's a high demand for people touching and fixing things. Correct. Correct. And you know what? 1:36 Like, you, you see this bash we're here at tonight. You know, um, a quick little story. 1:41 Before we used to just do, like, an advisor spiff every month, and we all sat down and we're like, "What can we do to get everybody included?" So here you have this, and it's regional. It's for every single region. 1:51 It's technicians, it's BDC agents, it's advisors, it's parts counter men and women. I- it's the porters, up and coming porters that, you know, wanna have a career path, and we just wanna give back. 2:00 'Cause really it's an appreciation. It's a thank you. And we have, you know, rewards and things like that but we're, we're just, we're so happy for our people. So there are gonna be BDC reps here? Porters? Yes. Right? 2:10 So you really are wrapping your arms around- Everybody... the entire department. Everybody. So, um, moving into 2023, um, what is your focus and trajectory for fixed ops in general? 2:20 I know there's probably more so stores and things like that. Sure. But where do you see the areas of opportunity within fixed ops departments? You know, great question. 2:27 The thing that we're most dialing in is, uh, uh, we're very thankful for this year because we've gotten bulletproof on the customer pay side. As the world is coming back- Right... 2:38 you're gonna see more inventory, you're gonna see more warranty. Yep. Our main goal is not to slip up on the customer side. Meaning we're not gonna drop our appointments. Right. We're not gonna even things out. 2:48 We're gonna continue to grow. Right, the used car department fires back up, the new cars- Exactly... the PDI start again. We're feeding the machine. Like, all the gravy comes back. We're feeding the machine. We're not... 2:56 We made it very clear this year that we're gonna get good at the, at the, uh, appointment setting- Yep... side. Customer pay. And we're, we're not falling back, you know? 3:04 And, and shout-out to our, um, human resource team and our, uh, recruitment team because without them, you know, we, obviously, again, we talk about us working together as a team but- Yeah... 3:13 we do a great job with all of our, uh, hire, new hires, and, and the protocol for that has really improved. And it just helps us at the end of the day. So we're, we're not looking to go backwards. 3:22 We're just looking forward. Well, I think that's a great place to end. Yaz, thanks for, uh, being a light in the industry. Appreciate it. Showing people how you can do it and care about people and win big time. 3:31 Appreciate it. Thank you for having me. Thank you for listening to In the Dirt with ASOTU. We love the automotive industry and the people who make it run day in and day out. 3:39 We would love to connect with you more through our daily dose of fun, a free email that you can sign up for at asotu.com. That's A-S-O-T-U dot com. We put our heart and soul into it every day. Thanks again for listening. 3:53 Join us next time for more conversations In the Dirt with ASOTU. [upbeat music]
