Motor Industry KPI and best practice provided by Jeff Smith

Submitted by FF
Dear Jeff,
after a discussion with a colleague, he mentioned to me that your readers might be interested in this Customer Contact Initiative that I use to engage our customers at the dealership. 
Basically what I do is contact customers (existing buyers/aftersales or serious prospects) and get in one or two of them each month for [...]

Corporate Manslaughter - submitted by Kate Russell, Author of 101 Tips for Employers
On 6th April 2008 the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 came into force.  The prosecution of companies for gross negligence, manslaughter or culpable homicide has been notoriously difficult because the law requires proof that a “directing mind” (i.e. an individual at [...]

I’ve read these comments a thousand times over the years and they still make me laugh out loud.
Apparently, it takes a university degree to fly a plane but only a high school diploma to fix one: a reassurance for those who fly routinely in their jobs.
Here’s what you are going to read: After every flight, pilots fill [...]

Submitted by Steve Phillips

Selling skills at service reception increases customer satisfaction and a happy customer is a loyal customer.
 
Time and time again I come across Service Advisors who have not received the necessary training to do their job really well and become outstanding for al the right reasons. This will not only damage the company’s [...]

This is a mathematical anomaly that’s quite clever and interesting; do you know how it works? It asks for your eating out requirements and calculates your age - give it a try for yourself.
It takes less than a minute to complete but you may need a calculator to work this out as you read. 
 
1. First of all, pick [...]

One of the first laws in Social Science is the law of reciprocity. Learn how to use this automated reflex to your own advantage and influence people with integrity.
  You Scratch My Back and I’ll Scratch Yours.

If you want to improve relationships then you should tap into the power of reciprocity. All civilisations thrive on this principle and [...]

Submitted by John Dean

Hi Jeff
I used to do a lot of operational assessment of car dealerships as part of due diligence exercises when buying and selling businesses.
You might be interested in the first three tests that I always used – the answers are often illuminating:
 
1 – Weeds on the forecourt – You need a fastidious [...]

Sarah Sillars, Chief Executive of The Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) has annonced a new management qualification called ”Automotive Technician Accreditation” (ATA), which will be launched in the Spring of 2009.
In a article published by Automotive Management, Sarah Sillars, IMI Chief Executive, is quoted as saying,
 
“Instead of training which says one qualification fits all, we’re going [...]

 
Nasser Bin Khaled Automotive in Qatar are pushing their business forward by investing in training for all of their staff in KPI interpretation.
Paul Maryan, Chief Operations Officer of NBK Automotive began the KPI initiative in January 2008.
“We need to continually improve our customer satisfaction and at the same time improve our sales and profitability. You can’t [...]

In February 2008, the day before departure for a winter holiday, my wife, Sharon was diagnosed with Cancer and as you can imagine, this news rocked our family to its foundations.
 
The type of Cancer that she has is Malignant Melanoma and it first appeared as a mole on her thigh. (For women, the common place to find [...]