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Excited and a bit nervous ... a few weeks ago I gave my resignation to the dealership owner where I have been for the last 18 years, after taking a position offered to me at another Ford & Lincoln dealership that is much larger and higher volume than the current one. The owner wasn't completely surprised, because a few months back I was very honest with him and expressed my dissatisfaction about various aspects of the job, and also the new building we had moved in to last year. It was built about 6 years ago, and formerly housed a Dodge store that went out of business about 18 months back. Beautiful showroom and offices, drive-through for the service department, and a parts department that is more cramped, noisier, darker, and colder than the one in the 50 year old building across the street where we were at previously.
I had given him and his son-in-law (the general manager), some time over last summer to get the major issues associated with the big move sorted out. But by the fall I basically had to vent on the GM to get any attention to the issues in my department, most of which other than the lack of space issue, could have been taken care of relatively easily and inexpensively. Just now, after we have been there a full year now, are some of the things getting looked at. That, plus the feeling of being stuck in a rut at the small dealership with no real room for growth, and maybe a bit of a mid-life crisis, got me thinking about a change of scenery. The son-in-law came in to the business about 3 years ago, with no prior dealership experience, just an automotive marketing background. Normally in that sort of situation, the owner would make a deal with an owner at another dealership, usually a larger one, to get the family member a position where he or she can work and learn the business with enough people to mentor them. So in the current situation, the son-in-law is trying to learn by micro-managing, and it is going about as well as you would expect. I feel bad for him in a way, because there is nobody there to properly show him the ropes. We never really had anybody in a general manager position before, and the owner, as nice as a guy he is, is not really the person to be doing it ... he is a good car salesman and people person, but has a fair understanding at best of the "back side" of the business, parts and service, where the real profits are made for the dealership.
The technicians in the service department were pretty pissed when I told them that I was leaving, because I try to do a good job of keeping them moving with the right parts quickly when they come to the counter. They are all on flat rate pay, and appreciate that. Hopefully they can hire a decent replacement for me, there should be a good pool of candidates in the Toronto area.
The store that I am going to is run by a guy around my age, mid 40s, who came up through the service department. And the vice-president and senior partner is the old parts manager from prior to the current one, he bought in to the business when the original owner was retiring. So they have a great understanding of how the back half of the dealership works. I will be taking over from the parts manager, who has been in that position since 1988! All of the parts guys are older and have been there or at another nearby dealer that closed up for many years. Suddenly I am going to be the youngest and least experienced guy in my department, which will be a strange feeling. It will be a change for me, going from the small dealership where we have had a max of 3 people in the parts department, and currently just myself with a helper who floats between parts and service, to the new place with 4 parts guys including myself, plus a shipper / receiver and a driver. I won't have to do it all myself any more! I was a bit worried about how the older guys would react to having a new boss after all these years, but the current parts manager sat down with all of them to explain the plans moving forward, and he tells me they are all fine with it. The assistant manager thought that he might get promoted, but at 60 years old they didn't want to make that move with him, and then have to a search for another candidate in 5 years.
The downside is that the drive there will be a bit over an hour each way, so eventually I will have to look at relocating closer. If I can get the commute down to half an hour or less, that would be fine. I don't have any real ties to the area I am in now, other than having a sweet deal for an apartment over an office and shop, and access to the shop, for a very reasonable price in a nice semi-rural area ... Dalke can attest to that from when he was up here a few years ago.
So this will be my last week at the current store, and I start at the new place on the 25th. The current parts manager is going to stay on a few months to show me the ropes there, including the invoicing and inventory control software that they use, which is an unfamiliar one to me, and then he will take the summer off. He is 67, and working 3 days a week right now, after staying on another year at the request of the owner. Then in the fall he will come back for a few weeks prior to the annual inventory count, to help with preparations for that ... the first one I do there will be the toughest for me of course.
All of the guys I know at other dealerships in southern Ontario, and a few of the guys I know at Ford Canada as well, have all told me that this is a very well run dealership with an excellent staff. Everything so far is telling me that I have made the right decision to take on the new challenge, but even still, you get comfortable in your job, and after 18 years working for a very nice man, it was tough to tell him that I was leaving. The night before I gave my resignation, I was lying awake in bed until about 3 in the morning, my brain going a million miles an hour thinking about all of it. The owner was very gracious and understanding, and as he shook my hand he said, "Well, we had a good run", which I thought was a great way to express it. Now I can't wait to get out of there, my mind has already switched gears and I am ready to move on. The last few weeks, business has been a bit slow, so it makes it seem to drag even worse.
So wish me luck, I may need it!
I had given him and his son-in-law (the general manager), some time over last summer to get the major issues associated with the big move sorted out. But by the fall I basically had to vent on the GM to get any attention to the issues in my department, most of which other than the lack of space issue, could have been taken care of relatively easily and inexpensively. Just now, after we have been there a full year now, are some of the things getting looked at. That, plus the feeling of being stuck in a rut at the small dealership with no real room for growth, and maybe a bit of a mid-life crisis, got me thinking about a change of scenery. The son-in-law came in to the business about 3 years ago, with no prior dealership experience, just an automotive marketing background. Normally in that sort of situation, the owner would make a deal with an owner at another dealership, usually a larger one, to get the family member a position where he or she can work and learn the business with enough people to mentor them. So in the current situation, the son-in-law is trying to learn by micro-managing, and it is going about as well as you would expect. I feel bad for him in a way, because there is nobody there to properly show him the ropes. We never really had anybody in a general manager position before, and the owner, as nice as a guy he is, is not really the person to be doing it ... he is a good car salesman and people person, but has a fair understanding at best of the "back side" of the business, parts and service, where the real profits are made for the dealership.
The technicians in the service department were pretty pissed when I told them that I was leaving, because I try to do a good job of keeping them moving with the right parts quickly when they come to the counter. They are all on flat rate pay, and appreciate that. Hopefully they can hire a decent replacement for me, there should be a good pool of candidates in the Toronto area.
The store that I am going to is run by a guy around my age, mid 40s, who came up through the service department. And the vice-president and senior partner is the old parts manager from prior to the current one, he bought in to the business when the original owner was retiring. So they have a great understanding of how the back half of the dealership works. I will be taking over from the parts manager, who has been in that position since 1988! All of the parts guys are older and have been there or at another nearby dealer that closed up for many years. Suddenly I am going to be the youngest and least experienced guy in my department, which will be a strange feeling. It will be a change for me, going from the small dealership where we have had a max of 3 people in the parts department, and currently just myself with a helper who floats between parts and service, to the new place with 4 parts guys including myself, plus a shipper / receiver and a driver. I won't have to do it all myself any more! I was a bit worried about how the older guys would react to having a new boss after all these years, but the current parts manager sat down with all of them to explain the plans moving forward, and he tells me they are all fine with it. The assistant manager thought that he might get promoted, but at 60 years old they didn't want to make that move with him, and then have to a search for another candidate in 5 years.
The downside is that the drive there will be a bit over an hour each way, so eventually I will have to look at relocating closer. If I can get the commute down to half an hour or less, that would be fine. I don't have any real ties to the area I am in now, other than having a sweet deal for an apartment over an office and shop, and access to the shop, for a very reasonable price in a nice semi-rural area ... Dalke can attest to that from when he was up here a few years ago.
So this will be my last week at the current store, and I start at the new place on the 25th. The current parts manager is going to stay on a few months to show me the ropes there, including the invoicing and inventory control software that they use, which is an unfamiliar one to me, and then he will take the summer off. He is 67, and working 3 days a week right now, after staying on another year at the request of the owner. Then in the fall he will come back for a few weeks prior to the annual inventory count, to help with preparations for that ... the first one I do there will be the toughest for me of course.
All of the guys I know at other dealerships in southern Ontario, and a few of the guys I know at Ford Canada as well, have all told me that this is a very well run dealership with an excellent staff. Everything so far is telling me that I have made the right decision to take on the new challenge, but even still, you get comfortable in your job, and after 18 years working for a very nice man, it was tough to tell him that I was leaving. The night before I gave my resignation, I was lying awake in bed until about 3 in the morning, my brain going a million miles an hour thinking about all of it. The owner was very gracious and understanding, and as he shook my hand he said, "Well, we had a good run", which I thought was a great way to express it. Now I can't wait to get out of there, my mind has already switched gears and I am ready to move on. The last few weeks, business has been a bit slow, so it makes it seem to drag even worse.
So wish me luck, I may need it!
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