Know the ROI for tools, applications used in service department

"I think it's important to establish a connection with your vendor rep. There's somebody that services your account, whether it's the performance manager or it's an account manager — there is somebody that is responsible for your store or your chain of stores. Have a relationship with that person and know what reporting looks like. Can you tell me that for every dollar that I spent on your application it brought in 50 cents or 10 cents? Can you show me the ROI there because otherwise we're just spending money. If there's no performance metrics being reviewed, if there's no way to tie $1 to a guest, you need to know what you're getting out of it. What is that vendor doing for my business? How is it benefiting me? And at the end of the day, how is it helping my people be better? I know that we have a better relationship with vendors and we get a better ROI from the vendors that we have relationships with. The ones that we don't have relationships with — that we may talk to every three to six months when they happen to come around for a visit, if they come around for a visit — that application is not being utilized well. You want at least 80 to 85 percent utilization in any application you're using. That's my standard; that's what I look for." — Angela Willoughby, fixed operations analyst at Foundation Automotive Corp., on "The Parts Girl Podcast" hosted by Kaylee Felio.

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