PODCAST · business
Fixed Ops Focus
by Steve Shaw & Dave Rogers
Welcome to the podcast that treats Fixed Operations like the profit powerhouse it actually is – no corporate fluff, no sugar-coating, no 45-minute intros about somebody’s childhood dog. If you’re tired of “best practices” that don’t practice and factory “recommendations” that starve your bottom line, pull up a chair. Dave and Steven are about to tell you how it really is – and exactly how to fix it.
Episodes
-
Episode 96 - He Went From Technician to GM — Now He's Changing the Service Business
Can one person with the right attitude accomplish anything? On this episode of Fixed Ops Focus, Steve Shaw and Dave Rogers sit down with Ed Roberts, General Manager of Bozard Ford Lincoln in St. Augustine, Florida. Ed shares his incredible journey from humble beginnings to technician and…
more -
Episode 95 - Should AI Be Booking Your Service Appointments? | Stephen Jeffries
In Part 1 of this Fixed Ops Focus conversation, Steve Shaw and Dave Rogers sit down with Stephen Jeffries, Senior Performance Specialist at Xtime by Cox Automotive, to tackle one big question: Should AI or humans be booking your service appointments? Stephen explains how Xtime approaches...
-
Episode 94 - Stop Managing Your Service Department by Email
Sending an email to your team is not training. In this episode of Fixed Ops Focus, Steve Shaw and Dave Rogers call out managers who lead from the inbox and mistake hitting “send” for actually coaching their people. Real leadership happens face-to-face — through training, feedback, accountability,...
-
Episode 93 - AI Is Coming to Your Dealership — Here’s What Actually Matters
Steve Shaw and Dave Rogers are back from the Automotive AI Summit in Boston with a look at what AI could really mean for dealerships and Fixed Ops. They break down Aaron Strout’s “Human at the Wheel” keynote, separating real opportunity from AI hype and discussing how automation can give…
more -
Episode 92 - He Started in a Call Center — Now He Runs Fixed Ops | Marcello Gloria
In this episode of Fixed Ops Focus, Steve Shaw and Dave Rogers sit down with Marcello Gloria, Fixed Operations Manager at Empire Auto Group, to talk about his journey from a CDK call center to leading Fixed Ops. Marcello shares how staying hungry, constantly learning, improving processes, and...
-
Episode 91 - Whatever Happened to GREAT Customer Service?
In this episode of Fixed Ops Focus, Steve Shaw and Dave Rogers ask a simple question: Where did the WOW go? Customer service isn’t what it used to be, and dealerships aren’t immune. Steve and Dave dig into why service standards have slipped, how management’s attitude affects the entire team, and...
-
Episode 90 - Stop Calling Them “Just a Tech” | Carm Capriotto
In this episode of Fixed Ops Focus, Steve Shaw and Dave Rogers sit down with Carm Capriotto, host of Remarkable Results Radio, to discuss The Rise of the Specialist and why it’s time to change how the automotive industry talks about technicians. From eliminating phrases like “just a tech” to...
-
Episode 89 - Your Advisors Aren’t Selling Maintenance — Here’s Why
Steve Shaw and Dave Rogers tackle one of the biggest missed opportunities in the service drive: scheduled maintenance. Why are services listed right in the owner’s manual going unsold every day? The answer may have less to do with your advisors and more to do with management, expectations, and...
-
Episode 88 - Real Men of Genius: Mr 10:06 On A Saturday Night Thank You Call
It takes a special kind of genius to call a customer at 10:06 PM on a Saturday night. In Episode 88 of Fixed Ops Focus, Steve Shaw and Dave Rogers are back on one of their favorite subjects: customer retention. But first, Steve has a story you really can't make up. Two weeks after buying a…
more -
Episode 86 - Stop Doing Annual Employee Reviews — They Don’t Work
Steve Shaw and Dave Rogers make the case that once-a-year feedback simply doesn’t work anymore. As Steve puts it: “Pat me on the back every day, or I’m going away.” Employees want to know how they’re doing right now — not eleven months from now in an awkward meeting with a manager and a piece of...
-
Episode 85 - Want Customers for Life? Give Them a Warranty for Life
Want customers for life? Start giving them reasons to come back. In Episode 85 of Fixed Ops Focus, Steve Shaw and Dave Rogers dig into customer retention through lifetime warranties — and why keeping customers may be a lot simpler than dealerships make it. The philosophy is pretty…
more -
Episode 84 - He Built His Own AI Scheduling Tool — And Gross Profit Took Off
What happens when a Fixed Ops Director gets tired of the way service scheduling works? He builds something better. Steve Shaw and Dave Rogers sit down with Jimmy Powell, Fixed Operations Director of Horne Auto Group, for a conversation about AI, scheduling, profitability, and what happens when a...
-
Episode 83 - Why Are We So Afraid to Ask for the Sale?
Steve Shaw and Dave Rogers are back from Las Vegas, where they attended the Mercedes-Benz After-Sales event — and Dave and his team managed to squeeze in The Wizard of Oz at the Sphere. Naturally, the two somehow became one conversation.
-
Episode 82 - If You’re Not Holding Them Accountable, YOU’RE the Problem
If you're not holding your people accountable, eventually YOU become the problem. Why are service advisors afraid to really connect with customers? Why are managers afraid of change? And why do general managers tolerate behaviors they know are costing the dealership money? Steve Shaw and Dave...
-
Episode 81 - "No, I Can’t Do It” — The Excuse That’s Killing Your Service
There’s money hiding in your repair orders. The question is: are you doing anything with it? Steve Shaw and Dave Rogers dig into RO marketing with two guys who actually live it: Jeff Thomas, Service Director at Matt Blatt Kia, Nissan & Infiniti, and Mark Payne of Total Dealer Solutions.
-
Episode 80 - We Learned the Car Business the Hard Way
Nobody teaches you everything you need to know about the car business. Sometimes you learn by getting your ass kicked. Steve Shaw and Dave Rogers didn't get where they are because everything went according to plan. They learned from great mentors, hard lessons, mistakes, getting knocked down —…
more -
Episode 79 - “I’ll Pay It — But I Won’t Be Back”: How Fees Kill Customer Retention
Your customer might pay the fee. That doesn't mean they'll ever come back. Shop supply fees. Resort fees. Hospitality fees. Taxes. Add-ons. After 10 days on the road, Dave Rogers has had enough — and it leads Steve and Dave into a bigger conversation about something every dealership should be...
-
Episode 78 - Why Your Dealership Departments Can't Work Together
New Cars. Used Cars. Service. Parts. Same dealership — so why are they so often working against each other? When departments compete instead of collaborate, the entire dealership pays for it — in profitability, culture and the customer experience. In this episode of Fixed Ops Focus, Steve Shaw…
more -
Episode 77 - Why Used Cars and Service Are Always Fighting
Steve Shaw and Dave Rogers break down one of the oldest battles inside a dealership — Used Cars vs. Service — and why letting the two departments operate against each other can cost the entire dealership money. They dig into used car manager pay plans, reconditioning costs, internal labor,...
-
Episode 76 - Want to Sell More Cars? You're Fixing the Wrong Problem
In Episode 76 of Fixed Ops Focus, Steve Shaw and Dave Rogers ask a question that stings: do you really want to sell cars? Because here’s the truth most dealers don’t want to hear — fixed operations is the lifeblood of the new car department. When fixed ops blows, sales pays the price… and…
more -
Episode 75 - How Chrissie Bifulco Turned a Sleepy Store Into a Powerhouse
Steve Shaw and Dave Rogers are talking about selling again — and we brought in living proof it can be done. We interview Chrissie Bifulco, Service Manager of Piazza Mazda, on how she turned a sleepy Mazda store into an absolute powerhouse. Then our Profit Partner, Steve Schau of Fast Digital…
more -
Episode 74 - If You Don't Care You're in the Wrong Business
Steve Shaw and Dave Rogers get into what really makes a great service manager — and it starts with one word: passion. We talk passion for the job, the role of training, the KPIs that actually matter, and the real, day-to-day ins and outs of running a service department. Then we dig into the part...
-
Episode 72 - STOP Wasting Money on Training
This one is all about training — the real benefits, why to train, and (maybe most importantly) when NOT to. Because training isn’t checking a box. Training is improving. And Shaw puts it bluntly: if you just want to check the boxes, don’t hire him. In fact, don’t hire anyone — it’s a waste of...
-
Episode 71 - Interview with Joshua Taylor
Dave Rogers and Steve Shaw sit down with special guest Joshua Taylor — host of Wrench Turner’s Podcast — for an honest and important conversation about the life of an auto technician.
-
Episode 70 - The Truth About Vendor Fatigue (Why They Won't Leave You Alone)
Steve Shaw and Dave Rogers tackle something every fixed ops manager and GM feels but rarely says out loud: vendor fatigue.
-
Episode 69 - The Future of Parts Departments
Steve Shaw and Dave Rogers are talking PARTS, and we brought in the heavy hitters to do it. Our parts expert today is the world-famous Armund Dezii, Parts Director of Mercedes-Benz of Westchester — and we are ALL going to learn a thing or two from this man. Joining him is Anthony Blubello,...
-
Episode 67 -Inside the Parts Department with Jon Rondolone
Dave Rogers and Steve Shaw sit down with parts manager extraordinaire Jon Rondolone of Piazza Honda of Springfield — and today, we’re talking everything PARTS.
-
Episode 66 - Every Dealership Says They Care Until THIS Happens
Life is full of inconsistencies — and so is the dealership. In Episode 66 of Fixed Ops Focus, Steve Shaw and Dave Rogers take on one of the biggest hidden problems in fixed operations: the level of service a customer gets often depends entirely on who happens to pick up the phone. Call the same...
-
Episode 65 - The 3 Hours a Day Nobody Pays You For Ep#65
Steve Shaw and Dave Rogers take on a topic everybody talks about but nobody seems to define the same way: work-life balance.
-
Episode 64 - Steve & Dave Take On Vermont - ft. Michael Wright
Steve and Dave take on Vermont! We’re joined by special guest Michael Wright — and a few others — for an honest, wide-open conversation about life in fixed operations. You never know what’s going to happen on this one. We cover everything from AI to third-party vendors to what it’s really like to...
-
Episode 63 - The Breakeven Mistake Costing Dealerships Millions
Breakeven. It sounds simple — until you actually run the numbers. In Episode 63 of Fixed Ops Focus, Steve Shaw and Dave Rogers dig into breakeven analysis and why it's the true starting line for evaluating your fixed operations department.
-
Episode 62 - The Repair Order Trick Every Top Advisor Uses Pt 2
In Episode 62 of Fixed Ops Focus, Dave Rogers and I break down what happens when you add additional items to the repair order before the customer ever arrives. A few extra dollars per RO feels small in the moment. Multiply it across every RO, every advisor, every month, for a full year — and it...
-
Episode 61 - The Repair Order Trick Every Top Advisor Uses
Steve Shaw and Dave Rogers have a spirited conversation about repair order marketing — and one idea that always gets people talking: what if you preloaded the OP codes right onto the repair order, so the service advisor has to present them every single time? This is Part 1 of a two-part series on...
-
Episode 60 - Your New Hire Is Already Failing... Here's Why
You’re hired… now what? In Episode 60 of Fixed Ops Focus, Dave Rogers and Steve Shaw dig into the part of the dealership nobody seems to get right: what actually happens after the offer letter. As always, this one takes a lot of twists and turns.
-
Episode 59 - The Growth Playbook for Your Dealership Service Drive — Including AI Tools
Today we’ve got a powerhouse panel. We sit down with Jamie Rellis — co-founder of Dealer Focus and CEO of ME Technologies & Consulting — and David Securia, Service Director at Benzel-Busch Motor Car, NADA Academy graduate and NADA Show speaker, to talk about the one thing every dealer wants more...
-
Episode 58 - Your Employees Aren't Failing. Your Coaching Is
Some people coach. Some people train. But almost nobody in our business has a real, structured coaching and mentoring program — and in Episode 58 of Fixed Ops Focus, Steve Shaw and Dave Rogers dig into why that’s one of the biggest missed opportunities in the dealership today.
-
Episode 51 - The BIGGEST Firing Stories You'll EVER Hear
Steve Shaw and Dave Rogers crack open one of the most honest — and weirdly hilarious — topics in this business: getting fired. It starts with a friend of Steve’s who just got let go. That one story sends Dave and Steve straight into the Wayback Machine, where they relive the times THEY got fired...
-
Episode 56 - TV, TikTok, YouTube — Service Contracts Are EVERYWHERE. Here’s the Dealer Fix
It seems like everybody and their cousin is selling service contracts — on TV, on YouTube, on TikTok, you name it. These days even the customer can go buy their own. So how is a dealer supposed to handle the flood? Do you charge extra? Add a processing fee? Hire a dedicated extended-warranty…
more -
Episode 51 - A Facebook Post Turned Into THIS?!
One message. A dozen detours. Dave delivers an all-time rant about oil changes. Steve fires back on everything that’s broken about dealership training. There’s even a little conspiracy talk (hey, it happens). And buried in all the chaos is a genuine fixed ops masterclass on the monsters every...
-
Episode 53 - From 4 Techs to $1.5 Million a Month: A Fixed Ops Climb
This live episode features two power-hitters. Ed Kopec of Paul Miller Audi walks us through his career — from service manager of a small four-technician Porsche store to building a $1.5 million+ fixed ops gross powerhouse, and his trajectory from service manager to general manager to vice...
-
Episode 52 - When the Customer Drops the F Bomb: Where's YOUR Line in the Sand?
Dave Rogers and Steve Shaw tackle one of the most under-trained skills in the dealership: the art of diffusing a hostile customer. They cover why most associates have poor customer-diffusion skills, what to do when a customer drops the F-bomb, how to define your line in the sand BEFORE the…
more -
Episode 51 - The Extended Oil Change Lie
Dave Rogers and Steve Shaw expose what they're calling The Pseudo Warranty Conspiracy: a 25-year, quiet financial shift by automotive manufacturers that transferred billions in warranty cost off OEM books and onto dealers (via reinsurance liability) and customers (via repair bills). The…
more -
Episode 50 - The Great Debate: Leader or Manager in the Service Drive?
Episode 50 of Fixed Ops Focus Live tackles the difference between management and leadership—and what really separates a good service manager from a great one. Guest Bob Orozco of Wilmington Land Rover shares his path from service advisor to service manager to general manager, while Profit Partner...
-
Episode 49 - The CSI Retention Paradox
Steve Shaw and Dave Rogers tackle one of the most confusing — and most urgent — paradoxes in fixed operations today: customer satisfaction scores are at all-time highs, while customer retention and RO traffic are quietly collapsing. Those numbers should not be moving in opposite directions at the...
-
Episode 48 - Why Real Training Pays Back 10X
Steve Shaw and Dave Rogers take on the single most misunderstood investment in the modern dealership: training. Steve walks through what real training looks like, how to hire a trainer, why the four training modalities (seminars, on-site workshops, structured webinars, microlearning) must be...
-
Episode 47 - The Great Technician Exodus: Why Your Best Tech is About to Quit
Dave Rogers and Steve Shaw tackle the single most urgent crisis facing the automotive service industry: how dealerships pay their technicians. Manufacturer warranty labor times have been squeezed to the point where flat-rate technicians cannot make a living on warranty work alone, and the…
more -
Episode 46 - From the Service of Our Country to the Service Drive: A Conversation with Armen Mansouri
Dave Rogers and Steve Shaw sit down with Armen Mansouri, Service Director at Porsche South Bay — and a U.S. military veteran whose service shaped the leader he is today. This episode is built around honoring Armen's service, exploring why veterans make exceptional dealership personnel, his 1%…
more -
Episode 45 - Dave Rogers Just AMBUSHED Steve Shaw with ChatGPT — You Won't Believe What Happened
Episode 45 is the sequel — and the rematch — to Episode 42. This time the tables turn: Dave Rogers puts Steve Shaw head-to-head with ChatGPT. Dave skips the training questions and instead hits Steve with the real-world fixed operations scenarios from Steve's days running stores and consulting on...
-
Episode 44 - The $100K Career Nobody Tells High Schoolers About (And It's at Your Local Dealership)
Steve Shaw and Dave Rogers celebrate the career service advisor — the often-overlooked professional whose dedication keeps customers safe and dealerships profitable. This episode makes the case that a young person can build an above-average income, raise a family, and enjoy a meaningful life as a...
-
Episode 43 - Why Your CDJR Dealership Will NEVER Be a Luxury Brand (Until You Fix This One Thing)
Steve Shaw and Dave Rogers tackle one of the most underrated challenges in the modern dealership: what happens when a high-volume domestic or import store suddenly decides it wants to play in the luxury sandbox? The case study hits close to home. Steve walks us through his own Jeep Grand Wagoneer...
We're indexing this podcast's transcripts for the first time — this can take a minute or two. We'll show results as soon as they're ready.
No matches for "" in this podcast's transcripts.
No topics indexed yet for this podcast.
Loading reviews...
ABOUT THIS SHOW
Welcome to the podcast that treats Fixed Operations like the profit powerhouse it actually is – no corporate fluff, no sugar-coating, no 45-minute intros about somebody’s childhood dog. If you’re tired of “best practices” that don’t practice and factory “recommendations” that starve your bottom line, pull up a chair. Dave and Steven are about to tell you how it really is – and exactly how to fix it.
HOSTED BY
Steve Shaw & Dave Rogers
CATEGORIES
Loading similar podcasts...
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Fixed Ops Focus have?
Fixed Ops Focus currently has 89 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Fixed Ops Focus about?
Welcome to the podcast that treats Fixed Operations like the profit powerhouse it actually is – no corporate fluff, no sugar-coating, no 45-minute intros about somebody’s childhood dog. If you’re tired of “best practices” that don’t practice and factory “recommendations” that starve your bottom...
How often does Fixed Ops Focus release new episodes?
Fixed Ops Focus has 89 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Fixed Ops Focus?
You can listen to Fixed Ops Focus on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Fixed Ops Focus?
Fixed Ops Focus is created and hosted by Steve Shaw & Dave Rogers.
URL copied to clipboard!