Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
In this episode of Service Drive Revolution, Chris, Hogi, and Adam broadcast the show LIVE for the first time and introduce the new SDR Academy—a fixed ops community focused on financial performance, leadership and proven dealership systems.
Chris shares hard truths learned across 35 years in the automotive industry. Why can’t advisor training rescue a broken service department? Why do dealerships copy OEM programs and industry trends without demanding proof? And what separates real leadership from ordinary management?
The team explains why people must want to improve, why problems “travel in packs,” and why indifference is still a decision. They also challenge digital inspections, tablets, quick-lube systems, paying advisors on gross, chasing more traffic and treating Service Advisors like traditional salespeople.
Plus: Adam’s Waymo adventure goes from Beverly Hills to a dark downtown alley—proving cheaper technology does not always create a better customer experience.
🔥 KEY TAKEAWAYS
* Systems Before Training: Teaching advisors to sell more can make a dealership worse when the shop lacks capacity, process, communication or the right “people math.”
* People Have to Want It: You cannot force growth on an employee, manager or dealer who refuses to take responsibility and change.
* Management vs. Leadership: Management operates an existing structure; leadership creates genuine followership around a shared mission.
* Things Travel in Packs: Lateness, blame, indifference, poor follow-through, weak customer care and financial losses are rarely isolated.
* Stop Copying the Industry: Digital MPIs, tablets, quick lube, gross-based pay plans and OEM programs should be judged by results—not adoption or compliance.
* Advisors Are Matchmakers: Their job is to build trust, explain what the vehicle needs and help customers make good decisions.
* Read the Financials: Service Managers are judged by profitability, yet many are never taught how ELR, labor mix, traffic, dispatch, pricing and expenses work together.
FAQ
Q: Why won’t advisor training fix a broken service department?
A: More sales create more chaos when the shop cannot process its existing work. Capacity, workflow, staffing and communication must come first.
Q: What is the difference between management and leadership?
A: Management runs the operation. Leadership earns followership and moves people toward a shared mission, even when change requires sacrifice.
Q: Should Service Advisors be paid on gross profit?
A: Chris argues for a simple plan tied to what advisors control. Gross is also affected by pricing, dispatch, technicians and labor mix.
Q: Does a service department always need more traffic?
A: No. When hours per repair order and retention are weak, more traffic often creates additional chaos instead of profit.
Q: Are Service Advisors salespeople?
A: They are communicators and matchmakers first. Trust, connection and a strong system remove more objections than aggressive closing techniques.
Q: How should dealerships evaluate OEM programs?
A: Measure profitability, efficiency, retention and customer experience—not merely program compliance.
0:00 SDR Goes Live
2:15 Introducing the SDR Academy
6:25 Chris’s 35 Years of Dealership Lessons
9:15 Why Advisor Training Can Make Things Worse
14:05 Adam’s Waymo Disaster
19:40 People Have to Want It
23:45 Management vs. Real Leadership
27:50 Problems Travel in Packs
32:00 Indifference Is a Decision
32:55 Why the Automotive Industry Copies Bad Ideas
37:05 OEM Compliance vs. Dealer Profitability
39:35 The Problem With Quick Lube
41:50 Why Paying Advisors on Gross Creates Confusion
44:05 More Traffic Is Not Always the Answer
45:30 Service Advisors Are Matchmakers, Not Salespeople
50:15 Why Managers Must Understand Financials
52:35 ELR, Quick Lube and Telling the Whole Story
56:25 Final Thoughts and the SDR Academy
📞 GOT A QUESTION OF YOUR OWN? Call 833-3-ASK-SDR — we answer on the show!
Get special deals on our books and training at offers.chriscollinsinc.com!
#ServiceDriveRevolution #FixedOps #AutomotiveLeadership #ServiceManager #ServiceAdvisor #AutoIndustry #DealershipTraining #ServiceDirector #FixedOperations #SDRAcademy #DealershipProfit #CustomerExperience #ChrisBulldogCollins
🛑 SDR Live Academy Online Training For Huge Results:
chriscollinsinc.com/op/sdr-live-weekly
🛑 Book your Profit Gap Analysis Now:
calendly.com/byron-webster/30min
🛑 Best-selling books on making Fixed Ops a money printer:
chriscollinsinc.com/shop
🛑 Got a question?
Call us at 1-833-3-ASK-SDR
🛑 Want to work with the best?
chriscollinsinc.com/careers
🛑 Grab Chris' New Leadership Book I AM LEADER:
iamleader.com
In this episode of Service Drive Revolution, Chris, Hogi, and Adam broadcast the show LIVE for the first time and introduce the new SDR Academy—a fixed ops community focused on financial performance, leadership and proven dealership systems.
Chris shares hard truths learned across 35 years in the automotive industry. Why can’t advisor training rescue a broken service department? Why do dealerships copy OEM programs and industry trends without demanding proof? And what separates real leadership from ordinary management?
The team explains why people must want to improve, why problems “travel in packs,” and why indifference is still a decision. They also challenge digital inspections, tablets, quick-lube systems, paying advisors on gross, chasing more traffic and treating Service Advisors like traditional salespeople.
Plus: Adam’s Waymo adventure goes from Beverly Hills to a dark downtown alley—proving cheaper technology does not always create a better customer experience.
🔥 KEY TAKEAWAYS
* Systems Before Training: Teaching advisors to sell more can make a dealership worse when the shop lacks capacity, process, communication or the right “people math.”
* People Have to Want It: You cannot force growth on an employee, manager or dealer who refuses to take responsibility and change.
* Management vs. Leadership: Management operates an existing structure; leadership creates genuine followership around a shared mission.
* Things Travel in Packs: Lateness, blame, indifference, poor follow-through, weak customer care and financial losses are rarely isolated.
* Stop Copying the Industry: Digital MPIs, tablets, quick lube, gross-based pay plans and OEM programs should be judged by results—not adoption or compliance.
* Advisors Are Matchmakers: Their job is to build trust, explain what the vehicle needs and help customers make good decisions.
* Read the Financials: Service Managers are judged by profitability, yet many are never taught how ELR, labor mix, traffic, dispatch, pricing and expenses work together.
FAQ
Q: Why won’t advisor training fix a broken service department?
A: More sales create more chaos when the shop cannot process its existing work. Capacity, workflow, staffing and communication must come first.
Q: What is the difference between management and leadership?
A: Management runs the operation. Leadership earns followership and moves people toward a shared mission, even when change requires sacrifice.
Q: Should Service Advisors be paid on gross profit?
A: Chris argues for a simple plan tied to what advisors control. Gross is also affected by pricing, dispatch, technicians and labor mix.
Q: Does a service department always need more traffic?
A: No. When hours per repair order and retention are weak, more traffic often creates additional chaos instead of profit.
Q: Are Service Advisors salespeople?
A: They are communicators and matchmakers first. Trust, connection and a strong system remove more objections than aggressive closing techniques.
Q: How should dealerships evaluate OEM programs?
A: Measure profitability, efficiency, retention and customer experience—not merely program compliance.
0:00 SDR Goes Live
2:15 Introducing the SDR Academy
6:25 Chris’s 35 Years of Dealership Lessons
9:15 Why Advisor Training Can Make Things Worse
14:05 Adam’s Waymo Disaster
19:40 People Have to Want It
23:45 Management vs. Real Leadership
27:50 Problems Travel in Packs
32:00 Indifference Is a Decision
32:55 Why the Automotive Industry Copies Bad Ideas
37:05 OEM Compliance vs. Dealer Profitability
39:35 The Problem With Quick Lube
41:50 Why Paying Advisors on Gross Creates Confusion
44:05 More Traffic Is Not Always the Answer
45:30 Service Advisors Are Matchmakers, Not Salespeople
50:15 Why Managers Must Understand Financials
52:35 ELR, Quick Lube and Telling the Whole Story
56:25 Final Thoughts and the SDR Academy
📞 GOT A QUESTION OF YOUR OWN? Call 833-3-ASK-SDR — we answer on the show!
Get special deals on our books and training at offers.chriscollinsinc.com!
#ServiceDriveRevolution #FixedOps #AutomotiveLeadership #ServiceManager #ServiceAdvisor #AutoIndustry #DealershipTraining #ServiceDirector #FixedOperations #SDRAcademy #DealershipProfit #CustomerExperience #ChrisBulldogCollins
🛑 SDR Live Academy Online Training For Huge Results:
chriscollinsinc.com/op/sdr-live-weekly
🛑 Book your Profit Gap Analysis Now:
calendly.com/byron-webster/30min
🛑 Best-selling books on making Fixed Ops a money printer:
chriscollinsinc.com/shop
🛑 Got a question?
Call us at 1-833-3-ASK-SDR
🛑 Want to work with the best?
chriscollinsinc.com/careers
🛑 Grab Chris' New Leadership Book I AM LEADER:
iamleader.com
