Blog

Appointment availability is one of those issues that’s easy to underestimate because it rarely creates a scene. In DriveSure’s 2026 retention study, 26% of customers said limited appointment availability would cause them to service somewhere else. But most of those...

Customers rarely call to say they’re leaving your dealership. They just stop showing up, and you never have a chance to retain them. Maybe it starts with a frustrating appointment experience. Maybe they buy tires somewhere else because it felt easier. Maybe...

At most dealerships, recalls are seen as a responsibility, not a strategy. The focus is usually on getting the work done and moving on. But that narrow view overlooks one of the most practical retention opportunities in fixed ops. A recall gives the dealership a...

If your service department feels busy but still falls behind, the problem probably isn’t staffing. It’s how the work is being scheduled. Most dealerships build their day around appointments—how many cars we can fit in at 7:00, 8:00, 9:00. But that approach ignores...

Why are more customers leaving dealership service departments in 2026? According to DriveSure’s 2026 Service Retention Report, price has moved back into the #2 decision factor overall when customers choose where to service their vehicle, and for customers ages 34 and...

Service retention is often discussed in terms of follow-up marketing, loyalty programs, and reminder campaigns. But long before any of those strategies come into play, customers are already forming opinions about the dealership. Those impressions take shape during the...

Service retention is often evaluated through metrics like visit frequency, declined work, and customer satisfaction scores. But the earliest breakdown usually happens well before any of those numbers are recorded. It happens when a call goes unanswered during the...

Dealerships don’t intentionally sacrifice service retention. In fact, nearly every fixed ops leader would say retention is a priority. Yet many stores still struggle with customers quietly defecting after the warranty period, drifting to competitors for routine...

Most dealerships talk about service retention like it’s something you lose slowly. A little here, a little there. A missed visit, then maybe another one down the road. But as Skyler Chadwick, Director of Product Consulting at Cox Automotive, recently pointed out on...

Every dealership leader will say service matters. But according to Don Hall, President & CEO of the Virginia Automobile Dealers Association, the gap between saying it and operating like it is still massive. Don has spent decades inside the business as someone...

When most people look for innovation in dealership service retention, they rarely look to Australia. But they should. The market may be small, yet it’s one of the most competitive in the world. And that pressure has forced OEMs and dealers to rethink how they use...

For years, dealers have talked about retention like it’s a puzzle to be solved with the right marketing message or the right OEM program. But as Bill’s conversation with Dan Cantrell makes clear, the real levers that drive lifetime loyalty aren’t complicated. They’re...