City Kia’s service department processes up to 180 repair orders daily, offers same-day appointments, and generates more than $1 million in monthly fixed operations revenue. According to fixed ops director Oscar Platt, that performance is not driven by speed alone, but by disciplined communication, consistency, and relationship-focused leadership.
Platt joins the latest episode of Loyalty-Based Sales Strategies to discuss his journey, the challenges in service today, and potential solutions.
Platt joined City Kia after aligning with the dealership’s leadership vision and commitment to building a high-performance culture. He credits that alignment as foundational to creating an environment where accountability and support coexist, allowing teams to operate efficiently under sustained pressure.
While service departments across the industry are facing mounting challenges, including longer repair times, parts shortages, and rising customer expectations, Platt identifies poor communication as the most significant threat to customer retention. Customers often disengage when they feel uninformed about repair status, timelines, or next steps, especially during high-volume service periods.
At City Kia, communication is treated as a core operational function rather than a courtesy. Advisors, BDC staff, and managers are trained to proactively explain processes, timelines, and repair details in clear, accessible terms. Platt emphasizes that service teams frequently overestimate customer knowledge, which can lead to misunderstandings and erode trust.
High-volume service lanes frequently struggle with morning bottlenecks and rushed interactions. Platt believes slowing down at critical touchpoints improves efficiency downstream by reducing repeat calls, misunderstandings, and service delays later in the day.
Moreover, Process discipline is central to City Kia’s ability to scale without sacrificing customer satisfaction. Platt describes the dealership’s workflows as end-to-end systems that integrate the customer into each stage of service. When processes are followed consistently, throughput improves and service lanes flow more predictably, even during peak demand.
“The process is really what drives everything and makes everything flow the way that it should.”
To reinforce execution, Platt regularly evaluates operations by assuming the role of a customer. This approach helps identify breakdowns in real time and allows leaders to coach in the moment by demonstrating alternative methods and explaining the reasoning behind them.
Leadership visibility remains central to the dealership’s model. Managers and assistant managers coach live on the service drive, addressing issues as they arise and reinforcing expectations to prevent problems from recurring. Therefore, Platt views frontline engagement as essential in high-volume environments.
Looking ahead, Platt encourages service leaders to embrace technology while staying grounded in relationship-building. While tools and systems will continue to develop, he maintains that customer trust, built through communication and consistency, remains the foundation of long-term success in fixed ops.
