As dealerships adopt new technology and DMS platforms, fixed ops leaders must protect the fundamentals that drive customer trust, service revenue and retention. Joining us on today’s episode of Service Drive is John Fairchild, President of Fairchild Automotive Solutions, who warns that the biggest risk of DMS changes is not the software itself, but allowing teams to abandon proven processes.
During today’s conversation, Fairchild introduces the concept of “process drift,” where employees gradually move away from established processes during periods of change.
According to Fairchild, a DMS transition impacts nearly every department of the dealership, including accounting, sales, F&I and service. He notes that he is currently working with a five-store dealer group in Georgia through a DMS transition and negotiated for the switch to happen at the start of the month rather than mid-month, a timing choice he said reduces disruption. He also described the adjustment period as overwhelming for staff, likening it to drinking from a firehouse.
"Process drift is something that I see happening a lot with or without software."
Fairchild said process drift is not unique to technology changes, though a DMS switch tends to accelerate it. New software gives employees a built-in justification to deviate from the standard operating procedure, he said, particularly at a time when teams are already stretched thin.
To avoid a complete departure from established routines, Fairchild advises dealers to identify which processes must remain non-negotiable throughout the transition. He said the priority should be anything customer-facing, including greeting the customer, building rapport and physically walking around the vehicle to assess condition and needs. The communication tools may change with new software, but the underlying steps should not.
The non-negotiable walk-around
Fairchild points to the service write-up walk-around as the clearest example of a process that should never be overlooked, regardless of which system a dealership runs. He referenced a fellow trainer’s take on the most important part of a walk-around: simply making sure it happens.
The walk-around gives advisors roughly two minutes to physically inspect the tires, wipers, and any existing damage while also opening a conversation with the customer. Fairchild said that conversation, not just the inspection, is the real value. Asking a customer how long they plan to keep the vehicle or what they use it for allows the advisor to return with a recommendation tailored to their needs rather than a generic pitch.
Additionally, Fairchild acknowledged that there are legitimate situations in which a full walk-around cannot occur, such as during night drops or in high-volume, no-appointment-necessary service lanes. In those cases, he recommends a “virtual walk-around” conducted by phone or once the customer is in the lounge.
The approach still covers the same ground, he said, by describing what would normally happen during an in-person walk-around, including checking the vehicle and asking the same intake questions. Fairchild said this alternative should be used deliberately and not as a default excuse to skip the process altogether when volume is high.
Further, he cautions against dealerships that rely on managers waving advisors off the walk-around during busy stretches, noting that once flexibility is introduced as a blanket policy rather than a case-by-case decision, the process erodes quickly.
Consistency builds trust
Fairchild said skipping walk-arounds does more than create a weaker customer interaction. It removes the opportunity to build what he calls “emotional deposits,” the goodwill that makes customers receptive to future recommendations. Without that foundation, he said, service recommendations can come across as transactional rather than trustworthy.
He compared the effect to giving complete, thorough presentations in the F&I office. Just as fuller presentations tend to sell more product, fuller walk-arounds tend to convert more non-urgent recommendations. Fairchild noted it typically takes about three meaningful presentations before a customer agrees to that kind of service work, making the first interaction, the walk-around, critical groundwork rather than a step that can be skipped.
