In recognition of this year’s Veterans Day, CBT Live Co-Hosts Jim and Bridget Fitzpatrick sat down with Michelle Melecio Taylor, U.S. Army National Guard veteran and VP of Customer Success at UVeye, who has more than 25 years of experience in the auto industry. Taylor shared how her military service shaped the leadership principles she has carried throughout her career, including taking care of people, setting clear expectations and following through. She also discussed why dealerships should recognize the skills veterans bring to the workplace an
According to Taylor, her military experience taught her that leadership is defined by actions, not rank or title. Throughout her automotive career, she has focused on caring for people, setting the standard and following through. She sees a natural connection between military teams and dealership operations, where sales, service, fixed operations and leadership must work toward the same objective. Veterans bring experience in accountability, adaptability, customer service and performing under pressure, she said, but dealerships need to recognize that these skills apply across many roles. Rather than focusing recruitment on sales positions, dealers should make veterans aware of opportunities throughout the organization and provide a clear path for development.
One way dealerships can help employees succeed is by building more support into the onboarding process. At a previous company, Taylor adopted the military’s “Battle Buddy” concept, pairing each new representative with an experienced teammate so they could learn to handle real customer situations. She said the goal was to build confidence, shorten the learning curve and help new hires contribute more quickly. Additionally, Taylor notes that while training teaches employees the process, having an experienced teammate helps them execute it. Therefore, she believes that dealers need clear expectations, defined ownership and communication so employees understand what success looks like and who is responsible for the next step.
Nevertheless, Taylor connects clear processes and customer trust to her role leading UVeye’s customer success organization. UVeye provides single-scan, multi-point vehicle inspections for dealership sales and service. On the sales side, the scan produces frontline-ready vehicle photos for dealership websites, while trade-ins can be inspected to give customers a clearer picture of a vehicle’s current condition. On the service side, the technology provides inspection information that dealerships can use to explain a vehicle’s needs and recommended work. The discussion also highlighted how objective inspection information can help dealerships build trust, particularly when customers may be skeptical of recommendations coming directly from a salesperson or service advisor.
