With current events in the world, many industries are changing to meet the new standard of safety for their customers and employees. One such industry that has started to change with the times are automotive dealers. Now many places are practicing social distancing, and are sanitizing most everything throughout the day. But there are also things effecting all businesses, including dealers and their repair shops. But before we dive into the effects on service in the automotive world, here is a little background on my experience in this field. I have worked as a parts advisor at three different dealers and have dealt with nine manufacturers between them. And with most dealers in my area, the base operations are more or less the same. So here are the changes that have happened to the auto service industry and what has been effected by the virus and shutdown.

The first thing that has changed for repair shops and dealers alike, is the customer flow has slowed down. Before the shutdown auto service had a natural flow. There were busy weeks and slow weeks, much like most things that are retail. But with a good portion of the population now staying at home and not wanting to go into crowded areas. People are driving less, which means less accidents, less cars breaking down and less people going into a shop for a repair or service. With these things happening a lot of dealers are laying off techs and other personnel, since there is not the income coming in to support the staff.

Now this might be good for people who do still need to drive to work everyday, and might need a repair. As this means that there is more availability for shops to get work done. And with the low service flow you can count on your car being more prioritized. Because there are less cars at the shop to distract service advisors, technicians and parts advisors from the job at hand. However this might not be a permanent change, due to more places opening back up and more people going back to regular life. Plus when someone has been stuck in the house for this long, something as mundane as going to the shop for a repair will seem like a good time out.

The next thing that as changed is sanitation. Although most dealers and repair shops will try to keep a clean and friendly environment for their customers. There has been a noticeable push to stop the spread of the virus. One thing that most people don’t see, or don’t really think of. Is that when your car is in the shop, technicians have been working on other cars all day. So they get dirty from various jobs that they perform. And with that being said, there are plastic/paper covers that shops will use on the seats, floor mats, and steering wheels to make sure the car they are in does not get dirty. The extra step that has been taken though, is that now instead of just removing those covers. Many places will use a fabric and leather safe sanitizer to wipe down the car for the safety of the customer before giving the car back.

On the other side of this though. If a car comes into a shop dirty, the shop can refuse to work on the car and ask the customer to clean out the vehicle to a safe working level for the employees involved. Also most surfaces throughout the building are being wiped down with sanitizer multiple times a day as stated before. Some businesses are going as far as obtaining medical grade disinfectants.

And with talking about sanitation new methods of service are starting to be utilized. More and more repair shops are now offering to pick up the car from the customers house and deliver it back. During this process the customer can approve or decline repairs electronically, and pay over the phone when the job is done. Or for people who do need to use a shuttle service. Only one customer is usually picked up at a time, and they are asked sit in the back. Thus staying away from the driver and keeping a safe distance. Also any employee that is feeling under the weather is promptly asked to go home. And for some dealers any employee that has been out of the country has to quarantine at home for at least two weeks before returning to work. There are also other services that dealers have had for a while that you can use to feel safer. Such as ordering parts over the phone or online and you can use a drop box to leave your car for service. The world has changed in many ways in the past few months, and for those of you looking to buy a car or have your car serviced dealers are making the change to keep everyone safe until the virus is a distant memory.