Across the automotive industry, dealership groups are making major investments in service operations. From facility upgrades and staffing initiatives to process improvements and new technologies, the goal is the same: improve the customer experience, increase retention, and drive more fixed operations revenue.
One recent example comes from Hendrick Automotive Group, which is reportedly redesigning service operations across its dealerships to function more like urgent care clinics—focused on delivering faster, more convenient service experiences for customers.
Why the urgency?
Because retaining service customers is becoming increasingly difficult.
According to Cox Automotive, only 54% of owners with vehicles two years old or newer returned to the dealership where they purchased their vehicle for service in 2025, down from 72% in 2023. At the same time, dealerships are handling 12% fewer service visits than they did in 2018 as customers explore more independent service options.
When nearly half of customers are leaving within the first two years of ownership, every interaction matters.
2023: 72%Service has long been one of the most profitable departments in a dealership. More importantly, it plays a major role in customer loyalty.
According to Cox Automotive research, 74% of customers who return to their selling dealership for service say they are likely to purchase their next vehicle from that dealership. For customers who do not return for service, that number drops to just 44%.
In other words, service retention doesn't just impact today's repair orders—it can directly impact future vehicle sales.
As dealership groups focus on improving customer retention, many are looking closely at the everyday processes that create friction for customers and employees alike.
When dealership leaders think about operational challenges, they often focus on major issues such
as technician shortages, facility capacity, or inventory management.
However, some of the most expensive inefficiencies are far less obvious.
A service advisor leaves their desk to locate a vehicle.
A porter searches multiple rows looking for a customer's car.
A technician waits for keys before beginning work.
A salesperson walks the lot trying to locate inventory for a customer ready to take a test drive.
None of these situations are catastrophic. Most only consume a few minutes. The problem is that they happen repeatedly throughout the day.
Those small interruptions compound across dozens of employees, hundreds of customers, and thousands of work orders each year.
Consider a medium-sized dealership with 15 employees who regularly interact with vehicles, keys, inventory, or customer deliveries.
If each employee spends just 10 minutes per day searching for vehicles, keys, loaners, or other assets, the impact becomes surprisingly large.
Using an average labor value of $140 to $170 per hour, that's the equivalent of:
The key wasn't lost.
The vehicle wasn't stolen.
Employees simply spent time locating what they needed before they could continue serving customers.
Operational delays don't just impact productivity—they impact the customer experience.
According to CDK Global, 78% of vehicle buyers said the test drive helped convince them to purchase the vehicle they ultimately bought. Yet CDK also found that 55% of shoppers reported
dealership staff were locating and preparing the
vehicle.
Customers don't know a salesperson is searching the lot.
They don't know a porter is looking for a key.
They only know they're waiting.
In an increasingly competitive market, those moments of friction can influence how customers perceive the dealership experience.
The most successful dealership groups aren't simply adding more people or building larger facilities.
They're identifying and eliminating friction throughout the customer journey.
Every minute saved locating a vehicle. Every minute saved finding a key. Every minute saved moving inventory. These improvements compound over time, creating a faster experience for customers and a more productive environment for employees.
As service retention becomes more important and customer expectations continue to rise, operational visibility is no longer just a convenience—it's becoming a competitive advantage.
The dealerships making the biggest gains in efficiency don't necessarily have more employees or larger facilities. Instead, they're focused on reducing the time employees spend searching for the information, vehicles, and assets they need to do their jobs.
Common areas of focus include:
While no dealership will completely eliminate search time, even small reductions can create meaningful improvements in employee productivity and customer experience.
This gives the article a practical takeaway without turning it into a sales pitch.
Understanding the cost of search time is one thing. Seeing how dealerships reduce it is another.
In this short 2-minute video, you'll see how service departments use real-time vehicle and key tracking to quickly locate vehicles, reduce employee search time, and improve the customer experience.
Understanding the cost of search time is one thing. Seeing how dealerships solve it is another.
For a deeper look at how dealerships are using real-time visibility to improve service operations, visit:
Learn how dealerships are reducing search time, improving throughput, and helping advisors, technicians, and porters spend less time looking for vehicles and more time serving customers. Fixed Ops 360 transforms the automotive service industry by offering instant location tracking for customer cars and keys.
Curious How Much Time Your Team Spends Searching?
Most dealerships can tell you their labor rate, technician efficiency, and customer satisfaction scores. Few can tell you how much time employees spend searching for vehicles and keys each day.
If you're looking for ways to improve service throughput, reduce employee frustration, and create a better customer experience, start by understanding where search time exists in your operation.
Learn more about real-time vehicle and key tracking: https://truespot.com/fixedops360