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Old 07-19-2010, 07:56 AM   #1
steve_biegler
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Default 5 Star gone?

Auto News is reporting that 5 star will be discontinued. If true I can store my 5 Star mugs next to my "Customer One" mugs.
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Old 07-19-2010, 08:17 AM   #2
srt
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Default adios

Rest In Peace!!
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Old 07-19-2010, 08:57 AM   #3
SHACOS
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Smart move if it's true. I don't think it had much of an impact on the customer's choice of choosing a dealership anyway.
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Old 07-19-2010, 09:20 AM   #4
CL Pgh
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I don't think it had much of an impact on the customer's choice of choosing a dealership anyway.
It never did! We jumped through some major hoops to be the first dealer in our area to get Five Star and when we "bragged" to the customers about it... it was deer looking into headlights. Never meant chit to them, even when it meant something to us.
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Old 07-19-2010, 09:43 AM   #5
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bought into the program at the intro meeting. thought it would help us be a better store. immediately became another noose for our partners to wave at us. in all the years we participated , only one person ever asked us if we were a five star dealer, and that after she had already been a repeat customer. we dont need dealer standards programs by any name, we need quality product , margin, and dealer cash. sorry,, i forgot, mgmt. doesnt care.
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Old 07-19-2010, 11:10 AM   #6
MSDealer
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I've noticed that Employee Position Code #52 (?) in Dealer Connect has been changed from "5 Star coordinator" to "Dealer Standards Coordinator."
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Old 07-19-2010, 12:35 PM   #7
3rdgenchry
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Agree with Jayhawk, never had a customer ask,
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Old 07-19-2010, 12:59 PM   #8
XDCX
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I once had a dealer tell me you can measure the value of Five Star by asking your customer how much more they're willing to pay for the vehicle.

In my opinion, the same thing can be said about a Millennium II facility or some fancy new showroom fixtures. They may be nice, but the customer's not willing to pay a penny extra for them.
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Old 07-19-2010, 01:17 PM   #9
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I agree completely with many of those statements.... except for the fact that Five Star did have some impact at the very beginning. I believe that Chrysler was onto something great when Five Star was first introduced around '95.

It was originally meant to be a process driven system, similiar to ISO 9001 certification. When properly implemented, the Five Star system gave the customer a "consistant" experience from that particular dealership for each and every visit.

I know...I remember the times when our DOM came in to audit our service and parts processes for accuracy and checking the "come-back" logs, the "parts SOR" process, the management action reports and customer action logs, etc etc etc...

There is no doubt in my mind that if the Five Star process was put into place properly at a particular store, the customer would have a more positive experience than another dealer without Five Star.

It's not that I'm Pro-Chrysler, but I believe that the idea for a structured uniform practice being used as a way to manage customer expectations is a superb method to obtain repeat buyers and loyal customers. Unfortunately the model that Chrysler had turned into a ....CIRCUS.
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Old 07-19-2010, 04:50 PM   #10
XDCX
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Originally Posted by steve_biegler View Post
If true I can store my 5 Star mugs next to my "Customer One" mugs.
Does anyone still remember the "America's Team" CSI incentives Chrysler used to have for the service departments? Customer One and Five Star are not the only programs that slowly faded away.
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Old 07-19-2010, 05:03 PM   #11
XDCX
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FixedOpsGuy View Post
I agree completely with many of those statements.... except for the fact that Five Star did have some impact at the very beginning. I believe that Chrysler was onto something great when Five Star was first introduced around '95.
I agree that in the beginning Five Star was a viable program that helped dealers develop processes. In fact, I recall that Ford's Blue Oval program was in response to the early success Chrysler was seeing with Five Star.

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Originally Posted by FixedOpsGuy View Post
Unfortunately the model that Chrysler had turned into a ....CIRCUS.
I think the program started to jump the tracks when the training requirements became too burdensome and expensive. I remember some dealers were reluctant to fire poor performing employees because they didn't want to restart the training program or risk losing certification.
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Old 07-21-2010, 11:22 AM   #12
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Does anyone still remember the "America's Team" CSI incentives Chrysler used to have for the service departments? Customer One and Five Star are not the only programs that slowly faded away.
I do, and we still have a sticker on the mirror in the shop that say "Plymouth, you are the reason the prides inside"
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Old 07-21-2010, 12:01 PM   #13
FixedOpsGuy
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I remember some dealers were reluctant to fire poor performing employees because they didn't want to restart the training program or risk losing certification.
WTF! I can't remember how many times that I was told by my GM..."Just write him up. We can't afford to lose his training numbers." while I sit back and watch the come-backs flow in the door.
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Old 07-21-2010, 12:59 PM   #14
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The original 5 Star program had nothing to do with standardized processes, reports etc... it was based strictly on the dealer's ranking in customer satisfaction scores against all other dealers...the top 10% of the dealers in each zone received recognition as "5 Star Dealers"...you received special business cards, name tags and promotional materials from Chrysler to be used as you wished. At the annual "Announcement Show" (remember those?) you were given recognition and special badges. It was also a prerequisite for winning the Award for Excellence which counted service, training, community involvement, market share and a couple of other things, in addition to CSI rank. You had to finish in the top 10% nationwide in all categories to get the Award for Excellence. When the factory was developing the "new" 5 star program with the emphasis on processes and uniformity, it ceased to really mean anything...as long as you were willing to put THEIR processes in place and do all the paperwork and spend the money they said you needed to on signs, facility, tools and training...you WERE a 5 star dealer...regardless of whether or not your customers were satisfied...it was nothing more than an advertising gimmick at that point, which the customers did not care about. The 5 dealers in each zone with the highest CSI numbers, were asked to attend a meeting to review the materials and ideas they had for 5 Star and tell them what we thought about it. I told them that for a dealer that had below average CSI and didn't know how to improve it, the processes they outlined were a "good way" to improve, BUT it was not the "only way". I pointed out that my dealership had been a 5 Star winner every year I had been in business and I had THE highest CSI rating of any store in the SWBC, and I didn't do ANY of the things they were now going to require...and that I would not participate in the new program. They were stunned and asked why...I explained that I ALREADY had the highest CSI in the region, so why would I want to change the way I operated to be like everyone else whose customers weren't as happy as mine? It took a few minutes for that to sink into the corporate cookie cutter mentality.
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Old 07-21-2010, 01:15 PM   #15
steve_biegler
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DealerEx View Post
The original 5 Star program had nothing to do with standardized processes, reports etc... it was based strictly on the dealer's ranking in customer satisfaction scores against all other dealers...the top 10% of the dealers in each zone received recognition as "5 Star Dealers"...you received special business cards, name tags and promotional materials from Chrysler to be used as you wished. At the annual "Announcement Show" (remember those?) you were given recognition and special badges. It was also a prerequisite for winning the Award for Excellence which counted service, training, community involvement, market share and a couple of other things, in addition to CSI rank. You had to finish in the top 10% nationwide in all categories to get the Award for Excellence. When the factory was developing the "new" 5 star program with the emphasis on processes and uniformity, it ceased to really mean anything...as long as you were willing to put THEIR processes in place and do all the paperwork and spend the money they said you needed to on signs, facility, tools and training...you WERE a 5 star dealer...regardless of whether or not your customers were satisfied...it was nothing more than an advertising gimmick at that point, which the customers did not care about. The 5 dealers in each zone with the highest CSI numbers, were asked to attend a meeting to review the materials and ideas they had for 5 Star and tell them what we thought about it. I told them that for a dealer that had below average CSI and didn't know how to improve it, the processes they outlined were a "good way" to improve, BUT it was not the "only way". I pointed out that my dealership had been a 5 Star winner every year I had been in business and I had THE highest CSI rating of any store in the SWBC, and I didn't do ANY of the things they were now going to require...and that I would not participate in the new program. They were stunned and asked why...I explained that I ALREADY had the highest CSI in the region, so why would I want to change the way I operated to be like everyone else whose customers weren't as happy as mine? It took a few minutes for that to sink into the corporate cookie cutter mentality.
AAAAHHHHH come on, do you really think that your common sense really sank in? The factory sheeple have no idea what it was like in the real world.
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