Latest / Auto Collabs / Innovative Ideas are Born at ASOTU CON with Phil Gill

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Innovative Ideas are Born at ASOTU CON with Phil Gill · Auto Collabs

• 0:00
  You always know that it's gonna be dicey when Paul shows up to a podcast with his hat backwards. [upbeat music] This is Auto Collabs. Yep, or that it's been dicey- Wait, wait, what does that mean?...
• 0:16
  which is why Paul showed up to a podcast with his hat backwards. What, what does that mean? [laughs] Is this code? Have I not learned something about you yet? What does the backwards hat mean?
• 0:24
  The backwards hat is, like, business mode. Like, we're down to, we're, we're getting things done right now. Like nitty-gritty. Yeah, I wouldn't call it business mode. I would call it, like- It's up, it's...
• 0:33
  I mean- It's, it's, like, full throttle mode. It's like- Oh. Turn your hat around and run. I don't care. Yeah, yeah, I know. Yeah. Okay, okay. We're running so fast that the brim's gonna blow the hat off, so. Okay.
• 0:41
  Typically happens a little later in the day. You know? True. True. I mean, there's a lot going on right now. And the reality is, if I put the hat on forwards, it's gonna blow off, 'cause there's so much happening.
• 0:52
  [laughs] You're just ru- Now I'm just picturing you running down the halls of the building as full speed. [laughs] Just like, "Hold on, I'm-" Back and forth. And then stopping. Back and forth. He's like...
• 1:02
  [panting] Turn. [panting] Turn. And then stopping. I'm doing an experiment. And I grab my neck pulse and look at my watch. [laughs] Like I know how to do that part. I don't know how to do that part.
• 1:11
  I mean, isn't this kind of the perfect metaphor for working in automotive retail? Like- That's exactly what the metaphor is for. It's called Tuesday. [laughs] Yeah, it's called Tuesday. Exactly, Phil.
• 1:20
  Especially if you're in charge. Especially if you're the, the heir apparent of the business because you're the owner's son who has worked your way up from the bottom up and, uh, earned every stripe, which is what Phil...
• 1:32
  Phil Gill is the sleeper of the industry.
• 1:35
  Every time I speak with Phil, and every time I've spoken with him over the last few years, I always walk away thinking like, like, "More of the industry needs to, to know about Phil."
• 1:44
  I mean, it's one of the reasons we do AutoCon the way we do it, isn't it? I mean, unless it's his strategy, right? 'Cause my old pappy used to say, "Don't interrupt your competition when they're busy making mistakes."
• 1:54
  Oh. Ooh. We gotta get your pappy on this show. Oh. Is that- Oh. Your old pappy, is that, is that your dad or your grandfather? No, my, that's my dad. That's what I call my old pappy.
• 2:05
  It's from that movie Maverick with Mel Gibson. He used to be like- Oh... "My old pappy used to say..." That's... I forgot that movie. That's funny.
• 2:12
  Man, there's been so many references in this intro, I can't even handle it. [laughs] All right. Well, Kyle, why- It's nuts... you don't reference, why don't you reference the guest?
• 2:18
  Well, I'm gonna reference the fact that we're hanging out with Phil Gill today, and we really, really hope you enjoy this conversation, and maybe get a couple references and one, one-liners of your own.
• 2:26
  [upbeat music] Hey, Phil, thank you so much for spending, uh, some more of your time with us today, um, on Auto Collabs. Hey, Paul and Kyle. It's great to be here. Okay.
• 2:39
  So you are definitely one of the best dressed people in the industry, in my opinion. Every time I see you, you bring, you bring the hot fire.
• 2:46
  At AutoCon last year, you had this kind of, like, suit, pa- [laughs] It was, it was just perfect. And, and you're wearing something unique now, too. Like, what's this jacket?
• 2:55
  Oh, this is a, uh, I mean, just great sport coat. Um, it's an interesting wool blend. Uh, [laughs] you know. It is. It's got, like, a nice texture. It's much easier.
• 3:04
  Paul is actually, just so you know, Phil, Paul's practicing. He really wants to be one of those, like, red carpet retor- reporters- Right... where he walks up to people and goes- Who are you wearing, Phil?
• 3:12
  "What are you wearing today?" No, it's, "Who are you wearing?" "Who are you wearing today?" I, I know when I get there. Yeah.
• 3:15
  No, like, you and, you and your dad, I remember the first time I met you, and, and your dad always, like, has, has a dialed in suit.
• 3:21
  And then you were like, yeah, you've really picked up and carried the torch, um, in, in the outfit. I mean, you, you have. I don't know. If you wanna see it in person, just come... Are you gonna be at NADA, the show?
• 3:31
  No, I won't be at NADA this year. But you will be at AutoCon, so you have to come meet Phil just to check the outfit. And that really actually does have a segue into my first question. Yeah. Well, my first real question.
• 3:41
  [laughs] A lot of people in this industry have grown up in the industry, and we're seeing this transition of leadership from the parents to, to the children, and you have really embraced that over the last years.
• 3:53
  Um, did you always know that you were going to step into the automotive world? Like, at what point did that click for you? Or was it just kind of a predetermined notion? Yeah, no, it wasn't predetermined.
• 4:03
  Uh, you know, my father was always one to encourage me to try, uh, things that I was either passionate about or interested in.
• 4:11
  So, uh, but I would say that it definitely clicked somewhere in the teens that I, I would probably get back into this business at some point. Now, [laughs] it happened way earlier than, than I expected.
• 4:22
  [laughs] Um, I was going very well on trying the new thing, and then Dad called up and started the heavy recruiting of- What, [laughs] what was the new thing?... back at the store.
• 4:32
  So actually, I was, um, I was living in Boston at the time, uh, working for, uh, TJX, who's corporate for TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods.
• 4:40
  And, um, was loving my time in Boston, was enjoying the- I was buying sport coats overseas. You know, yeah.
• 4:49
  [laughs] And so, uh, you know, I, uh, I made the decision to come back, and it's now been, I think we're coming up on, uh, 12 years back, back in the dealership now. So, uh, it's been a wonderful time.
• 5:02
  I have, I, I wanna know what the recruiting was like, 'cause like- Oh, geez. It was like-... if Tom Gill is involved, I'm sure it's awesome. Started with a phone call, and when he w- when he realized I was hesitant,
• 5:14
  he was on a plane out to Boston, took me out to a nice dinner, you know? [laughs] That's like college rec- That's like college athlete recruiting right there. Lays it all out.
• 5:22
  [laughs] And I still stringed him along for another three months. [laughs] No way. He was on a- That is amazing. [laughs] So if you never- So what was your first role back? What, what did, what did you come back doing?
• 5:33
  Yeah. Actually, so when I came back, I went- Lot porter... moved in, right. I did that all through high school, so, you know, [laughs] had that- Yeah, you lived that life... under the belt.
• 5:41
  Uh, uh, when I came back, I actually went, uh, to Chicago for six months. So moved back to Cincinnati. Two weeks later, I'm in Chicago for six months working with our CPA firm who's, does all automotive accounting.
• 5:52
  The Palmicola Group. They're a great firm. And I was in accounting. One of my majors in school was accounting. So, um, I was there doing that.
• 5:59
  So w- when I came back to the store, I was up in the office kind of implementing, helping to implement all this great stuff that I had seen from all these other dealerships I got to interact with.
• 6:09
  Um-While I worked with Spohn Auto Who was paying you during that time? Did the CPA just get, get, like, a free fill? N- Like, would your dad pay you, or was it- No, the CPA didn't get free fill, no. [laughs] Yeah.
• 6:20
  [laughs] But, uh- That's real- No, it was a really good education. I got to learn a lot about all the different manufacturers, read through and analyzed, uh, just about every financial statement that existed out there.
• 6:30
  So- Wow... uh, it was a great introduction to the auto world, for sure. You know what that reminds me of, Kyle? It's amazing. Yeah. That's exactly what it reminds me of. Have you ever read this book- No, I haven't.
• 6:40
  Sorry... there's, like, this amazing book out there. I have not read- You are Will Guidara. You are Will Guidara for automotive. [laughs] It's nuts, yeah.
• 6:46
  We can't tell the full secret, but we may or may n- We'll tell you later. [laughs] So Will Guidara, in this book, he, his father was in the restaurant business. He grew up kind of in the restaurant business. Mm-hmm.
• 6:58
  Was really passionate about the front of the house, right? Okay, sure. So the hospitality side. Um, ended up being rated the best restaurant in the world, um, with, uh, 11 Madison Park. Okay. And,
• 7:11
  and he worked for Danny Meyer. Great, great book. Great story. You would absolutely love it. Actually, I'm gonna send you a copy because you would love this so much.
• 7:15
  Yeah, that would be a great read, 'cause, uh- Um, and, and the, the point is that his dad, he had this chance to go work a dream job, like, at a dream restaurant that he always wanted to, or go work for...
• 7:27
  What was the company called? It was, like, the most boring name in the world, like- Right... Restaurant Associates or something. Right. You know what I mean? Yeah.
• 7:32
  And- Some corporate restaurant company- And his dad said-... and work in accounting, basically... in accounting.
• 7:37
  And his dad said, "Take that job because you need to learn that side of the business," and he just spent years analyzing P&Ls, learning them inside and out. Right.
• 7:45
  Learning supply, learning inventory, learning all of the back-end details that he needed to really run an incredible front of house and an incredible restaurant. So, like, your journey is all, like- Yeah, it-...
• 7:56
  shaping up nicely. [laughs] It's been invaluable to have that, to have that background, for sure. What do you think is usually- 'Cause now you're in the front of house. [laughs] Yeah.
• 8:04
  Now I'm- You're, you're- Now I lead our sales department, [laughs] so. Right. Uh, you know, it's, it's, uh, it's a pretty interesting mix, but, uh, it works out pretty well. Why, why is it so effective?
• 8:14
  Like, let's, let's break into that a little bit, because I think there are a lot of people that have sales chops, in front of the house chops, that, like, know their, like, simple math, you know, in the front, but they don't understand the full picture of what's going on in the business from the dealer's perspective.
• 8:28
  Sure. Like, open the book a little bit and, and speak to the people that work in the front of the house. Maybe the kids of parents who are in sales right now. Like, why do they need to learn the other side?
• 8:37
  How do you, how do you use that to, to shape your perspective and your activities? I think it's given me a really unique perspective, actually, and, and, um, I'll give you a few examples of that.
• 8:46
  So understanding the entire dealership operation, you really get to inform yourself of how one department is really affecting the other department, how they work together to drive bottom-line profitability, right?
• 8:57
  Because kind of the, the view I've taken is it's great if you have, uh, y- you know, it's wonderful to have profitability in every department, but what's ultimately matters is w- [laughs] where does it all wash out in the end, right?
• 9:09
  There's one number at the end that says, "Hey, we're either really excelling here, or we need to fix some things," right? And then we can take those deep dives into it.
• 9:17
  So, you know, one of the interesting things that, um, once I got to a level I could, we put our entire management team on a pay plan that looks at total store gross profit, right? Mm-hmm.
• 9:29
  And I said, "It's, it's important because the sales side," right, whether [laughs] they like it or not, informs the service side, and the service side informs the sales side. And if we can work together from a...
• 9:40
  If our management can work together from a store perspective, uh, then we can drive the entire store to say, "Hey, this is a Tom Gill customer that we need to protect and keep in order to grow our long-term viability as a company."
• 9:55
  For all of us. For all of us, right? Right. It doesn't matter who they interact with.
• 9:57
  I literally had a conversation with the dealer about this last week, saying, "You gotta get everybody tied to the bottom, the real bottom line, the real profit margin of the store," because that's, that's when you really start to think about the lifetime value of the customer.
• 10:12
  For sure. Um, yeah. Have you seen impact to, like, customer lifetime value or retention or just customer experience?
• 10:20
  Like, did, do you feel like there was a trigger point when you did that, that, that shifted things for the store? Yeah, I do. I...
• 10:27
  You know, it took, it took a little bit of time, of course, and, and we've put in- Sure...
• 10:31
  a lot of other programs to help drive retention and things like that, so it's a little hard for me to measure exactly, like, [laughs] "Hey, this thing cr- Right, right... created this."
• 10:39
  What I will say, though, is that there's a great working relationship that we've been able to develop between our management in the store, right?
• 10:49
  Like, our service manager can interact with our sales manager, can interact with our parts manager. And of course, there's somewhat, I'm gonna call it turf, that we're all protecting, right?
• 10:59
  [laughs] We all wanna take pride in our department. Mm-hmm. But it also helps us to say, "Hey, listen, we've got this customer here.
• 11:05
  How are we going to solve this that's best for Tom Gill Chevrolet, not for each individual department," right? Because it all eventually affects... [laughs] No matter what, it's affecting us, right?
• 11:16
  It's, it's- You know, we're getting... You've just brought a, like, a really important point as, of any team to mind. Uh, we're just getting through, you know, like, a really kind of rousing NFL football season- Sure...
• 11:26
  if you're an NFL fan. And the reality is, like, you have all the different teams, all the different coaches. They meet separately, they meet together, but they can all see the score- Yeah... always. Right?
• 11:38
  And so, like, whether the offense is on the field, the defense, the special teams, whenever it's their turn to do the thing, there is that unifying element of, like, "That's the score.
• 11:48
  That's the thing we have to attack and win or lose together." Right, right. And with the absence of that, and it's tough, right? It can be challenging inside- Mm-hmm... of business to get everybody tied to that.
• 11:57
  But without that, like, what do people actually... What else can they hang their hat on aside from their own little area? Because you come up like, "Hey, the defense played great today." It's like, "Great.
• 12:06
  Well, we still lost-" Yeah. "... 'cause the offense didn't put any points on the board" Right. So, ha-ha. [laughs] Right? Right.
• 12:11
  [laughs]And, and, y- you know, that's, um, I, I think that's been important, you know, it's been really important in, in guiding the store and understanding it because I, I...
• 12:22
  Kyle, to your point, I think that long-term value of a customer is often missed, and it's so important.
• 12:27
  I think it's gonna be even more important in the coming years as we see shifts in market and, and increased competition and consolidation within industry that, uh, we've gotta hold on to those, you know...
• 12:39
  Uh, the customers are our best assets, and we gotta hold onto them as long as we possibly can, um, to make it successful. Are you doing anything...
• 12:46
  And it's okay if you answer no to this, because I'm trying to find the right, the person that's doing this and, and maybe, maybe y- you can be the one to work on it.
• 12:54
  So you've got that- So either make his day or, or ruin his day... that analytical mind.
• 12:58
  Like, have you worked to expose, like, high lifetime value customers within the store, um, and, and said, like, "Hey, this is, this is a customer that has an extremely high lifetime value for us.
• 13:11
  Like, we should pay attention even more"? You know, I think Delta probably does the best job of this, right? Yeah. Like, if you're flying Medallion on a Delta flight, someone's saying hi to you. Sure. You know?
• 13:21
  So here's where we're at now and here's where we're going. So actually, um, uh, ASOTU Con this last year got me tuned into this, right? Heard a great talk.
• 13:30
  Uh, and they were talking about how are we identifying customers with this high lifetime value, and I'm like, "Oh my gosh." [laughs] Right. So, uh, how do I get this?
• 13:39
  So, uh, I came back, started working with our DMS, uh, who's Tekion, and, uh, they're really close to rolling out a product it seems like that will show me that, like, right in the customer profile. Whoa. Yes.
• 13:52
  Which is really great. Um, and- Was that Dan Bannister, Rick Reichert and- Yeah, that was the talk. Yeah. That was the session. That was the one, man. That was the session. Yeah.
• 14:01
  [laughs] I was like, "Oh, great" I got to moderate that. That was probably one of my favorite talks of the whole conference. I was so bummed I missed that one.
• 14:06
  And so, you know, there, there was that, and then, um, you know, w- we will be, uh, putting out our next evolution and kind of our advantage program here at Tom Gill Chevrolet.
• 14:16
  So the thing that drives a lot of our retention is our advantage program that we, we do with our customers. And I was...
• 14:21
  [laughs] Right before I jumped on this, I'm putting, um, final touches on our, uh, kind of our next, uh, evolution of that, which will be called Magic Care, which will be basically, uh, consumer memberships to Tom Gill Chevrolet.
• 14:35
  And they can, uh, then tier up based on those, uh, you know, what, what conveniences and opportunities they want.
• 14:42
  Uh, and so that is kind of the first step into really saying, "Okay, this is a high value customer to Tom Gill Chevrolet who really is bought into the ecosystem that we're building."
• 14:51
  So, um, stay tuned for that, 'cause that is, uh, [laughs] just- I'm so pumped right now... that is getting so close to going live. Like to know- Yeah. [laughs]...
• 14:59
  that you've gone back, taken something from a session, worked with a DMS, that's collaboration, that's connection, and then gone and exposed in a brand new program in order to increase lifetime value all on this trajectory that you've- Full circle.
• 15:12
  I'm just... And then you're coming back in May. You can call me done for the day, bro. Right. [laughs] That's too good. That's too good.
• 15:20
  Amaz- So let, let, let me drill into that for a little bit because I know you've, you've, for a long time been putting time and energy into thinking what are the advantages- Yeah...
• 15:29
  of people, and you literally call them advantages. But, but what are the advantages of doing business with you versus all the other options that there are in your market? Sure. Right?
• 15:38
  Because you ha- you have a, you know, you're, you're in a pretty big DMA. Why don't you explain, uh, your market in general just so we can give people a little bit of perspective? Yeah, absolutely.
• 15:47
  So we're in the Cincinnati marketplace. So we sit, um, on, on the, in Florence, Kentucky, which is about 10 miles south of Cincinnati. So it's a metro population of roughly three million people.
• 15:57
  From a Chevy dealer standpoint, we have 16 Chevrolet dealerships to service those three million people, which, [laughs] uh- A couple options... is, [laughs] there's a few options out there, right?
• 16:07
  So, um, we sit in a, a very competitive market, um, that, uh, you know, i- is, uh, is challenging. I mean, we have a great team of dealers that represent Chevrolet in Cincinnati.
• 16:20
  To give people an idea, Cincinna- or Chevrolet's been the number one selling brand in Cincinnati I think eight years going. Um, we command, like, roughly 15% market share in the market itself.
• 16:32
  Uh, I mean, it's just a really strong competitive group of dealers that is going out there. So we, [laughs] for a long time it's hard to say- I can vouch for that. Yeah. Like, I can tell you that in Cincinnati,
• 16:43
  I don't know of a Chevy dealer. There's probably one or two out of that 16, but, like, of the ones that come to mind, I lived in northern Cincinnati- Yeah, sure...
• 16:50
  in Mason for, for my, like, high school and middle school years. Okay.
• 16:54
  Like, every Chevy, like blank, blank, blank Chevy, every one has a pretty generally good reputation, so I can see why that's the reality on, like, the market penetration. Yeah.
• 17:04
  So it's, uh, forced us to say, hey, how can we differentiate ourselves, right? So, um, you know, our big, some of our big differentiators or advantages are, like, lifetime oil changes when you buy a vehicle from us.
• 17:16
  Uh, lifetime, uh, car washes and, uh, our used cars come with a lifetime powertrain warranty. Um, and then there's some subcategories of that.
• 17:25
  You know, you can get additional trade-in credit based on, uh, when you come to trade in off of that, lo- loaner vehicles when you're in service. Uh, so a lot of conveniences, uh, to the consumer, right?
• 17:38
  Um, and that helps build a lot of loyalty, uh, to Tom Gill Chevrolet. Without a doubt. So- Absolutely... um, it's been a big, big help in our growth.
• 17:48
  Um, and I'm excited to take it to the next level and see where we can go with that because I think what we're seeing here is that, you know, we're, we're still going really steady with that and it's been a good program, but I think there's more value to kind of, uh, squeeze out of that entire, um,
• 18:04
  kind of ecosystem to really drive even better retention, happier customers, more convenient services, all that type of stuff.Well, I can tell you, I mean, you're taking the playbook.
• 18:14
  I mean, it's not the exact playbook, but just when we look at large companies that are doing this, I... And I'm, I'm gonna go back to Delta, right? Like, all I'm thinking about right now is Delta because I fly a lot.
• 18:25
  [laughs] Because they- And he just got the reserve card, so he, like- Right. [laughs] And he leaves me outside as he walks into the lounge with his pinky up. I'm like- Right.
• 18:33
  [laughs] I, I strut in there and throw peace, uh, signs to everybody. He starts saying hi to people. He doesn't know if it's their name. Right. Yeah. Ex- no idea. He's just, "Betty." "Joe, what's up, Jenny?" Yeah.
• 18:42
  Um, but the, the, the trigger there was they, they completely remapped their entire incentive program- Right... like, in, in 2023, and for now, 2024. And so it provides...
• 18:56
  Doing what you're doing does actually, like, it provides a trigger point for the energy if you can communicate it well to the customers- For sure...
• 19:02
  and share the value and show how this enhanced program actually brings them closer. There's a marketing cadence around, "Hey, we're changing this for the better for you." Right.
• 19:12
  It's not just, like, a part of the advantage, but there's a marketing cadence that you can get out of that which will attract more and more people to continue to do business with you.
• 19:19
  Because d- we all love inc- we, we love getting the proverbial freemium- Right... right, in, in, in our- Absolutely love it. Right. It's the best. Yeah. Yeah. It's, uh, it's awesome. I love it as well.
• 19:33
  And, uh, you know, the one area we- that we i- identified that we're really missing is, like, how do we bring a program to a customer that didn't buy the car from us but are, is doing service with us, right? Oh, yeah.
• 19:44
  To bring them into the ecosystem and say, "Hey, I wanna capture you now," [laughs] because- Right, because you want the next sale. Because I want the next sale. Right. Yeah.
• 19:52
  Um, and so, you know, that's another big part of this that'll be a, a big focus of ours, is how do we expand that bucket of people to say, "Hey, I, I can service your car, and then I probably will get your next sale next time around."
• 20:05
  So, uh- Yes, that's exactly it. Because, I mean, you're, what? I, you know, I- you're always, like, five to seven X, maybe more, your service ROs to your sales, uh- Right. Oh, yeah... every single month.
• 20:18
  And so it's like, what are the opportunities in that customer base that you're not getting the value of because they didn't, like, buy the thing with the free stuff for life, right? Right. For sure.
• 20:29
  And so how do you endear them to you as a company? Yep. That's amazing. So- Well, I'll tell you what, we, we never, ever, ever have a lack of conversation when- Unbelievable... when you're here.
• 20:38
  And unfortunately, we're out of time today, but I'm sure we'll catch up soon. You will be at a SoDo Con. Our producer messaged me and said I can announce it because it'll already be announced by the time this airs.
• 20:49
  We're having Will Guidara, the author of that book, at a SoDo Con this year. Oh, nice. So you get to see him.
• 20:54
  And, uh, looking forward to hopefully having some time to share some of these stories with him and get his perspective, 'cause we're trying to pull him and his hospitality mindset into automotive, right?
• 21:03
  Like, what do you think- Right... about this prod- And he has a company, actually. It's called Thank you, and, uh, it kind of consults on experience and kind of this unreasonable hospitality.
• 21:12
  So Phil, you kind of embody that just naturally, and now that we know that your story kind of, like, lines up, it makes all the sense in the world.
• 21:18
  Thank you so much again for just giving your time and your energy and your passion, uh, sewing it back into this industry that we all love. Absolutely. Thank you, guys. It was, uh, it was fun being on.
• 21:27
  [upbeat music] All right. So I think what Phil just told us is that he came to a SoDo Con- Everybody should come to a SoDo Con. [laughs] And he sat in a session, and he learned from another dealer, Dan Bannister,
• 21:42
  how, or sparked an idea on how to do something regarding lifetime value of a service customer. And then he partnered with a tech partner to build and deploy the very idea that was conceived at a SoDo Con.
• 21:53
  And here we are, not even a year later, not even six months later, and he's, like, ready to do it. Like, talk about- Yeah... a mover and a shaker and a sleeper. I go back to my comment in the intro.
• 22:04
  [laughs] Can't even handle it. Nope. Tell me. I mean, that's innovation, though. It's like, again, we've talked about this. It's like
• 22:10
  assembling tools and resources that already exist into a new concept that, that serves a purpose for you, and that's exactly what he's doing, right? Tech company already existed. A SoDo Con existed.
• 22:21
  Like, you know, just I, I'm always fascinated by how overcomplicated sometimes we make things, and then you see somebody like Phil who comes right down the middle and is like, "I don't... I'm not gonna overthink it."
• 22:31
  I'm just gonna do it. "I'm just gonna do something about it." I'm... Right. I'm not gonna tell everybody. I'm not gonna make a big fuss about it. I'm just gonna do it. And people, like, "Everlook?"
• 22:39
  "Oh, yeah, I'll tell them what I did, no problem." Yeah. "Oh, by the way, like, my retention's through the roof, and my profitability's through the roof too." [laughs] You know what I also love?
• 22:46
  I- I- he talks a lot about just how his experience in, like, the back of the house, and we talked about Will Guidara, is, like, this, this scenario where you've got someone that understands both sides of the business and can execute and- Oh, yes...
• 23:03
  and move in such a more seamless way. Um, that, like, that thought process for me is like I always wanna be cross-trained on everything in the business- Mm-hmm...
• 23:13
  because then I see the business from all angles, and I think that, like, GSMs, general managers, owners, operators that can take that position, always gonna be more profitable and, and run better businesses. Absolutely.
• 23:27
  Well, we hope you enjoyed this conversation. We hope it spurs you to some action, 'cause if, if it doesn't, what are we doing here?
• 23:35
  On behalf of Kyle Mounser, Michael Cirillo, and myself, thanks for listening to Auto Collabs. [upbeat music] Welcome to Auto Collabs. [laughs] Are we recording? Are we rolling yet?
• 23:55
  Not yet