Latest / Auto Collabs / Compliance is the Green Lantern of Automotive with Sherryl Nens of ComplyAuto

Transcript

Compliance is the Green Lantern of Automotive with Sherryl Nens of ComplyAuto · Auto Collabs

• 0:00
  Guys, in 1995 [upbeat music] This is Auto Collabs. Yes. My dad excitedly- You had hair... called us. I had hair.
• 0:18
  My dad excitedly calls the family out to the driveway- [laughs] And then- Feast your eyes upon this moment... points out what looks like the Breaking Bad meth RV. [laughs] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 0:31
  It's National Lampoon's Christmas vacation. Now, did your mo- did your mother get called out with you, or was she out there already? Yeah, no, she c- she got called out, and we're all like- Oh... "What?"
• 0:39
  And he's like, "Da, da, da, da, bah." And we're like, "What is it?" [laughs] Do we have to get in that thing? He's like, "An RV." Um, I've never been rained on so much from the inside of a vehicle- [laughs]...
• 0:53
  as I was in that RV. Got it. [laughs] But he got a deal on it. I love RVs. It's funny, my wife and I, my wife and I often talked year, I mean, probably, eh, say four years ago and before.
• 1:08
  We were like, "One day we're gonna take an RV trip. We're gonna take the, the trip, right? We're gonna get the kids, we're gonna get a great RV. We're gonna drive across the country."
• 1:15
  And just, like, last week, when we were away for our anniversary, we were kind of like, "Hey, remember we used to talk about that?" [laughs] Kind of like, "You, you still wanna do that?"
• 1:26
  And like, one of us was like, "I don't know." I was like, "Good, because I don't want to do that anymore either." [laughs] Like- You know, like, if you're curious about whether or not- [laughs]...
• 1:34
  you could do RVing and enjoy it, just go spend a week at a Motel 6. [laughs] No, it is not like that. It really depends on the RV. In your dad's RV, yeah. But like tour bus level RV, I'm in. But, uh, we- I'm in...
• 1:47
  we- we, why are we talking about this, Kyle? You know why we're talking about this. Why are we talking about this?
• 1:51
  It's because our guest on the pod today has an entire website dedicated to her and her family's RV makeover and adventure and road trip and all of that.
• 2:03
  And somehow, we're gonna figure out how that ties with the fact that she now works for Comply Auto, a compliance arm of the automotive industry that is helping dealers. We'll do it.
• 2:14
  Uh, you're, we're gonna get to introduce you to Cheryl Nenns, um, with Comply Auto. So, uh, let's just get to it. Hope you enjoy the conversation.
• 2:24
  [upbeat music] We, uh, I, I'm excited to have you here, because just a few weeks ago, we got to hang out and meet you at, uh, at a SoDoCon.
• 2:33
  And, you know, we had been on a couple calls before that, and it's always nice to actually, like, meet someone in person and get that interaction of like, "Oh, that's who you are," not on a Zoom call.
• 2:44
  So, uh, now I get to have that context in- instead of just being in Zoom. So much better. You know? Yeah. And that was my first SoDoCon.
• 2:51
  And, um, I don't want to say I was doubtful, but, like, I just hadn't been and, yeah, [laughs] it was, it'd be a little skeptical. But, uh, it was not just another automotive, uh, convention, and I really liked it.
• 3:03
  So I like what you guys are doing and, and you're kind of preaching what I've always preached about automotive is, like, we're so much more than that. I love it. Ah. Yeah.
• 3:13
  See- That's like you just filled us all up for the day. [laughs] Now you got all our juices and we're all just fired up. We're gonna get on mission, mission chat, you know? Oh, where's the book?
• 3:21
  I got Will's book too, and I've been reading it, so. Yes. Oh, awesome. Awesome. Triple good, good. Such a good book. Yeah.
• 3:27
  Um, okay, so, you know, we, we ask a couple questions before people come on the show, and every once in a while we get super excited because- [laughs]...
• 3:37
  of the volume of automotive interaction that you've had in your life. Take us back to, like, the very first time you were like, "Oh, automotive may be a place for me."
• 3:53
  Uh, 'cause I think it was at a pretty young age, right? Well, it was, but it's funny, like, I, I was kind of the, [laughs] maybe I'm a Debbie Downer, doubler all along. Like, I wasn't positive of it.
• 4:03
  But I think, like, I, I mean, you asked when I really got started in automotive, and it may have been when I was, like, seven years old. Um, my dad, um, never had boys, never wanted boys.
• 4:13
  He thought girls would be much easier to raise. But at the same time- [laughs]... wanted to make sure that we did also- He also never had girls.
• 4:19
  [laughs] So he, uh, he wanted to make sure that, like, we got into the things that he wanted, and that meant cars and guns. So, um- [laughs] Too harsh? What state was this? [laughs] New Mexico and T- west Texas.
• 4:34
  There you go. All right. West Texas. There it is. There you go. Got it. Understand. Shoefits. All right. [laughs] Keep going. Yeah.
• 4:40
  Well, I got, like, my first, like, creeper, you know, like, that slides underneath the car. Um- Oh, yeah... I was, like, seven.
• 4:46
  And, and then I think at 13 I was gifted what every girl wants on her 13th birthday, was, like, an oil wrench. [laughs] Thank you, mom.
• 4:54
  [laughs] Every milestone, like, like, you know, when you're, you're driving and stuff and coming up in those driving years. I couldn't do anything before I could, like, prove myself and put something together.
• 5:05
  And one day, my dear father, like, he told me, he was like, "You know, when you were born, your grandfather bought you [laughs] a 19, like, '65 Mustang."
• 5:17
  And this is when I was born, in like '77, and we were gonna remodel it. And we were going through my, a grandmother's garage, and he's like, "And here's the steering wheel." I'm like, "Where's the car?"
• 5:25
  And he was like, "Oh, well, he sold it at one point, but we'll..." [laughs] And so my father came, and he had it all planned out. He bought me a 1979 Volvo mustard yellow station wagon, and it died.
• 5:40
  That's a lot different. Yeah. [laughs] It died on the way home- A lot different... and, uh, driving into the driveway. And so he promised me like, "Hey, you can change the color, but we're gonna do this right."
• 5:52
  And we had to take apart that entire car and put it back together and label it and, like, so. Wow. Yeah. What? [laughs] We need... Did you meet, did you meet Patrice Banks at a SoDoCon by any chance?
• 6:04
  I did, and I've never-And I was so excited. I was like, but... 'Cause my best girlfriend at NADA, uh, Cameron Wilson, she and I had an idea. [notification sound] So bad of me, I'm so sorry. It won't stop ringing.
• 6:17
  Oh, it's all good. I- It happens. It's live TV. I know. You know? Like, thi- [laughs] Not really. It is, but it isn't. Oh, and it's my Google Voice, and it does not stop ringing for some reason, so just a second.
• 6:27
  I gotta, like, hang it up three times. I apologize, but yeah, I was just saying- It's all good. It's okay. When this happens, I usually throw my laptop away and go buy- [laughs]... a new one. It- it's fine.
• 6:37
  I put, like- You're handling it much better than I do... I put Do Not Disturb on everything, but Google always finds a way. Like, oh, you only did it on chat, not Google Voice. Oh, well. But- [laughs] Yeah.
• 6:47
  You know, I met Patrice Banks, and she was very inspiring. Like, my best girlfriend and I, we got into automotive about the same time, and we've had, like, similar ideas.
• 6:53
  Like, if only there was someone out there for the women. And I am, like, so proud of Patrice that she did it, so that's amazing. So cool. Yeah, I'm glad, I'm glad that you met. I mean, it feels like...
• 7:04
  So continue the story, because- Oh, yeah, yeah... we have to get from, we gotta get from mustard yellow Volvo- [laughs]... that you're disassembling with your dad to compliance and cookie lists, right?
• 7:14
  Which is like- Mm-hmm... what you're really passionate about now, and those two s- things may seem very far apart. Well, and, and let's- So paint, paint the line...
• 7:19
  let's make sure we get the pass through of, in my opinion, one of the greatest CEOs of Ford Motor Company, too. Yeah, Alan Mulally. We have to have- Yeah, absolutely... we have to make a pit stop there, too.
• 7:29
  And the fact that you lived in an RV with your family and YouTubed about it. There's so much to cover, so let's keep going. I know.
• 7:35
  [laughs] So, my first job was at Jiffy Lube, and, uh, I kind of worked my way up, and I was running the store before I, like, left, um, and through college. I worked all through college there.
• 7:44
  And so, you know, like, you're... I was, like, literally 18 years old, and, like, this is how naive I was. Like, people would say, like, "Oh, there's the girl in Daisy Dukes." I didn't know what Daisy Dukes meant.
• 7:54
  [laughs] Like, I just wore shorts. It was New Mexico. It was hot. I wore shorts with my, like, Jiffy Lube polo, and, uh, but I had, like, a team of, you know, like 10 techs.
• 8:02
  Like, I had upper techs and lower techs, like, doing oil changes, and they would always make me go out and sell and upsell, like, the air filters and things, and, um, you know, a total four box, like, oil change for, like, their transmission and stuff.
• 8:15
  So it was fine. But then I actually had a college- Amazing... professor who knew I worked at Jiffy Lube, and Ford Motor Company was coming as a career fair.
• 8:23
  And, um, and he was like, "You really need to go interview with them.
• 8:27
  I've set up," like, one of the students that was there or people that was there was his former student from, uh, I went to the Harvard of the Rio Grande, the University of New Mexico. Go Lobos.
• 8:37
  So little, little school in New Mexico. [laughs] And, uh, he, he knew Miles, and he set up an interview with me for Miles at Ford Motor Company, and I was like, "Oh, I don't know about this. I don't know about...
• 8:48
  I love automotive," and like, that's what I do with my dad. And, and I got selected- Yeah... like, to go up to the assessment center. Back in the day, they had an assessment center, which was really grueling.
• 8:59
  They kind of put you through, like, a full-day interview, like, where you would have, like, clean out your inbox, and then they'd have, like, an angry customer, like it was somebody from Ford, come in and, like, be angry, and like, how would you handle that?
• 9:10
  And, and then you had to, like, do a mock, like, wholesale to an angry dealer, and so they would put you in those situations.
• 9:17
  And then I passed assessment, and I got an internship, and I worked for Ford for 17 years, including with Alan Mulally on, um, dealer relations. So I got to meet a lot of the top execs.
• 9:27
  But Alan, like, he was just, I mean, he was one of those inspiring leaders that, I mean, he knew everyone's name. He treated you all the same. Um, he was just an amazing human, and so I very much miss him.
• 9:42
  Like, when he was leaving, I was like, "Alan, take me with you." [laughs] And so- So, so were, were you there- Oh, man... through the Alan- Yes... leadership- From the very beginning... through like '08, '09- Oh, yeah...
• 9:52
  2010, yeah. Yeah. And then that, like, watching him, like, overhaul the company, like, if you've read his book, um, he implemented the business, um, uh, the BPR, business plan review.
• 10:02
  And, um, so you know, that, I was kind of in the field at that time, and then I got up, and I was, I launched the Ford Fiesta. And I'll never forget, I had a- What a car. Ugh. Holy cow.
• 10:14
  [laughs] Speaking of yellow Volvo, uh, sorry. Uh. [laughs] Yeah, I know. [laughs] Every time I hear it, I just, in my head I hear, "Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da."
• 10:22
  [laughs] My husband calls me the small car killer because I launched the Ford Fiesta and the EcoSport. [laughs] So neither one did- [laughs] Neither one lasted very- Just ahead of its time.
• 10:32
  They were- Should've been an EV... were ahead of its time, but, um, but I had a leader, um, when I was on the Fiesta, uh, who will go, remain unnamed, listen.
• 10:41
  You know, I'd read Alan's book, and, like, we had a situation on how long, like, our day supply, we were at, like, a two-day supply on Fiesta, and it, how long it took to get those cars where they were, like, um,
• 10:53
  to, to America and to our consumers was too long. And so, you know, you were supposed to put red, yellow, or green, and, like, his book is like, "If it's red, it's red. We all work on it."
• 11:01
  And I put red, and I just got, like, yelled at and talked down to. [laughs] And, "How could I do this?" [laughs] And like, "You never put red on a BPR." And I was like, "It just goes against the whole process."
• 11:13
  [laughs] Isn't that the point of the thing? Uh. Yeah. [laughs] Yeah, so I, that was interesting time. But, but- But he kind of wanted, it, correct me if I'm wrong, but Alan wanted...
• 11:23
  Y- you know, people were not putting red because- Yeah... they wanted to seem impressive, but he was the kind of leader that actually wanted to see red. He wanted... Yeah, and like- He didn't want the fakeness.
• 11:33
  He wanted- Right. Let's bring up those issues, and then we'll work on them. Like, and so I was like, [laughs] I don't know, it just felt very disingenuous to me.
• 11:40
  So, you know, fast-forward, my husband retired from Ford, and, and, uh, so we kind of moved out of Detroit. And so I, um, y- went, went to another company that did guns, so the cars and guns.
• 11:53
  [laughs] Covered all the bases with dad. I did. My poor- Dad must have been beaming. He was. He was beaming with pride. Yeah, he's like, "You got me all my Super Duties I needed. Now I can get all the Scopes I want."
• 12:05
  Something like that. Yeah, right. [laughs]Then we had like a existential crisis and decided to pack up and just, like, see the world and spend time with our kids. Like, you know, why wait for someday?
• 12:17
  Let's make that today. And, um, we named it after our kids. Like, the RV was, like, Bri- they're Brighton and Daisy, and so we said Bright Days Ahead because, you know- Oh, that's nice...
• 12:28
  good times or bad times, there's always bright days ahead. So- I love it... that's kind of- I love it... the best feeling.
• 12:35
  Then I ran into an old dealer friend of mine and said, like, "Hey, we have this company called ComplyAuto," and I met, uh, the CEO, Chris Cleveland, and, um, it was a startup. Yeah.
• 12:45
  And I was just really- Chris is great... passionate about, like, what he was doing.
• 12:49
  He was helping dealers, you know, try to simplify, like, a very complex problem, and he was doing it for, like, the right reasons and- Mm-hmm... I just loved that, and so that's how I got involved at ComplyAuto. Yeah.
• 13:00
  So how do you transfer this passion of, like, cars and trucks and Jiffy Lube and- Like the guns... you know, guns- [laughs]... to, like, compliance? Which is a very, like, legal-driven- [laughs]...
• 13:12
  little bit of glasses on the, on the nose- [laughs]... you know, like- Are you a nerd? That's- How do you make compliance fun? Yeah. Um... Yeah. Like, where, where does that... Where do you...
• 13:21
  How do you transfer the vibe of, like, your,
• 13:24
  what you've done, what you've always known, the, the, the kid that was getting under the car with the, with the oil wrench, into this thing that is, like, riddled with, you know, government compliance and regulation and, and, uh, you know, fear on the deal.
• 13:42
  All, all of these things that, that almost feel disjunct from that passion. How have you transferred that? Right.
• 13:49
  Uh, well, it's a great question, and I think, like, my background, 'cause I worked with dealers for so long, and that's actually how I got the job working, um, with, like, senior leadership was on dealer relations, was that I was kind of the voice of the dealer, and I really got to know some really great dealers in my time, um, that took time to even mentor me and like, "How about you come off the road for Ford, like, and, and work in the back end for two weeks?"
• 14:12
  And so I really got to know their businesses and them and what they did in their communities. And so, you know, compliance is very [laughs] uh, you know, stressful or, or, you know, you,
• 14:24
  it- you just have to kind of get to know it.
• 14:25
  And as I learned a lot of, about the regs, I'm like, this is so important because I liken it, these are my words, not ComplyAuto words, but, you know, I liken it to it's kind of the unsung hero.
• 14:35
  Like, I don't know, like, superheroes very well, but, like, Green Lantern or Ant-Man, you know? They're not Superman or Spider-Man. They're- Green Lantern definitely is an unsung hero.
• 14:44
  [laughs] Ant-Man's gotten his day, but Green Lantern- [laughs]... like, all the kids are like, "Who?" Who, exactly. But, you know- What's his superpower? What's... Exactly.
• 14:52
  [laughs] But that's what compliance does, though, is it really protects that bottom line, that hard-earned dollar for the dealer. So, you know, like automotive, you know, they have some of the best jobs in America.
• 15:04
  Like, it's kind of a secret. Like, they do so much for the communities, and all that can be protected by, you know, a couple rules that get made or arbitrary, or some of them are very good.
• 15:14
  Like, the safeguards rule, like, don't do this because the government tells you to do it.
• 15:18
  Do it because there's some bad actors out there that want your data and, like, you know, stay up at night trying to steal stuff, and so that's why you're doing some of these things is really to protect your business interest.
• 15:29
  So. [laughs] Yeah.
• 15:31
  You know, you, it, it's interesting because, especially in the tech space, if, if you're aware of the tech space, you've got these two kind of, like, massive compliance arms when it comes to data, consumer policy, all that type of stuff, which is, you know, your SOC 2 and then your ISO.
• 15:46
  Um, and, and they have, like, really d- dug, dug their fingers in, it, with getting tech companies in particular very compliant.
• 15:58
  But in auto, we don't really have that, like, regulatory balance for the massive amounts of data that we have in the DMS, the CRM, or the website, uh, and, and the traffic that we are, uh, that we have kind of coming through the walls of our data ecosystem.
• 16:16
  Um, you know, there's, there's some things that can be done in non-centralized, like, the, the, the spaces where tech can handle the problem- Right... right?
• 16:27
  With website cookie banners or things like that, that's, that's almost plug and play. But there's a lot, there's a lot more when it comes to, like, oh, papers sitting around, computers not logged and not locked.
• 16:41
  Like, how, how do you balance this, like, ComplyAuto being, um, and, and compliance being both a tech interface but also an activity- Right... that dealer personnel em- embark in every single day? Yeah.
• 16:56
  Well, that, that's something that we have done is, like, we've really tried to automate, like, so a lot of that back end.
• 17:02
  But, you know, it is confusing, so we've put a lot of time in making sure you have that personal connection, too.
• 17:08
  So, like, every dealer's assigned a CSM and, and they really get to know their CSMs, but we have to have those quarterly check-ins with the customers.
• 17:16
  Sometimes, like, I think dealers are like, "Oh, I have all these rules that I have to comply with. Eh, I'm done.
• 17:21
  Like, I don't need to do this for a while," and, like, that's not how a lot of the rules are written is, like, you have to do those intermittent things.
• 17:29
  Like, either it's your risk assessment, which you were talking about, is, like, either physical or technical.
• 17:32
  Your physical one is you have to go around and make sure there's no papers laying around the copy machine and, and, like, you shred rights.
• 17:39
  And, and technical is, I mean, we can get into a whole podcast on that, but that's a lot of your cybersecurity.
• 17:44
  [laughs] And, uh, like, if you need a pen test or a vulnerability scanner or phishing, like, I love phishing tests. Like, such a cruel thing.
• 17:51
  You send out fake emails to my employees to see if they'll click on a free Starbucks gift card? Like, boys and girls, if you're listening at home, there is no free Starbucks ever. [laughs] Doesn't exist. Doesn't exist.
• 18:01
  Well, yeah, that's the hard part, though, because there are literally companies, like, legit companies, that have built award programs for their employees- Yes...
• 18:09
  that reward them for behaviors with free Starbucks gift cards. That, oh, that is true, yes. But it also- Which is, which is, I think, why the phishers, like, put that lure on there. That one, yeah.
• 18:18
  But I haven't actually ever seen or been a part of one. [laughs] Yeah. It, it's actually kind of freaky- Only the bad ones...
• 18:23
  it- it's kind of freaky when you realizeLike, it, it, when you go through this exercise of seeing where your information ends up- Mm-hmm... how, how many people, what they can extract from your information. I remember,
• 18:37
  a, a few years ago, we used my work email address as, as kind of the entry point to, like, who has access to my info. Mm-hmm.
• 18:47
  And it was shocking to me how many platforms made the connection between me and my wife and my sister-in-laws and my in-laws, and, like, just how your information can creep out there.
• 19:00
  And then you think of the sheer volume of personal information that floats through a dealership's- Mm-hmm... software.
• 19:07
  Uh- Well, they, the reason they're under the safeguards is they're considered, like, a non-banking financial institution, because think of, like, they know everything about you when you go buy a car, right? Mm.
• 19:16
  So they have a lot of data. Wow. And it really starts at the website. Like, when you go on the website, and like, you know, there's so many great marketing tools out there. Like, how do you acquire a customer?
• 19:26
  How do you get that customer? And it can help on your website to put these tools in, like chat modules, but it starts at that website.
• 19:33
  Like, what is your website doing, and what information is it collecting, and are you giving the consumer that consent? And so that goes into another rule, which is privacy. And, uh, safeguards is one rule.
• 19:44
  It's kind of cybersecurity. I call it the Fort Knox rule. Like, anything, data you have, you keep it secure.
• 19:49
  And then privacy is, like, kind of what you're talking about, Michael, is what information is out there on me, and if I request for you to stop sharing that information.
• 19:58
  And so I think that's something that dealers need to look at is, like, hey, on your websites, are you giving cookie consent? Do you have that little pop-up? And are you actually giving real cookie consent?
• 20:08
  Some of them, um, we call them dark patterns cookie banners, because- Ooh... they don't have, like, a decline button. They don't really give you a, like, consent- An option... an option, yeah.
• 20:21
  And then how, you know, how do they fire in the back end? Like, did it really, like, stop some of those marketing tar- marketing cookies?
• 20:28
  And when I talk about cookies, like, not to get too technical, but I'm, everything, like pixels and fingerprint, all that traceable information.
• 20:35
  And then are you protecting or to have those disclosures and say like, "Hey, this chat module, we're recording it." I mean, that's technically like eavesdropping.
• 20:42
  And so we're seeing a rise in litigation with dealers that aren't protected with a cookie banner, that they're getting wiretapping claims. And it's like, this is an old 1960s rule. I just- Wow. Boy...
• 20:53
  I just want to help them buy a car. So little things- Is-... like that can help, like, a dealer protect. Do you think too, like, e- even if you have the banner, the cookie consent banner- Mm...
• 21:02
  and there's an opt-in and a, and a decline- Mm-hmm... do you, do you think as of today, I'm sure there, there will be more education in the future and the, the online user will become hopefully more...
• 21:15
  I'm giving everybody the benefit of the doubt here. I don't think this is gonna happen at all. [laughs] But I was gonna say, as we become more sophisticated,
• 21:23
  um, do we have to change the language of co- Like, here's where I'm going. For the, for the average internet surfer- Mm... do, do they even know what cookie means at the, like, at this point? Are we even there- Hmm...
• 21:40
  with them yet? 'Cause I know if I say, if I went to my great Uncle Joe and said, "Hey, you have to give your, give cookie consent," he's gonna expect cookies to show up in the mail. [laughs] You know what I mean?
• 21:52
  Like- That is- No, my, my wife wouldn't expect cookies- Yeah... but she wouldn't know what it, it, she was, she'd be like, "I see it all the time. I don't know what it is." Yeah.
• 21:59
  And kind of my point is, you see it, it gets in your way, so you're just like, "Eh, whatever," and you just click to get rid of it. Yeah.
• 22:05
  Do we have to increase our langua- e- enhance our language so that the consumer really actually knows what they're clicking on? Well, I, I think privacy as a whole, like, there's a lot of education around it.
• 22:16
  Like, when you have Google or AI or Amazon that's coming around. But, um, a little bit of your language, I think we need to educate the dealers.
• 22:24
  Um, but interesting enough, I mean, we, we help manage over 10,000, uh, dealers' websites, so we track that. Um, only about 40% actually do that decline.
• 22:33
  And it's the baby boomers who tend to decline more than the Gen Z or millennials. Um, you know, and so that's probably, Michael, where you're getting is, like, some expect it, some don't.
• 22:43
  So, but it's interesting that, uh, baby boomers tend to exercise, like, their privacy rights more. Well, that's 'cause they're old. Yeah, because- Yeah...
• 22:49
  well, because the baby boomers are afraid of, like, what you're doing with that data. The millennials and the Gen Z-ers know everybody already has it anyway- Oh... so I might as well- Yeah... get better ads, right?
• 22:57
  Those boomers lived through the Cuban Missile Crisis. [laughs] They're not giving anybody anything. Ah. [laughs] They wrote those wiretapping laws. Yeah. [laughs] Yes. That is amazing. Oh, man.
• 23:09
  Well, this has been fun, guys. I've, uh, really enjoyed talking with you guys. Yeah. It really has. I loved it. I mean, it, it really just opens our view of how much we do need to be thinking about this stuff.
• 23:20
  And I don't wanna say this is the boring stuff, but for the sake of saying it, we're not talking about making more money. We're actually talking about keeping more money, 'cause- Right...
• 23:28
  you're saving on litigation and all of these sorts of things. It's often in these conversations where the biggest, uh, protections and rewards happen.
• 23:36
  And I know nobody ever wants to talk about being safe, 'cause safe doesn't sound fun. But at the end of safe is safety, and that's what we all desire more than anything. So, um, man, this has been so much fun.
• 23:49
  We're so glad that you could join us. Cheryl, thank, thanks for joining us here on Auto Labs today. Oh, well, thank you. You guys have a great day. [upbeat music] All right.
• 24:01
  I was nervous in the beginning of that, like, how are we gonna get from cars, guns... [laughs] What? Do you not know Kyle is the king of segues? Is he? [laughs] I mean, I have a button here. I don't know.
• 24:12
  I think Paul's actually the king of segues. No, I- Maybe I'm the g- I'm the guest segue guy. I think, no, I think we're good sparring partners, right? Like- There you go... I think that's why we get good...
• 24:21
  I had a really good segue lined up for today's show, and then the second story changed. Oh.
• 24:26
  [laughs] 'Cause there was a story about IKEA, and then there was a story about Kia, and you can't spell IKEA without K- OhEither way, I love this, this- I'm not good at them. I know. I'm not good at segues.
• 24:39
  I'm like, speaking of meatloaf, uh, [laughs] like- That cover- But the, let's get back to the point here. The conversation with Cheryl. [laughs] I'm the one that got us off track. I, I can't...
• 24:51
  I feel like what I wanna talk about is all the interesting things prior to, like, the fact that she made her dad so proud, got him out, got me all the Super Duties I wanted, and now, like, that she won't work- And then you got the guns...
• 25:02
  they come for the guns- So good... and now I get back to the cars.
• 25:05
  Um, but all of that around, I think what it really highlights is, like, there's a really well experienced, sharp individuals looking at the compliance challenges we have.
• 25:15
  And even though, like you said, Kyle, like, it seems like the kinda thing, like, you push the nerd glasses- It can feel a little nerdy or a little legal and, and maybe dry at some level.
• 25:24
  Like, the passion behind it is driven by people that deeply care about the retail auto industry, right? And the compliance, yeah.
• 25:30
  And that's, that's something that I think we're, we, we desire to expose in so many places.
• 25:36
  It's like, oh, the, the person behind compliance or chat or fixed ops or whatever it may be is a, a, like, well-rounded person that just cares deeply about this in this moment, right?
• 25:52
  And, and that's really exciting to me. Yeah, it's like, this is really a bad one, but it's how it's in- being internalized in my brain. It's like, nobody has fun going to Home Depot to buy a washing machine. Lies.
• 26:04
  But have you ever washed clothes by hand? Nah. I don't know. I kinda- I love going to get a washing machine... I, I like appliance shopping, honestly. Wow. We're getting old, guys. [laughs] We are getting old. Ah.
• 26:18
  [laughs] Sounds like a good Saturday afternoon to me. It's like the plumber. Got features and benefits and deals. Nobody wants to hire, nobody wants to call the plumber. Is it the 5.4 drum or a 6.3?
• 26:29
  You know, like- Kids, get in this thing. Get in this thing, kids. [laughs] Nobody wants to call a plumber to fix the dishwasher 'cause you're like, "Really? Why'd it have to break in the first place?" That's true.
• 26:38
  But- That's true... you know you don't wanna wash dishes by hand, and that's kinda like the compliance piece for me.
• 26:43
  It's like, okay, maybe it's not as fun as talking about get more leads for all the lead zombies out there. [laughs] But- Right... but you know what's not fun? Getting screwed. Getting sued or prosecuted. Yes.
• 26:56
  [laughs] Kinda puts a damper on your day. [laughs] Man. Well, look, we hope we put the opposite of a damper on your day through whatever it is that we do here for a living.
• 27:04
  Um, on behalf [laughs] of Kyle Mountainseer, Michael Cirillo, and myself, thank you so much for listening to Auto Collabs.
• 27:11
  Sign up for our free and fun to read daily email for a free shot of relevant news in automotive, retail, media, and pop culture. You can get it now at asotu.com. That's A-S-O-T-U.com.
• 27:24
  If you love this podcast, please leave us a review and share it with a friend. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you next time.
• 27:32
  [upbeat music] Welcome to Auto Collabs. Welcome to Auto Collabs. [laughs] [laughs] Why are we recording? Are we rolling yet? Not yet.