Latest / Auto Collabs / You Won’t Get Rich on Mobile Service — But You’ll Lose Without It with Joe Castelino, Ephraim Barcelo and Cody Collins

Transcript

You Won’t Get Rich on Mobile Service — But You’ll Lose Without It with Joe Castelino, Ephraim Barcelo and Cody Collins · Auto Collabs

• 0:00
  Welcome to Auto Collabs. You're listening to an exclusive series recorded live at Automobility LA 2025 in partnership with Cars Commerce. [upbeat music] Uh, gentlemen, thank you for joining us today.
• 0:10
  We're here at the bright and beautiful LA Auto Show. Yeah. Um, really interesting group we got together because we have an OEM, we have a group, we have a single point group, single point. Yep. And, um, we have me.
• 0:21
  So- [laughs] I love it. [laughs] But, but I think the topic of mobile service, um, you know, our friends at Kirby helped us make all this content possible. Shout out to Kirby. And yeah, legit. Amit's out here somewhere.
• 0:31
  But the reality is, is there, there is a new customer reality that we're facing, and I would love to like dive into a little bit, get the OEM perspective- Hmm... how you're executing on the ground.
• 0:41
  But first, I think introductions are in order. So I'm gonna, um, age before beauty. We're gonna start here- [laughs]... right next to me.
• 0:47
  And if you could just introduce yourself and, uh, your organization a little bit, the size and scope so people have a good idea. Sure. So, uh, uh, Joe Castelino, American Motors Group.
• 0:56
  We have stores all up and down California, eight franchise dealers. Uh, and yeah, that, that's, that's us. I'm the VP of Fixed Operations. Awesome. Uh, Yves, uh, Santa Margarita Toyota right here in Southern Cal.
• 1:11
  Uh, I'm a single point owner of a Toyota store and, uh, proud to be, uh, here. I've been with Toyota, this is year 33 Toyota Lexus. Unbelievable, huh? Wow, wow. Yeah. I know. I'm aging myself big. [laughs] Okay. Yeah.
• 1:25
  Last but not least. Yeah. Oh, for sure. Uh, well, I'm Cody Collins. I am the, uh, regional director for GM Involved, which is the fleet and commercial organization for General Motors.
• 1:34
  Um, I lead the organization for the Western United States. That's all 13 states, including Hawaii and Alaska. Glad to be here. Wow. Where's home for you? Right. Originally? Right here in LA. It's, it's right here.
• 1:42
  Oh, really? I'm, I'm originally from Texas, though. Okay. Right? Born and raised, small town, Plainview, Texas. You know where that's at? There you go. Know how to get things done.
• 1:48
  If you've ever seen the movie Friday Night Lights? Yes. That area, that's where I'm from, man. Oh. It's crazy down there. Long way from home, dude. [laughs] Out here in LA. No doubt, no doubt. Love it.
• 1:58
  Okay, let's, let's talk a little bit about, um, what is going on in the consumer mindset when it comes to service. Expectations have definitely changed- Mm...
• 2:06
  over the last decade on how people wanna be treated, when they want their stuff done- Oh, yeah... how they want it. So, um,
• 2:12
  how do you think expectations are different now in this post-COVID, in this, you know, 2025, 2026 world, than they were even just five or six years ago? We'll start. Uh- And we'll just kick it around. Yeah. Yeah.
• 2:24
  So consumer sentiment's really changed, and I think a lot of that Amazon feel- Yeah... I want it now, I want it here, I want it this way, right? Like, as dealers, we have to con-
• 2:37
  we have to pivot from what the normal, or what we would call normal experience is, and start really thinking outside the box. Right? Right. A new no- Yeah. What's the new normal? Right.
• 2:45
  And it's, it's constantly innovating. Yeah. But we've been forcing customers to do it, uh, you know, the old dinosaur way forever. And w- and we've gotta get rid of that thinking. Yeah. Um, and so yeah.
• 2:55
  Uh, Amazon, I want it this way. Uh- Yeah... are you willing to come to me? Um, I'm gonna bend the rules. I don't wanna go to the store. There's too many- No... other alternatives, uh, from the OEM. Yeah.
• 3:06
  And so if we don't meet that, that expectation of what a customer really wants, it, it, it's, it's... we're, we're way behind, I think. Yeah, I think- So this is really cool. Yeah.
• 3:15
  And I think from an OEM perspective, we always have our eyes and ears to what our customers are looking for. And there is a- Yeah... high demand for convenience, bottom line. Yeah. They need it right away.
• 3:24
  And I think it- A good way to say it... it kind of like surfaces on all three of your radar in a way- Yeah... where it's like you get retention, and you start to see surveys.
• 3:32
  And Amit just shared with us, CEO of Kirby, just shared with us- Yeah... this morning, he's got this 16 rule in his mind, that there are 16 other options- That's right... than a franchise dealer to get- Yeah...
• 3:42
  your car serviced. That's right. And it's like as options grow and abound, and they listen to what the customer wants and start to give them different technology and different workflows, different ways to schedule- Mm...
• 3:53
  it really does turn up the heat, um, you know, against the thing you were saying, like, we've forced people to do it our way. Yeah. Right.
• 4:00
  Well- And the, the temperature might be a little too high now that it's becoming unignorable. Mm-hmm. And, and I'll tell you as an industry though- And look what DoorDash taught us, right? Yeah. Sorry. Sorry, go.
• 4:06
  But w- we've been fighting it. Yeah. Uh, I know as dealers, you know, we, we don't- Why?... wanna meet that need. Why? You know why?
• 4:11
  Because we're clunky and, uh, you know, our mindset is still like, you know, 30 years ago. Let's just... It's always worked. It's, the, the brick and mortar deal is, is different. A customer wants it differently. Yeah.
• 4:23
  We're in the hospitality industry and- Mm... of taking great care of, uh, of, of people, right? Uh, for me, it starts with, uh, I was telling someone a minute ago, it starts with my employees.
• 4:32
  I gotta take, I gotta have the right people. I gotta take great care of them.
• 4:35
  And if they do that, they'll meet and, uh, uh, and deliver an experience that, you know, a customer's glad they came, they went through it, they service their car, whatever it is, and then wanna do it again. Mm-hmm.
• 4:46
  Yeah. It's about repeating it, right? And there's too many choices. If, if I'm not elevated in the service I provide, then yeah, I will lose that customer. There's 16 others. Exactly. Well, and, and as dealers- Right?
• 4:56
  ... I think what we- Yeah... I don't even think, I know, we spend so much money on our infrastructure- [laughs]... on the building, right? Yeah.
• 5:02
  Like, and you're talking service, you're talking bays, technicians, couches, coffee- That's right... like, everything, right? Yeah. So we do want you to come in. Yeah. Yeah.
• 5:10
  But if we don't adapt, or at least like you said, offer it- Yeah... then we become dinosaurs, right? Like- Absolutely... and, and if we don't, someone's going to. That's right. Yeah.
• 5:20
  And so you might as well just get ahead of this thing and be the guy- Right... leading the w- the way. Well- You were the first one, right? First Toyota dealer. The, yeah.
• 5:27
  Uh, because, you know, the, the dealership choice is- First Toyota dealer what? To go mobile. To go mobile in- Oh, really? In the country. Yeah. With Kirby. And that was my choice because they get it. They get it.
• 5:38
  At the end of the day, the dealer choice for a customer is not the cheapest choice. Hmm. So I've just gotta be better. But how, how do I, how, how am I gonna be better? Uh, it means I'm gonna listen. It means I'm...
• 5:50
  How, how do they want-... us to take care of them. Listen, uh, Toyota just, um, uh, had a whole bunch of new recalls come in. Most of those are just- Mm... um, flash, uh, re-flashes from- Yep...
• 6:02
  on a laptop with, uh, a technician just showing up at the, uh, at a customer's house. Yeah. Right. There's nothing more frustrating. Yeah. You're like, "I have to s- They don't need to come in...
• 6:10
  change my day- I wanna go to them... change my schedule- Yeah... get a ride, come in- Yeah... wait for however how long- Yeah... just for no noticeable difference in my vehicle. That's right. Yeah.
• 6:18
  So I will tell you, in our group, what really caught us by surprise is, is I got a call from one of our field reps. And he goes, "Hey, Enterprise is taking their cars to this one dealer." Oh.
• 6:30
  "And they're waiting-" Yeah... "to get their re-flashes done." Yes. And I, I got a phone call because they're so far behind schedule. So Enterprise is tying up a person- Yeah... bringing the vehicle in- Yes...
• 6:40
  sitting there- Yes... dead. Dead. Wait- And you're not generating money. No. It, it- And it, it became an issue because the dealer was sitting there- It makes no sense. The car's not, the person is...
• 6:47
  Well, the cur- person's burning money- Right... and the car is not generating money. It sounds like an inconvenience. Yeah. That makes no sense. So it's an inconvenience, right? Yeah. It is. It is. But so are them.
• 6:53
  And so when you start talking fleet- Yeah... and stuff, right? Yeah. Like, we drove our mobile service to Enterprise. Yeah. And our guy just started- Love it... doing it. Running through them. But here's the thing,
• 7:05
  uh, it was Avis that saw us, Hertz saw us. "Wait, you can do these?" And all of a sudden- Come on over, over, over... come on over, come on over. And- That's right.
• 7:13
  That's gotta be incredibly efficient 'cause you're still billing out the time that it takes to flash. Yeah. But there's none of the shuffling, no getting the car in. Yeah. Get... It's like one, two, three, four.
• 7:20
  All right, let me ask you this. Yeah. What are some of the data points that you look at?
• 7:24
  'Cause I think from a practicality standpoint, we have a lot of dealers across the country, they're, they're saying they're hearing about mobile service. They're seeing other people doing it.
• 7:31
  They have OEM programs now that are really incentivizing it and providing- Yes... solutions. What are data points that dealers can look at to let them know it's time? It's time to pivot, time to, uh, make that a choice.
• 7:44
  I'd love to hear from- Yeah... uh, an OEM perspective. Yeah. You know, I think obviously we're looking at service retention, right? You know, we wanna take a look at customer loyalty. That's right.
• 7:52
  Those are things that are very important from a customer service perspective, right?
• 7:55
  So if we have that visibility and that data, we can understand how many times the vehicles have been in, um, how many ROs are actually being completed.
• 8:02
  And then ideally, what type of customers are looking for what type of service, right?
• 8:06
  You know, I think from a mobile service perspective, one of the p- most powerful things about the unit is the fact that we can deploy that unit, prevent the downtime that you were talking about. Yes. Right?
• 8:16
  Um, 'cause that is the worst for any customer to have a unit down, especially in the fleet space. Time is money. Those units have to be out on the field.
• 8:23
  So, um, from a data perspective, I think having that level of visibility, um, that can help us understand what type of customer we're dealing with, what are the pain points, what type of service, right? Is it a recall?
• 8:34
  Is it a software update? You know, is it standards type of service? Right.
• 8:37
  Whatever it is, we have that insight and visibility, and that'll allow us to be able to coach our dealers on what type of, uh, platforms and technology they can introduce.
• 8:45
  And we all know the, the demand and the, the push that says, "If I can get somebody, um, inside
• 8:52
  our washing machine, and they have five wonderful, great experiences consecutively, the chances of them being loyal to the brand- Yeah... and/or for me, the dealer," right? They wanna... I, I gotta, I...
• 9:06
  And, and we've gotta check that box. Yeah. And we're not, we're doing a terrible job as, as dealers. I mean, we are. When I think- We, we are throwing and running customers into the hands of other people.
• 9:14
  And so this to, to me, uh, going to them, a, a, a mobile service, it just totally makes sense. So I'll tell you what. Yeah. In our group, it, it, it took off wild, right? Yeah. So
• 9:25
  we're using a data point of appointments and how long it's taking to get an appointment. So we went from one vehicle, we added a second, and now we just took delivery of our third mobile unit- Wow. That's so strong.
• 9:36
  Love that... because it's just, it's... Y- you, you- What was the time between those two? First one and now the third one. So the... Six months. Wow. Oh, wow. Okay. Six months- Yeah... I'd say. That's bold, man. Yeah.
• 9:46
  I love that. It, it's, it's just, it's taking off. Yeah. Yeah, that's awesome. I mean, it's, it's one of those things that, go back to our Amazon, our DoorDash. Yeah. Right. People want it right away. Yeah.
• 9:53
  And as soon as I have to tell somebody, "Hey, it's a two-week wait before we can go there" - Yeah. So wait times are basically the key indicator- Yeah... where you're like, "We need to provide more outlet for that."
• 10:01
  Yeah. More relief valve, more relief valve. Well, and I'll tell you what we're also doing that's- Okay... kinda unique, is on our outbound calls we're like, "Hey, Paul, you're, you're due for service."
• 10:08
  We're calling and saying, "Hey, Paul, uh, our mobile unit happens to be in your area, and you're due for service." Yeah, that's super good. And, and you're just- That's such an easy yes. [laughs] It's... Yeah.
• 10:16
  You're like, "Wait, you're coming to me? My car's due for service?" Yeah. Yeah. And by the way, there's a recall. Yeah. Done. Done. You know, I think about that, right? It's like imagine having a recall.
• 10:25
  We had a situation at one point with one of our customers who had roughly about 280 vehicles, right? And these all needed software updates, right?
• 10:33
  Um, and you get 280 units, fleet of that size, that's not easy to bring those units in through the service bays. No. Right? So in come the experience of mobile service.
• 10:42
  We can deploy those units to go out, fix those recalls right on site. It's all about the convenience. It's all about the experience for the customer.
• 10:48
  You know, this is one of the things that I talked with Amit about this morning. I think if you're a dealer and you're thinking, "Okay, recalls, great. What do I need?
• 10:55
  I need, I need, like, the, the, the tech in hand to flash it." Yeah. "And I can get in any old vehicle and go out and do the thing."
• 11:02
  But I think what most people don't consider, the second you make the decision to do that, you're like, "Oh, how are you scheduling it? How are you generating- Yeah... a confirmation for the customer?
• 11:11
  How do you know it's been finished?" Yeah. "How does it all get back?" Yeah, the operationalize. Like, you have to data enter that. You're calling somebody. Right? How do you operationalize it? [laughs] That's right.
• 11:17
  And so I think even in simple things, you realize the need for technology that helps you scale it and integrating with your system. So our group, our, our very first car we half-assed.
• 11:27
  Like, we, we, we just kinda rigged it. We didn't do the whole curvy thing. Because you're, 'cause dealers are entrepreneurs. And they're like, "We can figure this out." Yeah, we can figure it out, right?
• 11:33
  We're like, "Hold on." "I'm not gonna spend..." "Let me get a Google Doc up." "I'm gonna spend an hour reading." "We're gonna share this." Duct tape and everything. [laughs] "The parts manager's gonna do this." Yeah.
• 11:40
  "And then four people have to touch it." Yeah. And then we're gonna change the oil. We don't need this, like, clean- Yeah. Let's, let's, let's not... system and whatnot. Oh, boy. [laughs] Uh, and so- That's totally us...
• 11:48
  quickly we learned h- what a disaster it was doing it ourselves. Oh, my goodness. Right? So we were like, "Okay."It's taking way too long. So true. We're having guys crawl under the car. We're having this jacked up.
• 11:57
  Oh, me either. [laughs] And like, you're like dealing with spills. No. [laughs] You're like, "Oh, God," right? Yeah. You didn't think about that. No. No. Did not. And you're like, "Um..." You know- But-...
• 12:04
  a 30, 40-minute stop is now taking two hours, and it's tak- This is existing technology. Yeah. People have made all the mistakes. And so- Yeah. Right, you, you go this, this curvy route, right?
• 12:13
  And, and you get this whole retrofitted car. [laughs] And all of a sudden you're not worried about oil spills. You can suck oil out- That's right... in three minutes. Right. Start to finish. Like, it's, it's- Yeah.
• 12:23
  I mean, it's a game changer. It really is. I mean, I think when we were thinking about this initiative from a General Motors perspective was obviously how do we evolve the customer experience, the service experience?
• 12:34
  How do we make that and take that into the next level in the generation of service? And- Yeah... um, I think our dealers do a phenomenal job, right? The service bays are amazing.
• 12:42
  But again, going back to that convenience, the customers are looking for something different. And whether it's a retail customer or a fleet customer, at the end of the day, time is key. Mm-hmm.
• 12:51
  And, and having a unit- Yeah... that can be deployed, that's a key enabler, man.
• 12:54
  We can come out there and take care of some of the smaller things from a service perspective that you just simply wouldn't or don't wanna have the time to take it in through a dealership.
• 13:01
  So I wanna touch on what you said real quick. I've been thinking about this, about getting them- Right... in our washing machines. Yeah. And, and the five visit rule.
• 13:07
  I will tell you this, with mobile service, it's a one-time thing. Like, if, if we do it successfully- Oh, yeah. It's more impactful... 100% of the time. They're like, "I'm never going back." [laughs] Yeah.
• 13:14
  They're never going back. It's just more impactful. They're calling for it. You're making a bigger- Yeah. You've done it... impression. Yeah. So you've taken that five vi- And- It, it... Yes.
• 13:20
  And how are they providing that feedback to you? Is it just r- rate 'em to, through text or? Well, you can see the repeat customers, right? Okay. You're like, "Oh, okay. Great. They've done it. They've done it.
• 13:27
  They've done." Yeah. You see people call in for it. Another data point, right? Another data point, right? You, you, you just- Or the opposite. W- when, when they come in, you, it takes too long.
• 13:37
  It was, it's not a great experience. Mm. Uh, they're not coming back. Yeah. That is, no matter how buttoned up you are. There's too many choices out there. Yeah.
• 13:43
  I think no matter how button you u- up you are, you could have an amazing in- welcome, you can have an amazing s- waiting area. You can have an amazing service advisor. All of that. You could be as button...
• 13:54
  You could have the doors that go up fast to give the Disney experience. Yeah. [laughs] You could have it all. Yeah. And still, eight to nine out of 10 people are gonna be like, "I wish I didn't have to do this." Yeah.
• 14:04
  Yeah. I mean, look at what we're doing now. And you could be great at it. Look what we're doing now. Yeah. Wouldn't it be great if while we were doing this podcast, our car was getting serviced, you'd just jump- Yes...
• 14:10
  in the car and take off? Absolutely. Man, we're all busy. Nobody has time to go to the dealer anymore. Oh, yeah. And, and I mean, we're a dealer group, but- Well, I mean, everything's gonna pivot there. Yeah. Yeah.
• 14:19
  Uh, you know, the, the typical, you know, drag you in. It, something simple takes way too long. Mm. No, th- this is gonna work... I, and I think some manufacturers are way ahead of us. I mean- Yeah...
• 14:30
  and, and I'm speaking as a Toyota dealer. We're way late to this party, you know? Mm. Um, but you know, what you were saying is super important, of having the right up fit, the right tools.
• 14:40
  What matters, too, is that, um, the, for the tech, the tech's gotta, if, when he- Yeah... is fully armed and, and you've got a, a, a vehicle that's buttoned up- Yep... he feels better about going out there.
• 14:53
  And, and that's where the experience starts- Yeah... I think, too. So. Yeah. One other- Yeah. One thing. Oh, go ahead, Cody.
• 14:57
  I was gonna say, I think one other thing, when I'm thinking about the mobile service unit, is it's almost an extension of the dealership's brand as well, right? Nice. You know. Like that.
• 15:04
  You'll be looking at it right now. Right. Hometown dealer, right? That being out there on the streets, showing up to, whether a business or a customer's driveway. All the neighbors are watching. They're all watching.
• 15:12
  All the people in the business park are watching- Yeah, yeah... what's happening. Absolutely. Absolutely. They're watching it, and they're- Yeah... taking a look at that service. That's advertising in itself. Right.
• 15:18
  It is. Well, you think that we've spent so... And when we market and we advertise- Great point... we spend so much time on targeting. Yeah. Yes.
• 15:24
  [laughs] And I guarantee you, the people that live in the same neighborhood, the people that work in the same building- Yes... that's the, like, audience, man. So true. [laughs] Look at, look at, look at our- So true...
• 15:33
  look at our rental car experience. Yes. We didn't tell Hertz, we didn't tell Avis we were there. Yeah. Right. They just saw us. Right. And then all of a sudden the phone rings. The like audience.
• 15:39
  You can't target that audience on Facebook. No. They come to business. No. Yeah. Right. How do you get as specific as possible right there? Okay, we're gonna go real quick 'cause our time is up.
• 15:47
  I wanna know what is the, the key, the biggest key metric impact? And s- service scheduling, we already talked that. Time to schedule.
• 15:54
  But what's the business impact on the other side that you've seen as a result of implementing mobile service? Mm. So it's just the customer retention right now. Retention. It, it is absolutely retention.
• 16:03
  It is the people calling. It is the people who are like, "Hey, I saw your mobile unit, um, driving down the street. Is this a thing?" And the people that we are, when we're outbound calling- Yep... that are like, "Wow."
• 16:15
  You know, you, you become a p- a, a pivotal and a progressive dealer. So yeah, that is. Well, I mean, it... The average car on the road today, a customer's holding onto it longer than ever, right?
• 16:25
  I think it's like 13-year-old car now is the average car- Mm... on the road. So at the end of the day, um, they're gonna be in that experience way longer than, you know. So, "Hey, yeah, I'm trying to get five.
• 16:37
  I want great, I want five consecutive high quality, like, I can't believe it, can't wait to come back and do it again." Yeah.
• 16:43
  But they're gonna be in the service end of the building for a long time, and I've gotta take great care of them, you know? It's about being loyal. Like I said a minute ago, we're not the cheapest option- Mm...
• 16:53
  but a lot of customers will pay for the convenience. And it doesn't have to be expensive. I'm not saying- You can be the highest value option. Yeah. That's right. There you go.
• 17:00
  Not the cheapest, but the highest value option. Yeah. It, it just, it has to be something, again, that they're excited to have done, and they'll tell everybody. Yep. But they're gonna keep coming back. Absolutely.
• 17:11
  And that's just super important. If we don't win 'em over for this, uh, during that 13 years. Yeah. I, I mean- Yeah. [laughs]... my gosh, 13 years, right? Yeah. Oh, absolutely. Cody, what are you seeing? Yeah.
• 17:20
  And I, I think honestly, I, I agree. I think it's the customer retention piece and the loyalty piece.
• 17:24
  I mean, when we, you know, developed the strategy around mobile service, uh, for General Motors, we, we had in mind of like, how do we modernize the, the, the, the service experience for our dealers? Yep. Right?
• 17:34
  You know, how do we develop a solution that's gonna help them deploy their service out into the communities, uh, and keeping branding and keeping all of the things that keep our customers on the road, you know, whether it's, again, a retail or a fleet customer.
• 17:47
  Um, we're seeing that the customer retention piece is what's really driving our- It's huge. It's everything... customers back into the store. Yeah. Yeah.
• 17:52
  I, uh, I don't think anyone's gonna get rich off of mobile service- Yeah... by any stretch of that mean. But I think what it's gonna do is give you a captive audience. That's right. In- indirectly. Yeah, indirectly.
• 18:01
  That's it. Yeah. Indirectly. That's what it is. That's a long game. It is a long game. It is. It's a long game. You have to, you have to look at it that way. Yeah. Well, deal- Okay, I know we're running out of time.
• 18:07
  Nathan's like, "We're done. We're done." [laughs] [laughs] I could talk about this for a long time. All day. I was a service advisor. Absolutely. My first job in the industry was an advisor.
• 18:14
  And, and I do think that, um... I lost my train of thought. Now we're way bit. Uh, oh, yeah. Dealers understand the cost of infrastructure when it's a physical building. Right. Yeah. We put in bays. We build buildings.
• 18:26
  We do all that stuff. And I think thinking about mobile service and implementing it as infrastructure, that's what you, that's what you build off of. Yeah. That's what you make money off.
• 18:33
  So thank you so much for investing your time with us today. Yeah, man. Showing, being willing to try stuff. Yeah. Do new things and show the industry what's possible. Thank you very much, Joe, Yves, Cody. Absolutely.
• 18:42
  We'll do this again. Love it. Thank you. Thanks. Thanks for having us, man. Thanks for having us. Yeah. Awesome. [upbeat music] Thank you for listening to this LA Auto Show Session, brought to you by Cars Commerce.
• 18:50
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• 18:58
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