CDK Global 2026 Service Advisor Report with Kim Saylor at the Ted Ings' Fixed Ops Roundtable

Added: 2026-05-27

[00:00:00]Welcome back to the Fix Ops Roundt. I'm Sarah Vanine here with Ted Ings. Today we have CDK Global with us and a familiar face with the round table, Kim Sailor. And Ted, exciting news and uh more to come with the service advisor study.

[00:00:19]>> Uh Sarah, you're so right. Um Kim Sailor, senior director of product marketing at CDK. Welcome back to the fixed up round table. Kim, >> thanks for having me, Ted. Sarah, good to see you.

[00:00:29]Great to see you and I know you have some amazing insights to share with our audience today and uh Sarah and I got a chance to see some of the some of the reveals that you'll be making and Sarah it's very timely.

[00:00:42]>> It is Ted and Kim to jump right in. CDK had some interesting new data around fixed ops and especially the service advisor report. Would love to talk to you a little bit more about that and what stood out to you. Okay. Yeah.

[00:00:59]Thanks. So, we we know that the advisor is the face of the dealership, the customer's window into the service department in a lot of cases. And so, what really stood out is how consistently positive customers feel about their service advisors. So, nearly nine out of 10 said that advisors communicate clearly. They explained what was needed and they treated the customers with respect. And so that is huge because when those things don't happen, we saw NPS drop by roughly 40 points. So that advisor experience really makes or breaks how that customer feels about the dealership. And if you remember last time I talked about the service shopper study and the number one reason customers return for service um to the dealership rather than going someplace else was because of the relationship that they have with that dealership. And that relationship really is being built and reinforced in the service department in particular by the service advisor.

[00:02:03]>> Kim, you mentioned the relationship. Uh I see that four out of five customers were greeted at their vehicle. Um does that really matter that much?

[00:02:14]>> You know, it actually matters a lot more than people might think. So when customers are greeted at their car and they don't have to go find when they're not greeted, excuse me, and then they have to go find that service advisor, NPS drops by more than 30 points. So it actually goes from a positive to a negative. And that first impression really sets the tone for that entire dealer visit. And so being greeted right away, it signals a respect for that customer's time. It reduces the uncertainty. and immediately starts building that trust with the advisor and with the dealership. And so when that moment gets missed, when the adviser doesn't greet the customer at their car, the customers can feel overlooked or even frustrated before the service even begins. And so it's really hard to recover from that over the course of that service visit.

[00:03:09]And Kim, I'm imagining, you know, this this greeting, this start to the process that really instills that trust that the customer has with their service advisor and as you mentioned, that positive uh association with the dealership and their service advisor. I also thought it was really interesting that nearly 60% of service customers bought recommended services. And I I do feel like maybe there's no coincidence there when uh service advisors are that positively uh perceived by their customers. But why do you think that is?

[00:03:43]>> I mean it really comes down to or back to trust. It comes back to communication. It comes back to being kept in the loop. So when customer receives for example automatic notifications along the way, they feel informed about what's happening with their vehicle and it starts building that trust even before any recommendation is given to the customer.

[00:04:06]And so then when the adviserss use a tool like the technician video for example to help visually explain that work, it removes any of that uncertainty and doubt. And you know, we all know that the video is huge and seeing the issue firsthand for the customer makes them more comfortable and makes it easier for them to say yes to that additional work, but it also reinforces both the advisor's role as a trusted advisor. It also reinforces the technician's role as the expert on their vehicle. And that actually goes back again to that service shopper study. The number two reason that customers chose to take their car to a dealership was because of the staff knowledge. And so this just helps, you know, um continue to reinforce that to the customer.

[00:04:56]>> This is all good news, Kim. Um also, we see that service advisor are improving at quoting accurate time estimates. Why why is that important? Well, you know, time's important to all of us and and time is really one of the biggest drivers in satisfaction and service. So, the study showed that 62% of the time that the vehicle was serviced and delivered when promised. So, it's not perfect, but it is trending up. So, the progress is important because that accurate promise time really again shapes how that customer feels about the visit. So when advisers are upfront and when they keep that customer informed, it's just one more thing to help build trust. And you know, again, technology helps to make that possible by giving advisers better insight into what's happening in the shop. It allows the customers to stay updated, you know, if anything changes with that initial promise time. So, it's all about delivering on the promise that the advisor is making to the customer.

[00:05:57]and and Kim, this study uh is really really uh unpacking also some of the generational components with what's driving uh some of this retention and this uh this positive uh influence that service advisors are having with their customers. One stat that really surprised people was that 94% of Gen Z service at the dealership that they bought from. what's driving uh that level of retention?

[00:06:28]>> Well, you know, for a lot of the Gen Z's, this vehicle purchase is their first big purchase, right? So, there's a strong desire for them to protect that investment. You know, they're still early in their ownership and they want to be confident in that basically that they're doing the right thing. And so, the dealer service department feels like the safe, the most trustworthy option to them. and it's familiar because it's tied to the place where they bought their car. So, it gives them that peace of mind that their vehicle, this big new investment is being taken care of properly.

[00:07:04]>> And Kim, that service advisor role is so critical. They talk to so many customers on a daily basis and uh you mentioned the word trust now several times. I see also that 92% uh say they plan to return to the dealership for service uh customers that is. Is that higher than uh other generations?

[00:07:24]>> Well, and specifically the 92% is the Gen Z's. So yes, that's definitely higher than other generations.

[00:07:30]Millennials were close, but the Gen X and the boomers were not notably lower.

[00:07:36]They were at about 75%.

[00:07:38]And so what makes Gen Z so interesting is that their loyalty, it's already strong to the dealership. you know, even though they're new to this vehicle owning uh this vehicle ownership, you know, it gives the dealers a real opportunity to build that long-term relationship because if you earn their trust early through service, they're a lot more likely to stick, you know, with you over time. And and it's a group that dealers really should not overlook because this is the future of your business, right? So that the Gen Z's are, you know, are the future.

[00:08:13]Well, and Kim, Gen Z and millennials, uh, these generations are encompassing an even greater volume of, uh, the business in the book of business that dealerships are retaining. Uh, another piece that was really interesting was that Gen Z is also most likely to complete recall work and add additional services uh, during their visit. Are they just prone to to spending more or is there more to the equation with why we're seeing uh this happening?

[00:08:46]>> Well, they're they are spending more, but it's not because they're carefree with their money or anything like that.

[00:08:51]In fact, many Gen Z's said that financial concerns sometimes kept them from getting that recall work done. But when they do approve additional services, it's usually because they trust that advisor. They understand the value of the work being done. However, you know, many of the ones that did not bring their car in for that recall work, it was because they were afraid that it was going to cost them money. So, I do think there's a big opportunity for dealers to help educate their new buyers, the young shoppers in particular, that they they are not going to have to pay for that recall. So whether they do that, you know, at the time of purchase or it's part of, you know, the service experience, it's a big opportunity, you know, to help educate that, you know, that group, that generation, the younger generation. And, you know, and again, that's just one more way to to build that relationship with them to keep them coming back to the dealership.

[00:09:46]>> We're speaking today to Kim Sailor at CDK Global about the recent service advisor study. Kim, if there's one takeaway that uh dealers, including those watching, uh should take away from the study, um what would that be?

[00:10:02]>> Well, you know, the biggest takeaway is just how great the advisers are doing and how how the customers, the consumers are viewing them very positively. But I would also say that an additional takeaway is the powerful combination of both the advisor and the technology that's in service today. You know, trust of course still starts with the advisor, but tools can help those advisers set better expectations, help keep the customer in the loop, help them explain recommendations more clearly.

[00:10:36]And when that does happen, the experience to the consumer, it feels easier. It's more transparent and more trustworthy. I've said that word 10 times since we've been talking. And that really is what helps keeping those customers coming back. So, it's the adviserss and then you help the advisers with additional tools to help them give that customer a better experience.

[00:10:57]>> You know, Sarah, years ago, we didn't have all this technology. We always knew it was about the people and the relationship, but now like Kim said, a lot of that technology is helping the adviser to spend more time with the customer as you as we've heard at the car, greeting them there and being able to do their job better.

[00:11:14]>> It's so true, Ted. And all of these efficiencies are being achieved and it really just helps again bridge that communication with the customer and offer that transparency. Kim, I'm curious for our audience that's listening today. How do we get access uh to this study? How do we go and and read the full uh the full takeaways that that you've prepared? And what other solutions uh where should they go to learn more?

[00:11:41]>> Well, so for sure go to cdkglobal.com.

[00:11:44]They can actually find the study and to learn more, but I will also share it with you to send out to the group as well.

[00:11:50]>> All right. So what we'll do is for the uh audience that's watching this now on the round table if you check your email uh we have an email coming out to you right now uh with uh that study that you can download and uh take a look at that and uh Kim Sailor thank you as always great insights refreshing to hear uh most if not all of these so great news >> positive news it's all great >> all right everybody uh CDK Global leader in the industry Kim Sailor senior director of product marketing >> here with us today at the fixed stops round table.