Schaefer & Bierlein: Winning with wiADVISOR A Message from Pietro Gorlier

A lot has changed since Schaefer & Bierlein, located in Frankenmuth, Michigan, was founded in 1852 as a blacksmith and woodworking shop, with the business later evolving in 1914 to sell automobiles. More than 100 years later the team at Schaefer & Bierlein continues to act progressively, as seen in its embracement of new technology to help service customers — such as the wiADVISOR program.

“From the everyday customer perspective, it allows us to make sure every vehicle is up-to-date during every visit,” said Craig Bierlein, Fixed Operations at Schaefer & Bierlein, of the wiADVISOR program. “It offers soft sells of factory required maintenance on a takeaway that has a professional representation and allows customers to prepare for their next visit.”

Schaefer & Bierlein has enjoyed immense success with the program.

“We’re also maintaining our customer satisfaction scores while increas-ing profits,” said Bierlein. “To top it all off, our service department was able to beat the sales department in revenue for the first time in dealership history.”

The program has also been a boon for Magneti Marelli Quality Auto Parts Offered by Mopar product sales.

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The world of Mopar, both in the United States and south of its border, continues to improve, making for better customer service around the globe.

Earlier this month, FCA Mexico opened a new Mopar Parts Distribution Center (PDC) in Toluca, Mexico, to store and distribute the more than 65,000 service parts available to Mexican cus-tomers and dealers. I was honored to host the opening ceremony Feb. 5 with several dignitaries including Bruno Cattori, President and CEO of FCA Mexico and Eruviel Avila, Governor of the State of Mexico.

The new PDC will fulfill shipments throughout Mexico and has the capacity to distribute 6,500 items daily. The 485,000-square-foot facility rep-resents continued investment in the region and serves as an indication of Mopar’s growth there. The new building is the result of a $13-million investment in infrastructure and equipment and

M O M E N T U MService, Parts & Customer Care | February 2015

A Message from Pietro

“One of our primary businesses has all competitive products,” ex-plained Bierlein. “We were able to provide customers with mainte-nance schedules in an incredible fashion that cannot even be provided by the competitive make dealer. With this, it has allowed us to be further along in the one-stop shop for other makes and models as part of the Magneti Marelli push than we ever were before.”

Bierlein cites the program’s Gold Support training as very beneficial to learning wiADVISOR.

“It put the responsibility of explaining the program on the trainer, rather than on someone who was learning it themselves,” said Bierlein. “When you change your process quickly with an intensive training period, there is less opportunity for error or reconsidering the program.

“Anything worth doing is not going to be easy. The wiADVISOR program can be a challenge, but it offers you an all-in-one process (no matter what DMS you have) to write up a customer.”

(Continued from page 1)is designed to meet the demanding logisti-cal processes established by FCA. The global processes used at the Mexico PDC, like those in place around the world, will make it possible for Mopar to provide faster and more efficient service to customers no matter where they live. Stay tuned for other great news closer to you…

Top-notch technicians also make great cus-tomer service possible, and this month, we honored the top U.S. technicians from several of your stores as part of our Mopar Top Tech program.

You can read more in this issue about how we selected these techs for their elite level of service from more than 20,000 eligible par-ticipants, as well as program enhancements for 2015 in upcoming installments of Mopar Momentum.

Good selling and great customer service!

Pietro GorlierPresident and CEO, Mopar Service, Parts and Customer Care

Mopar Bestows ‘Top Tech’ Honors on 27 Service Technicians from 17 States

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The Mopar “Top Tech” program tabbed 27 FCA US LLC technicians from across the United States to receive recognition for providing elite service at FCA US dealerships. Chosen from a group of more than 20,000 eligible candidates, the winners of the prestigious 2014 Mopar “Top Tech” award demonstrated a consistently high level of commitment and dedication in the service lane.

The 27 techs chosen are from 26 FCA US dealerships spread out across 17 different states:

• John Anasiewicz of Lancaster, New York—Transitowne Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram Of Williamsville• Joseph Baroni of St. Petersburg, Florida—Suncoast Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram• Carlos Benitez of Newton, Massachusetts—Baystate Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram• Dustin Billedeaux of Sulphus, Louisiana—Mark Dodge Chrysler Jeep• Jeff Booth of Thousand Oaks, California—Shaver Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram• Jeremy Dixon of Waynesboro, Virginia—Brown Dodge Chrysler Jeep• Charles Frankum of Gray, Georgia—Five Star Dodge Chrysler Jeep• Erik Gerdes of Benson, Illinois—Roanoke Motor Co• Scott Jones of Rockwall, Texas—Huffines Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram Plano• Michael LaMirande of St Croix Falls, Wisconsin—Bernard’s Northtown• Kelvin Lapham of Wayland, Michigan—Wayland Chrysler• Brian Nygaard of Spring Park, Minnesota—Walser Chrysler Jeep Dodge• David O’Keefe of Merritt Island, Florida—Boniface-Hiers Chrysler Dodge Jeep• John O’Neill of Warrington, Pennsylvania—Chapman Chrysler Jeep Dodge• Anthony Ramirez of Kansasville, Wisconsin—Palmen Dodge Chrysler Jeep• Christopher Reeve of Round Lake Beach, Illinois—Martins Garage• William Reich of Hewitt, New Jersey—Route 46 Chrysler Jeep Dodge• John Richardson of Ruston, Louisiana—Brown Chrysler Dodge Jeep• Thomas Robinson of Warren, Michigan—Northland Chrysler Jeep Dodge

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Selected for recognition as a Mopar ‘Top Tech’ from more than 20,000 eligible participants for providing an elite level of customer service and dedication in the service lane at FCA U.S. dealerships, 27 FCA US LLC technicians were treated to a two-day, all-inclusive trip to FCA US headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The trip included a tour of the FCA wind tunnel and a visit to the Sterling Heights (Michigan) Assembly Plant.

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• Michael Salvo of Surprise, Arizona—Larry H. Miller Dodge Peoria• Terry Seaton of Kellogg, Idaho—Dave Smith Motors• James Serra of Peoria, Arizona—Moore Chrysler Jeep• Jeff Thomas of Valley Springs, California—Cabral Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram• Alex Tushin of Edina, Minnesota—Park Chrysler Jeep• Raymond Wharton of Madison, Virginia—Brown Dodge Chrysler Jeep• Razmik Yaghoubi of Westminster, California—Cerritos Dodge• Keith Yauman of Petersburg, Ohio—Columbiana Chrysler Jeep Dodge

“These technicians are our superstars of the service lane, and a big part of what keeps customers coming back to our FCA US dealerships,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO - Mopar Brand Service, Parts and Customer Care, FCA - Global. “It is truly a great honor for each of these winners to receive one of only 27 Mopar ‘Top Tech’ Awards handed out in 2014. We thank each one of them for their elite customer service and our FCA dealership partners for nurturing a fan-tastic work environment in which technicians such as these can thrive.” As part of the Mopar “Top Tech” award, winners were treated to a two-day, all-inclusive trip to FCA US headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan, in January 2015, with activities including a tour of developmental labs and the FCA US wind tunnel, a visit to the Sterling Heights (Michigan) Assembly Plant, and industry preview access to the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Each individual also received recognition and a plaque from Gorlier at the 2014 Mopar “Top Tech” awards banquet in Metro Detroit this past January.

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Hagan Takes All-New 2015 Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car to Win in Race Debut

After a year of development, Don Schumacher Racing and driver Matt Hagan launched the new 2015 Mopar Dodge Charger R/T NHRA Funny Car with a victory in its inaugural race. The team celebrated with FCA’s David Bailey, Senior Manager - Motorsports Engineering, Dale Aldo, Mopar Motorsports Marketing and Nero Singh, SRT Engineering.

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A dramatic explosion and a starting spot in the bottom part of the field couldn’t keep Matt Hagan from making history at the season-opening NHRA Winternationals on February 8. The 2014 NHRA Funny Car champ commenced his title defense by racing the all-new 2015 Mopar Dodge Charger R/T to victory at Auto Club Raceway near Pomona, California, in the body’s competition debut.

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Don’t forget, you can submit your Service & Parts success story by emailing me directly at: Pietro.MoparMomentum@chrysler.com

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“It speaks volumes for Dickie Venables, Mike Knudsen and these guys that put our car together,” said Hagan. “They worked so hard to put a good car underneath me. It’s cool for me to say that I’m the first to win with this new 2015 Dodge Charger.”

The win represents the triumphant culmination of a year-long commitment in which the Mopar brand, along with FCA US engineers and additional personnel, worked hand-in-hand with Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) drivers and teams to validate, test and create a more durable, driver-friendly winning machine that also features enhanced styling cues from the 2015 production Dodge Charger. It also marks the second time in less than a year that an NHRA race body developed by Mopar and FCA US has been victorious in its competition debut — last season Allen Johnson steered the Dodge Dart Pro Stock body to a NHRA Gatornationals win in its maiden voyage.

“Congratulations from everyone at Mopar to Don Schumacher Racing for putting two new vehicles into the final, and to Matt Hagan for driving the 2015 Dodge Charger R/T to the winner’s circle in its debut,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO - Mopar Brand Service, Parts and Customer Care. “What a great way to reward a year’s worth of time, investment and hard work that went into the extensive process of designing and building a fantastic new 2015 Mopar Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car. To have both the new Dodge Charger and the Dodge Dart win Wally trophies in both of their first times on track in the past year is a testament to Mopar’s ability to provide quality products. This is also a fantastic way to follow up on Matt’s 2014 NHRA Championship, and we appreciate the team’s efforts in working to defend that title this season.”

After the flame-filled eruption during qualifying that forced Hagan to turn to a second 2015 Mopar Express Lane/Rocky Boots Dodge Charger R/T body, the two-time and defending champion began his road to a Winternationals event title all the way back from the No. 12 position. The DSR star ended the day of the higher-qualified Tony Pedregon in round one, took the win over fellow Dodge driver John Hale in the quarterfinals and defeated Del Worsham in the semifinals, advancing to his fourth straight final at Pomona and second consecutive at the Winternationals.

Teammate Ron Capps left first in the all-2015 Mopar Dodge Charger R/T final round duel and briefly held the lead, but Hagan pulled away to secure the Wally trophy with a winning 4.011-second elapsed time at 320.89 mph to Capps’ 4.078/314.90.

BREAKING NEWS** Matt Hagan made it two-for-two in his new 2015 Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T, scoring a victory on February 22 at the NHRA Phoenix event to go along with his season-opening Pomona win. Hagan qualified No. 1 and then unleashed a track record 3.975-second pass (the fifth quickest elapsed time ever in Funny Car competi-tion) in the final to claim his second consecutive triumph. (Click here for more detail.)

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