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Open for Success: The Power of Seven-Day Operations In an industry where many shops close on weekends, we’re rewriting the rulebook. With Pleasant Car Care in Watertown now open seven days a week, we’re proving that customer convenience and retail excellence can drive unprecedented growth and profitability. Pleasant Car Care has long been a standout in the Houston Boston Partnership—a small shop with only three bays, but it consistently outperforms expectations. With a record $350,000 month already under its belt, the addition of Sunday operations puts us on track to hit $400,000 or more. Combined with the Newton location’s impressive $550,000 record month, Pleasant Car Care is poised to break the $1 million month combined revenue milestone. Why does being open seven days a week matter? - Increased Revenue: More hours mean more opportunities to serve customers. - Enhanced Customer Service: We’re available when others aren’t, building loyalty and trust. - Team Growth and Satisfaction: More revenue means better opportunities and benefits for our staff—all while maintaining a five-day workweek through rotating schedules. - Higher Business Valuation: Extended hours drive net operating income and stock value growth. A question we often hear is: Is it hard to find staff for weekends? The answer is simple: no. It’s all about positive company culture, smart hiring, and showing the value of serving customers when they need us most. At the Houston Boston Partnership—including Adams Automotive, Now Auto Care, JB Auto Care, and Pleasant Car Care—we’ve embraced a retail mindset. Auto hospitality is our standard, and seven-day operations are part of how we exceed expectations. Whether you’re open four, five, six, or seven days a week, the key to success is making your business spectacular. Focus on your customers, elevate your image, and build a winning team. Now Open Sundays: Pleasant Car Care, Watertown Serving our customers with world-class auto hospitality. Open your doors. Serve your customers. Own the market. #HoustonBostonPartnership #PleasantCarCare #AutoHospitality #CustomerFirst #SevenDaysAWeek #BusinessGrowth #AutoRepairIndustry

Customer Excellence Brands are Winning! With the announcement that corporate employees will work quarterly 8-hour retail shifts, The Home Depot just changed the game! With the intent to “bridge the gap between the corporate office and the retail floor”, Home Depot just masterfully executed multiple BOLD MOVES …specifically, LEADERSHIP BOLD MOVE #5: Lead through Employee Empowerment and ORGANIZATIONAL BOLD MOVE #9: Reinforce Culture through Rituals both show up here. In Tom DeWitt, Ph.D. and my new book “The Customer Excellence Enterprise: A Playbook for Creating Customers for Life”, through these types of BOLD MOVES we endeavor to separate the mythology of customer-centricity from the lived reality of customers and frontline employees. As you can see from Home Depot, CXE Bold Moves are not theoretical, they represent deep structural and systemic change powered by leadership conviction. Of the over 100 that we’ve identified, the book offers 39 Bold Moves that your company can make on the mission to help customers live their best lives. https://lnkd.in/erFJHsWk JOIN US on the mission: Our publisher Wiley will officially launch the book this TUESDAY, October 22! ✅ Download and Read a 29-page Preview: https://lnkd.in/eMtz7WAg ✅ Order the book through all Major Book Sellers: https://lnkd.in/e_6Ad9X4 #CXM #CX #CustomerService #SpartansWill

Why Can't Retail Workers Sit Down? Rethinking the "Standing-Only" Rule Retail has long held the belief that standing makes workers more professional and available to customers. But this tradition overlooks the physical toll on employees—long hours of standing lead to back pain, fatigue, and decreased morale. A simple stool or ergonomic chair could boost comfort, helping staff stay energetic and deliver better service without compromising availability. While employers may worry that sitting signals laziness or reduces customer engagement, studies show that employees who alternate between sitting and standing are more productive and present. Offering seating options doesn’t mean staff will ignore customers—it means they’ll be more focused and ready to assist. After all, a comfortable worker is a happier and more efficient worker. It’s time for retail to rethink the standing-only rule. Small changes, like adding ergonomic seating, could make a big difference in employee well-being and customer satisfaction. Let’s support workers by giving them the option to sit without assuming it’s a sign of laziness—because happy, healthy employees are the best kind of customer service.

Running a successful retail store is all about maximizing your time. 🕒 I've created a Time Management Checklist designed specifically for busy retail store owners like you. Whether you’re struggling to prioritize tasks or delegate effectively, this checklist will help you reclaim your day and focus on what really matters—growing your retail store 

Running a successful retail store is all about maximizing your time. 🕒 I've created a Time Management Checklist designed specifically for busy retail store owners like you. Whether you’re struggling to prioritize tasks or delegate effectively, this checklist will help you reclaim your day and focus on what really matters—growing your retail store

Great move by The Home Depot to keep it's employees close to the customer! From this article by Jack Kelly "Home Depot is implementing a new policy aimed at bridging the gap between corporate and retail operations. Starting in the fourth quarter of 2024, all corporate employees, including senior management and remote workers, will be required to complete an eight-hour shift at one of the company's retail stores every quarter...This decision aims to bridge the gap between the corporate office and the retail floor. The intention is to ensure that all employees, regardless of their position, understand the challenges and daily operations faced by store workers, thereby fostering empathy, better decision-making and a more cohesive company culture. “We need to stay connected to the core of our business, so we can truly understand the challenges and opportunities our store associates face every day,” I participated in a voluntary version of this when I was with Gap. It was the most insightful, eye-opening experience to truly interact and see the customer's behaviors firsthand and to see the struggles that come with managing a retail store. What do you think of this? Have you ever participated in a similar program? #uxresearch #usercentereddesign

For white-collar workers, this move serves as an opportunity to gain #firsthandinsight into customer interactions, operational challenges and the #physicaldemands of #retailwork, potentially enhancing their managerial and strategic decisions. https://lnkd.in/gjSWADba

Navigate Peak Season in the retail sector with clarity and resilience by using OpenTrack. Our platform ensures you're prepared for the rush, offering transparency across your entire supply chain. Explore how to optimize inventory levels and keep up with consumer demand without missing a beat in our latest article. Get real-time updates and leverage data-driven insights to make swift, informed decisions. The retail landscape is challenging, but with OpenTrack, you're always one step ahead. Learn more about mastering peak season challenges at https://lnkd.in/gYAz2tp8.

How efficient is your shop?   That’s the question great service managers ask themselves daily. Efficient shops make more money, it’s just that simple.  It’s the responsibility of the service manager to make sure all aspects of the store are running at peak levels.  Both the front, and the back of the house, need attention when it comes to efficiency. The more time a tech stays in his or her stall, the more hours they can turn. However, they can’t “stay in the bay” if there aren’t processes, people and technology put in place. A tech standing at the parts counter just doesn’t make sense, but they need to get their parts somehow, right? What’s the answer? Where are the special tools and are they organized?  How do the jobs get sold?  How are the jobs dispatched?  There are dozens of other questions that need efficient answers. Advisors are not immune from needing efficiency either. Like technicians, advisors need to be at their workstation, in the drive, to make the customer experience meaningful. They can’t be chasing around the dealership doing things that don’t involve selling and customer interaction. What sort of systems do you have in place to help them? Are they answering phones and taking appointments? Who handles the booking of tickets and other clerical duties? Do they dispatch the work to the techs?  Are they in the shop or in the lane? Wolfgang Koehler and Andy Campbell dedicated an entire book to the idea of efficiency in the shop and operating with lean processes and procedures. From Parts to Service, the idea of removing obstacles was the core component of their magnificent book. It’s a must read - if you want to succeed. This week on Service Drive Live, November 10th, at 7:00am CST, we are jumping into Fixed Ops efficiencies like Koehler and Campbell, trying to get the most out of our shops for our people. If it gets in the way of their primary job, remove it. Figure out a way. Start by getting on this show. Moderated by SDL founder Joe Chambers, jump on this zoom style discussion and share your best practice – or listen and take notes. Actionable and specific ideas on Sunday to put into place on Monday morning. DM Joe Chambers for a link and operate at high efficiency with the #SDLNation. Get Better. Get Real. Get on #SDL.