Canadian Auto Dealer News, Links & More
As the calendar flips to a new year, most Canadian used car dealerships are focused on clearing out year-end inventory, finalizing their books, and planning their Q1 sales strategies. But there's one critical exercise that too many dealers skip—and it could be costing you significant growth in 2026.
We're talking about conducting a comprehensive 360-degree review of your dealership operations by gathering honest feedback from the people who know your business best: your employees.
Research from Widewail discovered after analyzing over 1.5 million dealership reviews that staff interactions are five times more predictive of positive customer outcomes than pricing, and twelve times more predictive than dealership amenities. Your team matters more than your prices or facilities.
Your sales staff knows which parts of your process frustrate customers. Your service technicians can tell you exactly which inefficiencies are costing you money. Your detailers understand what customers notice first. Even your receptionist has insights about customer sentiment before they ever speak to a salesperson.
The problem? Most auto dealers never ask.
360-degree feedback is a performance review method that gathers input from multiple perspectives—managers, peers, and all departments—to create a complete picture of how your business is functioning. Unlike traditional top-down reviews, this approach recognizes that the people doing the work every day often have the clearest view of what's broken and what's working brilliantly.
For auto dealerships, this approach uncovers operational friction points that are invisible from the manager's office but glaringly obvious on the floor.
Choose the method that fits your dealership's size and culture:
One-on-One Conversations - Best for smaller dealerships (under 15 employees). Schedule 30-minute individual meetings. Employees share more candid feedback privately.
Small Group Sessions - Organize by department. Works well for mid-sized operations and sparks collaborative thinking.
Anonymous Written Surveys - Use Google Forms or SurveyMonkey for larger teams or when you need unfiltered honesty.
Pro tip: Many successful car dealers use a combination—anonymous surveys followed by group discussions to dig deeper.
Here's the key: conduct both department-specific reviews AND company-wide reviews.
Your sales team faces different challenges than your service technicians. The same question yields completely different insights:
Run separate sessions so teams can speak freely about role-specific challenges without wasting others' time.
Your most valuable insights come from questions that span all departments. When you ask "What did customers like least?" you might discover:
Suddenly you realize customers value speed and clarity, and you're failing at both across multiple touchpoints.
The smart approach: 60% department-specific operational questions, 40% company-wide strategic questions.
1. What were your biggest challenges this past year in your role, and how can we better support you in 2026?
This uncovers operational friction. Lost deals because of slow data access? Wasted hours on inefficient systems? You won't know unless you ask.
2. What did you most enjoy about your work that you'd like to keep doing or expand on?
People excel when doing what they're good at. This helps you identify strengths and potentially restructure roles for better results.
3. What are 1-2 pressing things you'd like to start doing if we could adjust your position slightly?
Your innovation question. Employees closest to the work often see opportunities management misses. These suggestions frequently have immediate ROI.
4. What did customers like MOST about their experience—and can we expand on that?
Your team hears compliments you never hear. Maybe it's how clean your vehicles are, how your finance manager explains options, or how service provides detailed explanations. Double down on what works. For more insights on customer experience, check out our article on improving dealer operations.
5. What did customers like LEAST about their experience?
The most uncomfortable but potentially most valuable question. Communication issues, transparency problems, and wait times are common complaints. Your team knows exactly where you're falling short.
6. If we could implement only 2-3 BIG improvements this year (cost aside), what would they be and why?
Remove budget constraints and get at root causes. You might hear: "Rebuild our lot organization," "Hire a BDC person for leads," or "Implement real inventory management." Even if you can't afford the full solution, you'll understand what problems matter most. Consider how automotive management software can address these gaps.
7. Have you noticed other companies—even outside our industry—doing things we should adopt?
Your younger employees know what modern customer service looks like from Amazon, restaurants, and retail. Cross-industry inspiration leads to breakthrough improvements.
8. What was our biggest failure or drawback as a company this year, and why?
This checks culture and systems—not individual performance. Poor interdepartmental communication? Inconsistent customer service standards? Lack of training? Multiple employees will likely identify the same core issue.
9. If you could only change ONE thing about your role and this company, what would it be?
Forces prioritization. When someone picks just one thing, they pick what matters most. Seven out of ten mentioning the same issue? That's your red flag.
10. What's one process that wastes your time every week that we should eliminate or improve?
Time is money in a used car dealership. Manually entering data in three systems? Hunting down keys for 30 minutes daily? Small inefficiencies compound into massive productivity drains.
Highlight issues multiple employees mentioned. If six people independently identify the same problem, it's real—and costing you money.
Create a simple matrix:
Report back to your team. Even if you can't implement everything, show you heard them. Explain priorities and reasoning. This builds trust and encourages ongoing feedback.
Turn vague goals into specific projects: "Implement automated SMS appointment reminders by February 15th—Sarah owns this." Set deadlines and track progress.
Choose 3-5 key metrics: customer satisfaction scores, lead-to-sale time, service efficiency, or employee turnover. Check monthly to verify improvements are working.
Auto dealerships that implement structured feedback processes consistently outperform competitors:
Block out time in early January for these reviews before Q1 chaos kicks in. Your team wants your dealership to succeed. They see problems and opportunities daily. The question is whether you're creating space to listen.
Make 2026 the year you stop guessing what needs to improve and start asking the people who know.
Ready to put feedback into action? Dealerpull's dealer management system is built specifically for Canadian used car dealers, with tools to streamline operations, improve customer communication, and give your team the technology they need to succeed. Contact us today to see how we can support your 2026 improvement initiatives.
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