A Word-for-Word Script for Running a Fixed-Ops Twenty-Group Prep as a Service Manager

Run your fixed-ops twenty-group prep by opening with attendance confirmation and housekeeping rules, then work through each department's metrics in a structured cadence—service advisors first, then technicians, parts, reconditioning, F&I, and delivery—allowing 2–3 minutes per group while a facilitator keeps time and a note-taker logs action items. A typical twenty-group covers 15–25 dealerships, rotates hosting duties, and expects each service manager to present one or two metrics that moved the needle that week, with peer accountability built into the room.

What Is a Fixed-Ops Twenty-Group and Why Service Managers Need to Participate

A fixed-ops twenty-group is a peer-benchmarking gathering where service managers (and sometimes F&I and sales leadership) from non-competing dealerships meet monthly or quarterly to compare metrics, share tactical wins, and hold each other accountable. It's not a vendor pitch session and it's not HR training,it's service managers sitting across from service managers talking about labor absorption, hours per RO, CSI, ELR, parts attachment, and what actually works on the shop floor.

You probably already know that running your fixed-ops department in a silo costs you real money. The dealership next to you might have cracked a 4.8 CSI while you're stuck at 4.2. Another store nailed a 2.4 hours-per-RO average and cut waiting time by three weeks. A twenty-group is where you find out how they did it,and where you stop guessing and start copying.

The real value? It's not the metrics themselves. It's the shame and glory mechanism built into the room. When you know you're presenting your labor absorption number to twelve other service managers next month, you actually fix the scheduling gaps and the technician wait-time problems you've been ignoring.

How to Structure the Opening: Attendance, Rules, and Timing

The first five minutes set the tone for the entire meeting.

Opening statement (30 seconds): "Good morning. We've got 14 service managers here from 16 dealerships today. Before we dive into metrics, quick housekeeping: phones on silent, we're running tight, and we finish at 11:45 so you can get back to your stores. If you're presenting today, have your one-pager ready. Facilitator, you've got 120 minutes to move through seven groups. Let's go."

That's it. No ice-breaker games. No fifteen-minute welcome speech from the host dealer's GM. Service managers are busy.

Attendance and rotation: Ask who's presenting first. Go around the room quickly and have each store owner or manager state their name, store, and one metric they're excited to share. This takes three minutes and anchors accountability,now everyone knows who's talking.

The "no selling" rule (mandatory): "We don't promote our suppliers, our software, or our dealership in this room. If you've got a vendor story, that's a sidebar conversation after the meeting. Here, we talk about what we changed operationally that moved the needle."

This keeps consultants and vendor reps honest and prevents the meeting from devolving into a pitch fest.

Running Service Advisors: The Script and Talking Points

Service advisors are the front line. They own the customer interaction and the RO write. Call this group first because they set the tone for everything downstream,technicians, parts, reconditioning, delivery.

Your opening: "Service advisors,who's presenting? Okay, John, you're up. Give us your best practice from this month. What's one thing you changed that moved your hours per RO, your attach rate, or your CSI?"

Notice you're asking for ONE thing, not a data dump. Dealers who try to present twelve metrics lose the room immediately.

Questions the room should ask (script):

• "Are you measuring advisor attach rate by advisor or by store average?" (This matters because one superstar skews the number.)
• "What's your advisor turnover looking like? Did that change your attach?" (Newer advisors typically attach lower.)
• "How are you handling warranty work on the menu? Is that hurting your labor absorption?"
• "What's your average RO value? Are you capturing all the preventive maintenance opportunities, or are customers walking out with work undone?"

A typical $3,400 timing belt job on a 2017 Pilot at 105,000 miles is the kind of work that separates a 2.2 hours-per-RO store from a 2.8 hours-per-RO store. The question isn't whether the work needs to happen,it's whether the advisor captured it on the menu before the customer left.

Time allocation: 2–3 minutes per service-advisor presenter. The facilitator says "time" when you hit 180 seconds, and the next presenter goes.

Running Technicians: Capacity, Scheduling, and Hours per RO

Technicians are your profit engine. This is where you talk labor absorption, scheduling effectiveness, and the technician-to-advisor ratio.

Your opening: "Technicians are up. Who's got a win? Did you fix a scheduling bottleneck? Did you move your hours per RO? Talk."

A typical conversation sounds like this:

"We had a three-week waiting time and technicians were sitting idle on Tuesdays. We re-blocked the schedule and moved express service to Friday and Saturday morning. Waiting time dropped to 12 days. We're also tracking 'hours available per technician per week' now and flagging when a tech isn't booked at 80% capacity."

Questions the room should dig into:

• "What's your tech-to-advisor ratio? How many advisors per technician bay?" (Most stores should be running 1 advisor per 2–3 bays, depending on repair complexity.)
• "Are you measuring wrench time separately from wait time? Where's the leak?"
• "How are you handling a tech who's slow but skilled versus a tech who's fast but makes comebacks?"
• "What's your plan-ahead rate? How many days out are customers booking?"

The technician segment is where you also talk about the gap between rated capacity and actual hours sold. A 15-bay shop running 8 technicians with 40 customer ROs per week has a math problem. Someone's not managing the schedule.

Time allocation: 2–3 minutes per presenter.

Running Parts, Reconditioning, F&I, and Delivery in Rapid Sequence

You're now 15–20 minutes into the meeting. You've covered the advisors and technicians. Keep momentum going through the support departments. These move faster because fewer people are presenting, but the metrics are just as important.

Parts and Inventory

"Parts,what moved? Are you measuring on-shelf availability? Turn rate? Did you fix a core-return delay or a supplier issue?"

Good answers sound like: "We cut our average parts wait time from 2.3 days to 1.1 days by improving core communication with our distributor. We're also not ordering parts until they're on an RO now,inventory was sitting." Or: "We implemented a daily 2 PM order cutoff. It killed same-day parts emergencies and forced the shop to plan better."

Time allocation: 90 seconds per presenter.

Reconditioning and Prep

"Reconditioning,talk to us. What's your average prep time? Did you find any dead weight in your workflow? Any safety holds that are taking too long to clear?"

This is where stores should be talking about MPI accuracy, repair capture, and cycle time. A typical high-performer runs a 7–10 day reconditioning cycle. Slower shops are often fighting poor MPI data, parts delays, or technician availability.

Time allocation: 90 seconds per presenter.

F&I and Service Contracts

"F&I,are you penetrating service contracts on your loaner vehicles and delivery vehicles? What's your attachment rate on warranty extensions? Any update on your T.O. menu?"

A common miss: F&I managers aren't trained on what a fixed-ops customer actually needs. If you're delivering a 2019 with 50,000 miles that's out of factory warranty next year, that's a setup for a service contract close at delivery. Most dealers aren't capturing that.

Time allocation: 90 seconds per presenter.

Delivery and Customer Communication

"Delivery,what's your CSI looking like? Are you calling customers the day after to confirm the vehicle is running right? Any delivery bottlenecks holding up vehicles?"

This is also where you talk about whether delivery is checking the vehicle before handoff or just handing over the keys. A proper delivery checklist takes 10 minutes and catches the small issues before the customer feels them.

Time allocation: 90 seconds per presenter.

Facilitator Responsibilities and Keeping the Room on Track

The facilitator's job is not to be the smartest person in the room. It's to move time, keep people honest, and make sure the shy service managers get a chance to talk.

Facilitator script:

"Okay, we've got 15 minutes left and we still need to hear from Riverside, Ontario, and San Bernardino. Let's tighten it up. Next presenter, you've got 90 seconds. Go."

When someone goes off-topic (talking about their GM, complaining about corporate policy, or pitching their software), the facilitator says: "That's a real conversation, but let's table it. What's the operational win we're talking about here?"

When a store hasn't prepared, the facilitator says: "No problem. Next time bring one metric. Pass. Who's next?"

This is the kind of workflow Dealer1 Solutions was built to handle,rapid metric capture, standardized measurement, and accountability. But the real magic is the facilitator holding the boundary.

Closing and Action Items: Who's Hosting Next Month?

With five minutes left, the facilitator says: "Alright, quick recap. Here's what I heard: Three stores are moving their express service to weekends. Two stores are re-blocking their schedules. One store is measuring advisor attach by advisor instead of average. Susan, you're hosting next month at your location. Same time, bring a metric. Everyone good?"

That's it. No formal closing speech. The action items are captured live by a note-taker (using a shared Google Doc or a dedicated template), and the notes are emailed to the group within 24 hours.

One honest opinion: Most twenty-groups fail because they turn into social clubs or vendor showcases. The groups that work are ruthlessly metric-focused, keep time, and replace stores that stop showing up. You can't coast. If you're in, you present every month. If you miss twice, you're out. That accountability is what makes it work.

Common Mistakes Service Managers Make When Presenting

You've probably been in a twenty-group where someone goes long, overprepares a slide deck, or spends five minutes apologizing for their numbers. Here's what kills a presentation:

• Bringing too many metrics: Stick to one. "Here's what we moved this month" beats "Here are eight different KPIs."
• Not having a clear action item: Don't say "Our CSI is 4.1." Say "Our CSI was 4.1, so we implemented a callback-call protocol, and it's now 4.5. Here's what we changed."
• Overstating your wins: Say "We improved by 0.4 points" instead of "We crushed it." The room is full of skeptics, and you'll lose credibility if you oversell.
• Avoiding the hard truth: If your labor absorption is 85% and everyone else's is 110%, don't hide it. Say it. The room is there to help you fix it, not judge you.
• No follow-up: If you commit to a change, report back next month. Nothing damages your credibility faster than promising something and disappearing.

Why Rotating Hosting Matters and What the Host Dealer Needs to Do

A rotating host dealer keeps the group neutral. If the same store hosts every month, the dynamic shifts and the group starts to feel like a corporate training session instead of peer accountability.

The host dealer's job is simple:

• Book a room (14–16 chairs, a table up front, good Wi-Fi).
• Order coffee and breakfast (it matters; hungry people are grumpy).
• Assign a facilitator and a note-taker from your team (or from the group).
• Set a start and end time and hold it ruthlessly.
• Send a reminder email three days before with the attending dealers and a template for presenters.

The host dealer does NOT run the agenda or "educate" the group. You show up, facilitate, and get out of the way.

Frequently asked questions

How often should a fixed-ops twenty-group meet?

Most effective groups meet monthly for 90 minutes to 2 hours. This keeps metrics fresh and holds accountability tight. Some groups go quarterly, but you lose momentum,by month four, the wins from month one have already been forgotten or reversed.

What if a service manager's store is underperforming compared to the group?

That's the entire point. When you see that three stores are running 2.8 hours per RO and you're at 2.1, you ask them how they did it. No shame, just curiosity. The group is supposed to lift everyone.

Should twenty-groups include sales managers or just fixed-ops?

Best practice is fixed-ops only,service managers, parts managers, and delivery leads. Sales managers have different metrics and different pressures. Mixing them dilutes the focus.

What happens if someone shares a best practice and then doesn't follow through the next month?

The room notices. If it happens twice, people stop believing them. The peer accountability only works if people report honestly on whether they actually implemented the change.

Can a twenty-group work virtually instead of in person?

It can, but it's weaker. The magic happens in the hallway conversations,someone asking "Hey, how are you really handling that part delay?" over coffee. Virtual meetings are transactional. In-person meetings build relationships and trust.

How do you know if your twenty-group is actually working?

Look at whether stores are implementing changes and whether metrics are moving month-to-month. If the same four stores are presenting and the same three are silent, or if nobody ever reports back on what they said they'd do, your group is coasting. Kill it and start over with a smaller, more committed group.