Tag: Steve Roennau

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Compliance

Product Provider Compliance Checklist

Contributing Author: Steve Roennau Vice President Compliance EFG Companies
Contributing Author:
Steve Roennau
Vice President
Compliance
EFG Companies

Did you know that automotive dealerships must comply with roughly 60 retail automotive regulations in addition to the regulations for employers, small businesses, advertisers, general retailers, and finance organizations?

These rules touch a broad range of issues, including environmental, tax and finance rules, and a host of other consumer protections. It’s no wonder that compliance seems overwhelming.

The good news is that there are services available to help dealerships tackle compliance by taking a very methodical, common sense approach.

You’ve probably seen agents and product providers step-up their service model to include more services around compliance. This is actually an objective and cost-effective way in which to tackle improving compliance in your dealership.

Ask yourself:

  • Beyond in-store engagement, what compliance services do they provide?
  • Does my product provider see compliance as important enough to include a head of compliance on their corporate leadership team?
  • What compliance certifications does my product provider have?
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Categories
Compliance

The Buck Stops With You

Contributing Author: Steve Roennau Vice President Compliance EFG Companies
Contributing Author:
Steve Roennau
Vice President
Compliance
EFG Companies

When it comes to compliance, the ultimate responsibility lands squarely in the laps of the dealer principal and general manager. While everyone on the team plays a role – insuring they are owning compliance in their department – the culture of compliance is created at the top. But how do you set the tone?

The first step is to clearly communicate that compliance matters. Every dealer principal and general manager should have some level of compliance training. Even if you have a compliance manager, you need to have a general knowledge of the rules and regulations. Otherwise, how will you know if your team is performing correctly? And, when the auditor knocks on the door, it will be the GM’s door – not the compliance manager’s desk. There are several training courses available for upper-level managers that cover the details you need.

Frequently, dealer principals believe they can simply send their people to compliance training, giving them sufficient protection from personal liability. “If someone screws up – it’s on them” is an often repeated phrase. In fact, this simply is not true. Dealer priorities are team priorities. If the dealer principal or general manager has no focus on compliance, then neither will the team. Dealers who make compliance a priority will run a compliant dealership.

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Categories
Compliance

Online Reviews and Compliance

Contributing Author: Steve Roennau Vice President Compliance EFG Companies
Contributing Author:
Steve Roennau
Vice President
Compliance
EFG Companies

Over the last few years, dealers have been working hard to establish a positive online presence beyond just their website. It’s become standard practice for dealerships to be listed on websites like DealerRater, Cars.com, Edmunds.com, Yelp, and Google. The reason behind these listings is to build trust online and develop a brand presence.

After all, according to Autotrader’s Car Buyer Journey study, 60 percent of the time spent in the car buying process is in online research, with 78 percent using third-party sites or apps during the car buying process. Now, you’re probably asking yourself, what does this have to do with compliance?

In this highly integrated world of online reviews and social media, it can be tempting for dealerships to use cookie cutter, online review vendors to boost positive reviews while minimizing negative reviews. For example, one widely used tactic is asking customers to leave a review while in the dealership, on a device provided by their sales or finance manager, which puts extra pressure on the customer to leave a positive review.

Another tactic that has been used across all industries includes using contract provisions, including online terms and conditions, to penalize consumers for posting negative reviews or complaints. This specific tactic has been ruled as illegal under the Consumer Review Fairness Act (CRFA), which protects people’s ability to share in any forum their honest opinions about a business. Specifically, the CFRA makes it illegal for a company to use a contract provision that:

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