Denny Hecker's Stillwater Ford-Lincoln-Mercury Invests in Future of Automobile Service; Boosts Technician Productivity with MPi's ARGIS

STILLWATER, Minn.--Aug. 28, 2006--Denny Hecker's Stillwater Ford-Lincoln-Mercury has a new way to increase technician productivity; through MPi's Advanced Repair Guidance Information System (ARGIS). Since installation six months ago inspection penetration has increased from 82% to 93% and the customer pay upsell has shot up from a gross monthly figure of $14,000 to over $100,000. ARGIS enables service departments to increase efficiencies and profits by streamlining vehicle diagnostics using a customized repair information system.

According to Parts and Service Director, Robert Cozatt, in January 2006 the dealership was searching for a new way to help increase technician productivity. Cozatt viewed a demonstration of MPi's ARGIS and particularly liked the safety inspection the system offered. However, he was unsure if his technicians would buy into it, "I had five of my techs sit in on a demo and at the end, one of them commented that he was going to make more money. The other technicians started to get excited and right there I had their buy in. Five of my toughest guys viewed the demonstration and they could immediately see how the system could increase our productivity and profitability."

The dealership has since become one of the most productive MPi customers - winning both MPi ARGIS contests (Top 10 ARGIS Score and Top 10 ARGIS Upsell) four out of the last five months. Each monthly contest challenges service departments to match record numbers posted based on inspection penetration percentage and the average upsell per inspection.

Cozatt comments that the main change ARGIS has made in his service department is the consistency in vehicle safety inspections, "We were doing a good job before, but ARGIS has significantly increased our ability to communicate with our customers. It puts the inspection in order and makes it nice and neat. It clarifies the entire process for the technician and it is so simple. All they have to do is check off the points on the mobile computer and print it off. It's that easy."

The dealership, which services over 2400 vehicles a month, has also benefited from the timesaving and mobility ARGIS brings to its technicians. Prior to investing in ARGIS the dealership had 5 computer stations for the techs to use to log onto the Ford PTS website. While useful, this system required that the tech leave his station to diagnose any problem. The dealership has since invested in 5 Panasonic Toughbooks for technicians to use while working on vehicles, thus eliminating the need to leave the vehicle for information gathering.

"The technicians particularly like the mobility of the system when doing pin point testing. They can get all the answers they need right there at the vehicle and don't have to go to their tool box and look at a manual. ARGIS presents everything about how to repair cars in a good order that makes sense. When a technician is working on an RO, everything is listed in chronological order about how to work on the car. The knowledge clusters are outstanding at finding what has been done previously to fix that problem and what TSB applies to that," commented Cozatt.

ARGIS also provides a computerized vehicle inspection component that generates a Recommended Treatment Plan(TM) and Know Your Vehicle(TM) report for customers. This allows dealerships to accurately determine any needed repairs or maintenance. A full color, easy-to-read, Know Your Vehicle(TM) report is presented to the customer so they can make an informed buying decision regarding their vehicle's needs. According to Cozatt, the dealership gets a lot of customers returning for work because of these reports, "For a customer, seeing is believing. A customer can go home, open the report and see that they need an air filter. Not only can they can look at a picture but they can read a simple explanation of what it costs in gas mileage if they don't get it repaired. It really brings it home in terms they can understand. Consequently, these reports generate a lot of be-backs for our dealership."

About Mobile Productivity, Inc.:

Headquartered in Las Vegas, NV, Mobile Productivity, Inc. is a premier supplier of proprietary diagnostic, repair information and service merchandising solutions to the automotive industry. The company's technology is making a difference in dealerships across the country; providing significant increases in profits, efficiencies and customer loyalty.

For more information call Susan Lovett at (800) 997-1674 x2010, by email at slovett@mpifix.com or visit www.mpifix.com.