Subaru Canada has brought in an expert, Christine Mitchell, who bills herself as The Car Lady, to deliver her popular Know Your Car Night service and maintenance events at their dealerships.
Mitchell has been doing these events for more than 25 years to help dealerships retain consumers by educating them about new vehicles and the importance of regular maintenance.
She and her team have been doing upwards of 200 events a year with dealerships. Her motto is “Give Your Dealers A Second Chance At A First Impression.”
Mitchell was brought on board by Michael Murillo, who was appointed Director Of Retail Operations for Subaru Canada and General Manager of its corporate store, Subaru of Mississauga, 18 months ago.
Murillo has known Mitchell for some 15 years going back to when he was a Service Manager for a luxury brand dealership. He’d invite customers who had purchased vehicles three months before to come to the dealership for a tour. He said because he wasn’t a licensed technician, he hired Mitchell to do her events because she is a licensed technician.
Murillo thought of bringing Mitchell to Subaru of Mississauga. “I thought we have to do a Know Your Car night so we can focus on retention the right way by really engaging our guests,” said Murillo.
Murillo subsequently invited members of Subaru Canada’s corporate division to attend one of Mitchell’s events. They were so impressed they reached out to Mitchell to help fund the Know Your Car Night events for their dealerships.
“I get to work with the dealerships individually, customize each event to their particular store, promoting the individual stores to their own customers but with a Subaru stamp of approval,” said Mitchell. “I’m so grateful for the opportunity because Subaru is a wonderful brand and they certainly understand the customer experience.”
Independent of her work with Subaru dealerships, Mitchell said she has been asked by some dealerships to do clinics focusing on the electric vehicle market. She added one particular dealership wants her to do “open house events” to educate customers on the EV buying process because of the various models and servicing going forward.
“People want to know the specifics regarding EVs,” said Mitchell. “I know the differences on how they operate and how they generate power. Each individual brand will require me to learn those things…I dug deep and started doing my research. I have to be prepared to answer every question.”
She said because so much has changed with vehicles in the last three years her events will help dealerships to educate consumers on service and maintenance to protect their investment.
“If you haven’t bought a car in the last three years and sit in one now, you’re looking at a whole new ball game with apps and everything else that goes on with the multimedia system,” said Mitchell. “The Car Lady is needed now more than ever.”
