The Dealer Playbook

Ep. 656 - Avoid This Mistake, Unlock Customer Loyalty, with Christine Mitchell

• Michael Cirillo

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In this episode, my guest is Christine Mitchell—aka The Car Lady— founder of The Car Lady Canada, and we talk about what it really takes to build dealership loyalty, elevate women in automotive, and create a culture that actually sticks.

Christine’s been in the car business since she was 16—and what started as a gig in the lube lane turned into a national movement that’s helping dealers across the country retain customers and talent.

We talk about:

  • Why most “women in automotive” conversations are missing the mark—and what needs to happen instead
  • The real ROI behind Know Your Car Night (87% retention)
  • How to create dealership culture that isn’t just pizza Fridays but real leadership from the ground up
  • The surprising power of post-sale follow-up that doesn’t involve a birthday email or another push notification
  • Why empowering the receptionist might be the smartest move you make this year

Christine dropped a line that really stuck with me:

“The diamonds are in your store. You just have to harvest them.”

If you’ve ever said “we want to improve our culture” or “we need more loyalty” or “we want more women on our team”—this is your playbook.

It’s not about checking boxes. It’s about building something better—together.

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MC:

This episode is brought to you by FlexDealer. Hey auto industry. Welcome to this episode of the Dealer Playbook Podcast. We're here at the Toronto International Auto Show. If you haven't noticed, I'm not sitting in the studio right now. We are live with my pal, christine Mitchell. She's the owner, she's the car lady, I'm the car lady, you're the car lady, and you just reminded me it's been eight years since we've done this last.

Christine:

Yeah, the last time we did this, we talked a lot about women's car care clinics, of course, still hosting those all the time. But, yeah, time, but yeah, it's been a long time. I was long blonde back then and I changed my look up and I'm still as enthusiastic about the car business.

MC:

As ever, we've both changed our hair.

MC:

Yes, you know because I used to. Not well, I still didn't have any, but I didn't have any here either. Um, as my kids say, I look like franklin the turtle back then, eight years ago. Um, you, as we were chatting pre-show, you brought up a couple of things that struck a chord in me that I want to. I want to just pick your brain on and I'm going to start it this way my little daughter, aria yes, when she she's now almost 12.

MC:

When she was seven, we were standing in church and she tugs on my jacket and I look down and she says, dad, in these exact words no exaggeration. What do I need to learn to take over your company one day? I have a 15 year old boy, yes, and a 14 year old boy who, I'm convinced, still want to be Ninja Turtles when they grow up. But she knew what she wanted and still knows what she wants, like she goes after. There's a tenacity in her that I, and an observance in her that has heightened my awareness of what I think we have done. Your perspective building business in our industry. What do we do about this topic, this issue of women in automotive, and helping show them, or demonstrate, that this is a career that they can grow and that we need them and want them in this industry.

Christine:

Well, that's an interesting question because I have a daughter myself and I would love her to take over my company. I've begged and cried and pleaded a hundred different times. But she said to me Mom, you cast a big shadow, you are the car lady. I don't want to have to spend my adult career having to look over my shoulder and have everybody say, hey, where's your mom, where's your mom? So she's working for a marketing team at the Ivy School of Business Now. I couldn't be any more proud of her.

Christine:

But women in automotive I get asked this question all the time because I've been at this a very long time. Right, I got in this career when I was 16. It's been 27 years and I think the conversation needs to start, particularly on the retail side, because I always come at it from a retail perspective. I think the conversation needs to start from the top and how it trickles down, because I get invited, of course, to a lot of different things International Women's Day, speaking events and conferences and I find the room tends to be either upper management and or vendors.

Christine:

But we don't get a lot of the people who have the actual boots on the ground in the retail side at these events, because when I call a dealership and when you phone a dealership, mike, the person who answers the phone is usually the first line of contact, and how do we empower those people? Are the conversations that I'm particularly interested in. I want to know how we can advance the women we currently have into roles that will move them into upper management, providing with training, mentorship, sponsorship etc. To give them the opportunity, because they obviously have a liking for the car business at some point. And I want to just make sure that we're not just keep recruiting, recruiting, recruiting, but we're actually empowering, educating and fulfilling the goals education wise and career wise of other women that are currently in our industry.

MC:

Yeah, it's. What I'm hearing is let's show them what's possible, right, right. We often talk about how the auto industry most of us who did kind of a trust fall backwards into this space and never left. How retail automotive in particular has no ceiling but it has no floor also Right, but we don't do a great job at demonstrating the no ceiling part, right, and that you can.

Christine:

And I get asked this all the time, right, because people want to know. I've been in the car business my entire life. I got in the industry at 16. Back in the day where you could write a 365 in the morning and get your license in the afternoon, I got my license the same day because I was working at a car dealership in the lube lane and I had to be able to drive the cars. So I started really early.

Christine:

But the most popular question I get in regards to that, people want to know again, not only the backstory, but did I have another person in the business for me, am I a PhD? Did I? Means Papa has dealership? Did I have any experienced older brothers, dads, uncles that were already in the car business? No, I fell, like you, into the car business because I loved the industry. I fell, like you, into the car business because I loved the industry and I still, after all these years, get so excited when I'm teaching my Know your Car Night events to meet somebody who's a first-time buyer. There's no. You know, when you're a first-time buyer, the world's your oyster right. I always think of it as being the first taste of real freedom. It's the time you can drive to see my friend Mike in Texas if you want. Right, because you got a car, yeah, and I just think there's such joy in that and that's why I got into the business, because I loved the vehicles and I loved the freedom that cars bring to you.

MC:

Hey, does your marketing agency suck? Listen before we hop back into this episode. I know you know me as the host of the dealer playbook, but did you also know that I'm the CEO of FlexDealer, an agency that's helping dealers capture better quality leads from local SEO and hyper-targeted ads that convert? So if you want to sell more cars and finally have a partner that's in it with you, that doesn't suck visit flexdealercom. Let's hop back into this episode. You might be the only other person that's articulated for us on the show that the liberating utility that a vehicle is oh, there's nothing like it.

Christine:

There's nothing. You know, I grew up my mom didn't have a car, never got her license until she was in her 40s, after my parents separated. So up and when during that time mom brought home all the groceries by bundle buggy or by remember the bundle buggy she brought home groceries on the bus. When I got my first car, I was working at Jack McGee's in Peterborough. My first car. I was working at Jack McGee's in Peterborough, my first job, and my mom co-signed for me.

Christine:

I bought a 1987 Chevy Sprint the three-cylinder and my payments were $146 a month and my mom got in the car and it was the first time she knew that she wasn't going to have to walk on a February day in Peterborough in the winter with our groceries because I had a car and I could drive. We were so excited they let me drive it out of the showroom by myself. I got mom in the car. We were so excited. We got on Clonsilla Avenue there in Peterborough and went through a stop sign. We were so distracted with our own joy of having a car, the little Chevy Sprint that.

Christine:

I named Ian because I name all my cars.

MC:

And what's your car now named?

Christine:

So now I have a Highlander and her name is Haven, for safe Haven. The last one was Mr Charlie Lexus. Wow, I've had a lot of different vehicles, but Haven is a great car.

MC:

I don't know. This must be a common practice where people, because we name our vehicles, yeah, um, like our sierra was the ciarello, because it's the michael ciarello vehicle. I had lola corolla I love that these are like real names. I tried I'm like trying to find the most foolish sounding name. You're like meet ian, yeah, ian, I, ian, ian, the.

Christine:

Spread, lola, corolla yeah, they've all been good vehicles. But you know, because of where I live I don't know if you know this, but I actually live in Port Elgin, which is about two and a half hours from the city, and I spend a lot of time in a car, sure, and I have to have safety, security and I have to really enjoy the ride and I love being in the car by myself. You know it's two hours a piece. I roll a lot of calls. I listen to Howard Stern. Just think about what I'm going to do next, yeah.

MC:

Let me ask you this Over your career from your vantage point as you look back.

Christine:

Yeah.

MC:

The passion you have is passion that's developed, not just like installed Right, right. Like I can't just say, okay, car lady, install your passion level on these individuals Right. What? What are the pit stops along the way that you can think of where you're like? Oh well, okay, I love this industry.

Christine:

Yeah Well, I started the business because I was expecting and I had to get out of the shop. So I went to the library and used windows 97 and AOL to make the worst looking flyers you've ever seen in your life and went dealership to dealership. But the passion for growing the business part of it came because I was a single mom with a daughter to feed and I drove from my. I was living in Mile May and now Port Elgin. But I drove those miles because I knew I could make Toronto money Right and drag it home right, because you could buy the biggest house in my village at that point for like 300 000. But again, it was still always about working in the car business. I've never considered doing anything else.

Christine:

Sure, and I really like the part when I, when I'm teaching my event, whether it's a first-time buyer or the sixth buyer, I know that I'm bringing a value to the dealer because those customers are going to remember me and remember the service they got at that store, you know. My second question during the seminar I ask is how many of you were surprised to be invited tonight? And I get about 75% of the hands in the room because they've never either been invited or been to one before, wow and they want the opportunity to be thanked for their purchase. They've spent a lot of money second largest investment next to your home and they want the opportunity to learn. Now and it used to be, the seminars were more about just maintenance, but now I spend a lot more time with technology, of course, and I spend a lot more time with connectivity pieces and a lot more time with safety systems, for sure.

MC:

There's something so brilliant in this, because those of us that live in the tech bubble tend to our bias tends to lead us to believe that everyone just knows technology. Yeah, they don't. Yeah, they don't. And here you are putting on events focusing on technology, filling these dealerships with people who have no not to sound demeaning but have no clue. Yeah, who want to know.

Christine:

Well, think about the last time you took delivery of a vehicle Again, pre-podcast. Tonight we had a little conversation. One of the people in the room mentioned that they were buying a car. Took them nine hours at the dealer just to buy the car. Okay, imagine how long the delivery process takes. Yes, like there's so much information now, by the time you get them connected to the branded app and you set up any connectivity piece like a Starlink or an OnStar, you get the phone paired.

Christine:

You know today's vehicles, particularly if you bought an EV, the delivery takes so long people don't have the bandwidth for it. And then you try to think as a a dealer. You'd love for that salesperson to walk mr and mrs customer back to the service department and book their first appointment and introduce them to the service manager. But you and I might both know that that's very rarely going to happen because they've just run out of capacity at that point, right. And so that's where we bridge that gap. Know, your car night bridges the gap between the delivery and the service and to counteract anything that may have gotten missed during that, delivery and technology is now a huge piece of that, people who work at that store how much actual extra effort needs to go in post sale to maintain the relationship.

MC:

Yeah, you know, because obviously in the marketing world, sales and marketing it's, you know, high funnel, mid funnel, low funnel. Forget about them, send them a birthday message, but you've tapped into something that I think is really important here, which is no. Then there is loyalty, correct ambassadorship, referrals, and then by the time we've completed that, they're ready to buy their next vehicle again.

Christine:

Absolutely. And people who attend the event are 87% more likely to service with that dealership in the next four years, just for maintenance alone. So if people understand how maintenance works and the benefits and the advantages of servicing with the dealer, it keeps them out of the big red triangle store and out of the store that sells the big packages of toilet paper. I got quoted once in an article that said the car lady says don't buy winter tires where you buy frozen shrimp. And I thought that, yep, absolutely Right, go to your dealer.

Christine:

I think people think that the dealer is still in their minds. More money, right, but there is a lot of things to be said about the retention piece and that's why and they want to be thanked for their purchase, frankly, they don't want a birthday card, they want to be thanked for their purchase Again. They've made a big investment and they're investing in you. And if you don't build that customer for life, frankly there's a lot of options where they can take that vehicle now and if you don't get them back for the first couple services, any marketer will tell you they're in the wind.

MC:

I just have to just point out here she said the big red triangle store.

Christine:

Yes.

MC:

Off camera. Here we have Emer, who this is his first time in Canada. Well, it's my show, I can say whatever I want. She I'm in Canada. Well, it's my show, I can say whatever I want.

Christine:

She's referring to Canadian tire. Yeah, and don't write me letters. I love Canadian tire as much as the next person.

MC:

I have to take Emer to a Canadian tire, yeah, just so he can experience what it's like to be in a Cabela's meets, zellers meets, target meets. I don't even know how you would explain it at this point, but Emer loves the gadgets and gizmos and the tools and the this and the that. Yeah, but I 100% agree with what you're saying. Yeah, we don't do a great job at encouraging these individuals who, to your point, made their second largest purchase. Yeah, who chose me, which is so flattering?

MC:

Yeah, they have a whole row of dealerships on that lane and now I'm just going to let them they, which is so flattering.

Christine:

Yeah, they have a whole row of dealerships on that lane. They could have picked from anybody. They picked you, they picked you. So now they've spent five hours in your showroom. How do you get them back for the next four years? How do you get them back for the next four years? Even something as simple as retail detail? Does your dealership offer detailing Right? How do you get that customer to buy a gift certificate for somebody in their family to come back to your facility? You host a new year car night. You get them in and like and all the little tips we do like. Right now we're um for something as simple as stop overfilling your gas tank. Yeah right, ruins the charcoal canister assembly system of the vehicle. People are like, oh gosh, the light bulbs come on and that's where I get my passion from.

Christine:

that's what keeps me driving and smiling as I head home on the highway, because I know I made a difference for somebody today. I taught them something they didn't know before.

MC:

You said something pre-show that I want to pick up on here, as you've just said this, which is Like it's 2025. Right, why do people? Why are people still having negative experiences with car dealerships and and there's? I'm seeing a thread here which is well, because if they don't know these things, then human nature expects that you sold me something perfect. And then, when that thing is not perfect, what do I do? I go, they're just out to get me. Yeah, it's interesting, see, it was all a ploy to just get me.

Christine:

McDonald's screws up your order, you keep going back to that drive-thru. But if a Chevrolet dealership screws up your order, you'll tell everybody about it.

Christine:

That's why the event can also be a sounding board for people who just want to be heard. Right, I never would say that I work for the manufacturer. I don't, I work for myself. But I want to be the ear you know and they want to be empathized with. And it's interesting, you know, when you're selling the car that's typically their first experience how little some of the salespeople know about the service of that vehicle. There's a great opportunity for education, to educate your sales team on what's going to happen in the next four years, so that you can build a book of business.

Christine:

I always say to these dealers use this as an opportunity to sell more cars. I remember when I sold cars for a very short period of time, my sales manager was always after me to say are you followed up on that guy with that? Have you followed up with him on that? Have you followed up with her on that? And I was running out of reasons to call. And so I always encourage my stores to use Know your Car Night as an opportunity to get them back into the building, without asking them for a nickel, to build relationships and trust. Let me earn your business and trust today, even though you haven't made a decision on that new Denali. Why don't you join us for Know your Car? Night Come and learn about us as a dealership. Let me earn your business and trust Because, to your point, people, when they take the vehicle home, they want it to be perfect and everybody wants it to be perfect. But life gets in the way and you want to make sure you're proactive with that.

MC:

I know you've thought about this, but I'm having a bunch of aha moments right now.

Christine:

Well, you can always have me back on.

MC:

Which is the tie in back to recruiting, retaining and growing talent. Right, nobody wants to work for a loser organization, right. But when, when it becomes real for the individuals, as you've now done this from coast to coast, the bearing on morale and culture inside of the dealership?

Christine:

Yeah, well, there's not the ups anymore that there used to be, right, particularly on the sales side. So most of it comes from a digital space now and everyone is sort of working from this digital space. But I think the best dealerships that have the best culture again, it does start from the top, but it radiates through every department and I'm in a lot of retail stores every single week and get to meet a lot of really, really great people who've got, who are just diamonds, just diamonds waiting to be polished. You know, I get asked a lot. Like I said earlier, a lot of the women I know get asked to be participants in a lot of these conferences.

Christine:

The diamonds are in your store. You just got to harvest them a little bit. Right, and don't be busy. Be productive and proactive, right, because you can get stuck in the minutiae, right, we got to get stuck in the minutia. Right. We got to sell more cars. We got to sell more cars. We got to service more cars, right. That's why service advisors there's a great example, right. Service advisor, I always think, is the busiest person in the dealership and there's an excellent opportunity there because they want them to do the walk around, but they've got 10 people standing in line behind them. So, streamlining systems, building opportunities for those people to empower those people, that's where you're going to make your most money. The culture of the store it's not just pizza day, it's just. You know?

MC:

I'll tell you a story, or pizza day at all.

Christine:

You know a man named Amin Dajani. He's with the Waynes group.

Christine:

Yes, yes, the first time I ever met him. He was a general manager at Don Valley North Toyota and I had come in for the meeting and Amin Dajani was the general manager at Don Valley North Toyota in the time and I didn't know he was except from his picture on the website. And a man was out in the parking lot picking up trash from the parking lot and it was Amin Dajani. And I had said to him oh, I'm going in for a meeting, and he goes oh, christine, you're meeting with me. And I was so surprised. But it was started from the top and that's why people like that are going to continue to be successful. That's why he would be a mentor to me, because he sees the problem, fixes the problem, not afraid to get dirty, not afraid to be too busy, but want to be part of the culture. Monkey, see, monkey, do Watch me, do watch me, do watch me, do Learn from me, learn from me, and that's how you do it.

MC:

I mean, what a leadership lesson. There's multiple leadership lessons.

Christine:

I never forgot that Well you never forget it.

MC:

Now I hope those that are tuning in don't forget it. You know, emer and I have walked into dealerships where there's half open boxes and popcorn on the floor and a dirty popcorn. Go into your ladies room everybody.

Christine:

Go into the ladies room of your dealership because sometimes they're a disaster and the management is typically. I don't want to be stereotypical, but sometimes you have a service manager, you have a gentleman. They may be male and they never walk into the ladies room. If I walk into the ladies room of a dealership and there's no paper in there and the soap doesn't work and the counter's all wet when I put my purse down now, I'm annoyed. Right. Check the ladies' room everybody.

MC:

It's in the details.

Christine:

Devil's in the details.

MC:

Devil's in the details. Well listen, I can't thank you enough for joining me today. This has been so enlightening. Definitely would love to have you back on. How can those listening and watching connect with you?

Christine:

You can find me at thecarladyca, you can find me on Instagram and you can find me on Facebook. The Car Lady Canada.

MC:

Christine Mitchell. Thanks so much for joining me on the Dealer Playbook. Thank you, hey. Thanks for listening to the Dealer Playbook Podcast. If you enjoyed tuning in, please subscribe, share and hit that like button. You can also join us and the DPB community on social media. Check back next week for a new dealer playbook episode. Thanks so much for joining.

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Michael Cirillo

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