Just like my very first social media video—this first edition might be a little rough around the edges. But stick with me. Over time, this is where I’m going to bring you the more serious side of DealerPlateGuy.
I started posting videos about a year ago. Today, somehow, there are over 250,000 of you following along across Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram.
The motto has always been:
“Making fun of an industry I’m trying to change.”
This newsletter is the part where we keep working on the change part.
what you’ll get here
You’re in the right place if you want:
Tips & tricks for Managers, Techs, and Advisors
Practical ways to improve efficiency (and maybe get a promotion)
Insights on running a more profitable service department
Leadership lessons I’ve learned (usually the hard way)
And occasionally… a story you can’t tell HR about.
Alright… enough of that
so who is DealerPlateGuy?
Currently, I’m a Fixed Operations Director with the Rohrman Automotive Group.
What’s a Fixed Ops Director?
Great question.
Honestly… I’m still trying to figure that out.
No but seriously, I oversee the service and parts departments at a handful of dealerships:
Toyota
Honda
Kia
Hyundai / Genesis
And a Collision Center
I got into the car business about nine years ago, selling cars on a $400/week draw. When I look back at that… it’s insane to think about where things have led.
A big part of this newsletter is me sharing the stuff I’ve learned along the way—the wins, the mistakes, and the things I wish someone would’ve told me sooner.
Blame it on Russell Richardson (aka RussFlipsWhips).
He came into our store to train our team on social media during a sales event. We had fun, made some content… and at the time, I basically didn’t have social media. I think I had like 12 pictures from college on Instagram.
But after Russ left, not very many people at our store followed through on posting anything.
And I thought:
Well… I’ll see Russ again eventually… would be kind of embarrassing if I wasn’t posting anything.
So I grabbed Logan (the man behind the camera) and we filmed a couple skits.
The first two were actually filmed in Parts, and the third one was:
“Lube Tech Interview.”
That one went viral—almost 5 million views across platforms.
And that’s when I thought:
…Okay, maybe there’s something here.
I set a goal:
10,000 followers on TikTok — because that’s what you need to get monetized.
I just thought it would be the coolest thing in the world to get paid to make content.
Then there was the Louis Vuitton purse bet I made with my wife…
but that’s a story for another issue.
More of the Story Next Week
We’ll keep these once a week.
There’s a lot more to cover.
Thanks for subscribing.
Thanks for being here.
Let’s go change the industry—and have some fun doing it.
— DealerPlateGuy