Questions for Northstar GM’s service manager

Operations manager Mike Reid talks about what customers can expect with the expansion at Northstar GM

Mike Reid is the operations manager at Northstar GM. — Kristen Mitchell photo

With 20 years in the vehicle service industry, Mike Reid has spent a handful of those at Northstar GM. He’s excited for the updates to the service side of the company and has been working with happy customers at the new drive-thru since the beginning of March of 2014.

What are some of the updates that you’re most excited about?

We have an indoor service reception facility now, so a customer never has to park outside. You drive into the service area and get out of your car, come in through the power sliding doors to the indoor service area. We repair your car, we wash it, and we bring it back inside for you.

What feedback have you been getting from customers so far?

It’s been tremendous. The reaction is even better than we thought it would be.

What do you most enjoy about working in the vehicle service industry?

I like dealing with the public. The car business is different every day and there’s lots going on, whether that be with staff, customers or cars. There’s always something to deal with on a minute-by-minute basis.

What will be some of the changes to service?

Every vehicle gets a courtesy inspection and ensures that it’s safe for the road. That’s free of charge. Every vehicle is hand washed afterwards and every vehicle is delivered inside the drive-thru, so that no one has to walk out on the lot and try find their vehicle on a rainy day. Basically it’s just an overall better experience for our customers as far as convenience. The biggest change is we now have an express lube bay with no appointments necessary. You can come in any time and get your oil change done. We’ll wash it, bring it inside for you, and you’re ready to go.

Have there been many challenges with the expansion?

No, just getting used to our new environment and being consistent with the vehicles that come into the drive-thru being washed, being delivered properly. Staffing levels are probably our biggest hurdle that we’ve had, trying to make sure that we’ve got it staffed properly. And then, obviously, just working around the construction was a little bit of fun. But we spent three months working at the coffee bar in close quarters, probably eight people in 40 square feet, and now we’ve got eight people in about 4,000 square feet. So it’s a great working environment for the staff for sure.