Chrysler planning stand-alone service centers

As Chrysler moves ahead with its "consolidation strategy" (a.k.a. Project Genesis), it's apparently had enough foresight to realize that shutting down dealerships seriously handicaps your ability to service your customers. According to Steven Landry, Chrysler executive vice president of North American sales, the company's solution will be "stand-alone service stores" -- it is easiest to think of them as dealerships that have closed, but the service department still remains open.

While the first stand-alone service store is still about two years from opening its doors, Chrysler is in active talks with a handful of other retailers about the strategy with customer service as their goal. "If we all of a sudden go from 80 stalls to 40 stalls we don't want to do our customers a disservice," says Landry. "You need to have the right number of stalls." Funny, any woman at a professional sporting event could have told you that.

[Source: Automotive News, subs. req'd]