Wake up, Buy Here, Pay Here people. It's a beautiful day. Go grab yourself another cup of joe and say hello to Jim and Michelle Rhodes on the Buy Here, Pay Here morning show. Take it away, you two. Well, good morning. Hello and happy Wednesday. Yeah. It's a moving day. It is. Yesterday was Boxing Day, not the Canadian version. It really helps an awful lot when we both end up with a pretty nasty cold in the process. Michelle's came later, so she was in pretty rough shape yesterday and the day before. Rallying today, it seems. been a trooper we're still packing and getting ready for the move so yeah looking forward to it looking forward to it and we're um you know we still are taking opportunities to just kind of talk about the things that are happening and pay attention to what's going on on social and um and just being you know uh hyper aware of of the climate that we're experiencing right now. And, um, it's going to be a bit of a separator for a lot of people. I believe so. Yeah. It's been a topic of conversation. There was a particular thread in the BHP success group that kind of inspired us to bring this particular topic around. Yeah. It's not a new topic. angle for white hat way but it's a it's a hot button subject which is why we need to get this conversation back out in front yeah yeah i agree it's uh um i yeah it's it's just it's been an interesting thing to see you know there's there seems to be a very um different camp different camps on ways um some of the things that are happening today are are um playing or you know how people want to approach it but so you know that sounds really cryptic let's talk about what our topic is today and which is the customer journey yes and and really we we also can share that we're rolling out a new uh track or theme in our podcasts and uh That's going to be this whole thing about the buy here, pay here journey, which is going to be both the journey of the customer and the journey of the dealer. And I think we first have to, in order for that to be meaningful for anybody to tune in and be a part of those, is we have to kind of... think first, do we feel like it is a journey? Like this is part of what our theme is today is like, there are some who think very near term, very transactional, get the payment in. And then there are others who, you know, are prepared to play that long game we talk about. So this is really where it starts to separate. And I think when you, when you refer to that thread, there was a thread that where people were talking about, Hey, our customers are facing this snap thing. They're not going to have their their check at the first of november and what how are we going to deal with that yeah and um you know steven fusil is doing a um podcast tomorrow i don't know if you saw that he's doing a kind of an emergency podcast to talk about it with you know multiple it's um what's that platform i can't remember what it's called clubhouse i think yeah so that'll be an audio podcast tomorrow yeah um i Yeah, so Jim and I, we were kind of watching this topic and how it was playing out. We've had conversations with people that we work with through White Hat Way where this topic has come up and it's been like, wow. Yeah. I mean, wow. There's so many things about it that I just find fascinating. Um, and you know, I just, as we were starting the topic, I just, one of the things that just downloaded in my head was during COVID when everyone in the country was getting all the stimulus money, um, dealers were just like, this is great. This is the best thing ever. People are paying their bills. They're, you know, they're doing all this stuff. And there was some heartburn around the free money thing, but everyone was paying their bills. It was bank during a lot of COVID because people had the bandwidth to pay. And now we're hitting the exact pendulum opposite. And, and it's just, it's like, it, it's just an interesting thing to watch because, the reaction to this. And I just, as we were sitting here, I was like, I'm seeing this pendulum swing of, you know, free money was great when free money is taken away. it's, it's, or you know what I'm saying? I mean, cause it's, cause a lot of people believe in the, the, the concept of it's free money. Okay. Um, you know, and, and food benefits and all of that is, it is a form of welfare and it's, you know, it's free money for, for those that are, um, are struggling. And, and let me preface this just really quickly. A long time ago, I had two children and Um, very young. I mean, they were two and three and I went through a divorce and I was on welfare for about a year until I got my feet back under my ground, you know, underneath me. And, and so I was one of those that had to use food stamps. They didn't have, they weren't called snap back then. And, you know, so I was one of those that it was just like I had nowhere else to turn. My parents were already helping me with rent and, you know, that kind of stuff so that I could support myself. But there are a lot of people out there that rely on those things while they're getting their feet back underneath them. And I was one of those. And, you know, it's just there's, yes, there's like the spectrum of people that are using Snap, of those that are taking advantage of the system and those that need it. Yeah, and you also have military folks. You've got people who are in your own family, some of those same kids. Yeah, and this isn't about SNAP, but it's about where we're at right now with government shutdown, all of the things. My oldest son is a military vet, just really struggles with PTSD to the point where he is on a hundred percent disability. He doesn't leave his house very often at all. And I was over there visiting with him before we're leaving. And I was like, how are you doing? And he says, he's like, I don't know if I don't know if there's anything coming at all next month. And so I don't know if I'm going to be able to make my mortgage. I don't know if I'm going to be able to do all of these things. And. And so, you know, in, in my world, um, that this is, this goes deep. It's, it, it really, it's hitting home with, with, you know, from my past and when I've, when I've had to rely on those programs and with my son who's military, who saw some really horrendous things in Afghanistan and just still has nightmares about it. Right. He was out there protecting and, you know, defending and all of the things. And, and I'm, yeah, I'm getting emotional about it, but it's just, it's like this, this whole thing is hitting people in a way that is, it's, it has the elements of being catastrophic. Yes. It's certainly at the minimum, it's a, really difficult, temporary setback. Unless we just believe the government's never gonna get funds again and these people are never gonna get their money, then it's a setback. How many people are one paycheck away from homelessness? Well, I know, I know. But I think what I'm trying to get to in this conversation today is if we're on a journey, then this is just the latest batch of setbacks that affect. And I asked the question last night in a V-Ape meeting, just scientific because people can't know this for sure probably in their system, but I asked them best guess what percentage of your customers would be affected by a shutdown where these checks didn't get funded and and most of them guessed if you've if you just look at fixed income it's probably less than five percent of people that are in their portfolio they're strictly fixed income on social security that kind of thing but if you take into account the military and some of these other folks who somebody in the family may be may have a check withheld, then now you're at like thirty to forty percent. And I and I want to say because I've heard some people say that this is an underwriting thing. The way the economy has been in the last year, we've talked about this a lot in the podcast. is that costs of living have gone up so much that I would venture that there is a higher percentage of people in portfolios that are now on food assistance of some kind to be able to make ends meet. Maybe. Because it's just more expensive or they're relying on things outside of what they relied on when... they got the loan because it's just, it's been a struggle for a lot of people. And that's true. And I think obviously the snap thing is, is a hot button thing. People are, are, you know, really focused on it. But I think what I'm looking forward to getting to is the, if you back up and take the wide view on this and you just say, This is a setback, right? This customer is facing a financial setback. And so now the question becomes, you know, how are we going to approach that? And I shared with our group last night, and if I get a chance to participate in that clubhouse tomorrow, we can talk about it over there as well. But it's like... I meet dealers who, and I shared the story, I think, in our podcast recently about a dealer that I worked with, I'm reminded, several years ago, who just had been many years in retail. They started the Buy Here, Pay Here side with some support from us. And I remember having a conversation with the dealer many months in with like, I don't understand why these customers can't just get their payment in here. I have to make my payments everywhere. And I thought this is somebody who's always had money, who's never, never not had the money to meet their obligations and pay their bills and maintain a high credit score. So they can't relate. that dealer could not relate. And so the takeaway for me was, and I think I said it to that dealer that day is look, if that's the expectation you have of this customer that you're serving in subprime, then maybe this is not the right business for you because you're going to have a series of frustrations day after day, week after week. And so maybe this is not, and I was reminded of that same thing when I read that thread and I heard some of the people chiming in with the attitude is they just need to make the dang payment. You know, it's like, Or why weren't they planning ahead? And I'm just like, we already know from talking to lots and lots of dealers. I mean, the conversations with dealers that we've known for a very long time is that most of our customer base are like, they have to stretch a dollar. And that dollar isn't going as far as it used to. And so a lot of them are taking second or third jobs to be able to just cover what they normally have and not cover for the future. Right. Most of them, most of our customers don't have the bandwidth to be able to prepare for a setback. We know this because their car breaks down and it's like, well, I can make the car payment or I can fix the car. What do you want me to do? Because they don't, they just, and it's, yes, it could be some of it education, but some of it is just the circumstance. It's the situation. Yeah. So I think we can get into this, you know, as it's been our practice in the podcast lately, we, we ran a lot of this stuff through chat GPT and chat GPT almost invariably finds elements. It suggests elements that I hadn't really contemplated myself in the scope of the subject matter. And of course, in our particular case, our, um, Our agents, you know, whether it's a voice agent or we use a voice and text, but they have a good depth of understanding of White Hat Way as a mission and all the principles that go into White Hat Way. And so it sweeps that. It knows that framework as it does this. So let's go through the points. We can just start with the first one. And so kind of talk about this first one we'll put on the screen. Okay. So the short game. The short game. just get the payment in versus the long game build a relationship yeah so this is about the relationship part of it and i the one of our dealers in the meeting last night said because I want the payment, not the car. Okay. You can think about that. It's like, I don't want the car. Yeah. So it's like, if you just think about that part alone, you want the payment. Well, you'd like to have a payment today, but if that's not possible and we don't want the car and we want to maintain the relationship with the customer, then what's that look like? Because when we take the position, just get the payment in, Like get the payment in by five o'clock or else we got to deal with a fly that it's a mosquito. So you'll see it land on my forehead. Go ahead. Yeah. Yeah. If we just if we just get the yeah, get the payment. Yeah. So it's it's a it's a short term mindset versus long game. Right. So this is really what White Hat Way talks about a lot. We talk about that when you approach this business with a long game mindset. Then what I'm really suggesting is this whole snap thing that people worked up about. It's it's really it begs the question, what percentage of your customers are not going to be able to pay in the first ten days of November? I've just asked that question first. And then is that is that the difference between being in business and not being in business? Then a follow up to that same question would be, can you do what Ken Shilson has proposed is if your charge off double, are you still in business? And so you have to ask yourself, can one financially afford to take this posture where you get the payment in or else or we're repossessing the car? And it's not my problem that the government didn't pay you. It's you know, so I'm picking up the car. Well, you know, you can take that position. But I think it becomes a question of profitability and sustainability. And really, it's kind of one of the things we'll talk about is some other versions of ROI here that we need to be prepared for and contemplate in making these decisions. Because what I would say is this snap thing is the setback of the day. But there will be other setbacks. And if we step into a business relationship with a customer who's a little stretched on income, they're in a subprime credit segment to begin with. We know a lot of things about them, how they manage money and what and and I would say the support that they typically require. And so if we're not going to be prepared to offer that support and some degree of handholding and we're just going to say, get the payment in, then I think we can expect a lot of charge offs. I think we can expect a lot of frustration and stress. And I just think for a lot of folks, I would say maybe this business is not the right business for them if they can't roll with the customer and the punches. Amen. Amen to that. And I know when we've put new dealers into business and it's been a split thing, when we talk to them about their why, and because that is part of the process when we would help a new dealer, right? It was. It was kind of like a fifty fifty on somewhere. It was like I've been in that situation and I have compassion for the customer and and I want to be able to help people get through a tough patch. Just like I had someone help me get through a tough patch. And then there are those that said, I've heard you can make a lot of money. And, and both can be true. That's the thing is that both can be true. The making a lot of money is, is it's this whole question is, is it a short term thing or is it a long term thing? Because, because when you can, when you can look at it, you know, pull yourself back short game, long game, when you can, you know, the It's like there is so much more wealth, not just in fiat, not just in money, but wealth in business. in having, in having equity with your, with your community and, and, you know, and like the security of having a business that will withstand the things that, that we see coming and that, that we're experiencing right now. And, and, yeah, that it's just, it's, it's, do you, are you in the business to make a lot of money? And so those are flash in the pan only. If you're only in the business to make a lot of money, if you're in the business to help people and, and, Build a sustainable business. Build a sustainable business. That will produce profits and cash flow for a very long time. Then you're at the right place. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So let's go on to this next one. It's quite similar. This is when dealers expect customers to figure it out, then everybody loses. And I would say that's going to be the dealer and the customer. That's really what we're referring to here. Both can lose in that situation when we say it's on you. Now, listen, there's accountability, and we'll talk more about accountability soon. But, of course, we need to hold customers accountable to doing their part. It's just that when I say their part, that suggests that there's a part for us, too. And so this starts to become this idea that, you know, I talked about recently that I wrote an article some time ago called Somebody Messed Up. This was years ago. It's like you always need to know, was it us that messed up or was it the customer who messed up? And in this case, our policies are going to be tested here. Like in our whole approach to business and those philosophies and policies that we draft around that are going to really be tested if in fact those checks don't come. And depending on how long that strings out and how we work with those customers or not work with those customers is going to really determine what next month and next year look like. Right. So these are these are I think this is a way for us to begin to really break down and dig into philosophy and approach. Yeah, and we also know already that so many of our customer base, I mean, there are some that have hit a really hard stretch. And so they've understood economics and budgeting and things like that from, you know, because they've lived that. And right now they're in a hard stretch. And then we have another segment of our customer base that did not learn these things. They stopped teaching this stuff in school a long time ago. Right. And so there's a lot of people that are our customers that don't understand how to plan for the future. It's not something that they were taught or that they've ever felt like they had the bandwidth to. It's a mindset to have the bandwidth to be able to actually do. Right. So moving to this next one, this idea of the myth of tough love. So obviously tough love is kind of what we're talking about here when we want the customer to just figure it out. And we're going to choose not to show any empathy. We're going to let the customer figure their own stuff out. We're going to hold them accountable to getting that payment in. And if they don't, then they're going to face whatever the consequences are. And when we take that approach, I think what we know can happen is, yeah, some customers are going to figure it out. Some are going to get the payment in by six o'clock on Friday. I think more customers are going to tell you they'll try to figure it out we're going to do what they can but in reality i say about our customers in this buy here payer segment um which also everything we talk about here extends to the lease your payer side too it's the same basic thing but um i say about those customers that many of them do not know how to solve their own problems. And that's unfortunate. It's kind of a byproduct of the business. And I feel like when we choose to get in it, and this is something I certainly talk to dealers about who are contemplating getting into the buy, hear, pay your businesses, like anticipate a degree of handholding. And it can be frustrating that the customer doesn't know how to do something about their own car insurance or, you know, on and on and on. They're going to require some support and this tough love element when we just say, figure it out. I see. And, and I, I, I have a little bit of a friction around that. I think, I think that the, the attitude of figure it out is not loving and It's like, figure it out. You just figure it out. And it's been deemed tough love. But you can't have tough love until you've taught them the skills they need to be able to weather the storm. And so if we haven't taught them anything, it's not tough love. It's heartless action. Yeah. Good. Okay. Yeah. And I think that's fair because I've said the same thing more in a context of people that you hire is like, we can't expect people to know how to do something we've never taught them to do. And we want to go in there and hold them accountable to something we've never really taught them to do. And so this customer that we serve in the buy here, pay here segment, is often in that situation. They don't know how to solve their own problems. They've never been taught some of these things that will come up. And sometimes that's true about mechanical stuff. It's true about insurance and on and on and on. It's like, there are so many things. And so when we push them away and say, figure that stuff out, and we kind of take this tough love position, that I think we could expect a lot of repos. I would just always say if we're not prepared to support our customers through a very long journey, like this is a customer who's going to be with us for three years and we hope they're going to be with us for ten years and we hope they're going to be referring friends and family. And so if we really expect that, if that is our approach in this business and that's the kind of business we want to build, and I would say The smaller the community, the more important this approach can be in terms of serving long-term interests. And so I think this is why, you know, we advocate for having the personnel to be able to support this customer. We're taking steps to be able to support that customer to some degree through AI personas and some tools. some actual customer advocacy. So there's some things that are being done in that way. And I want to pause for a minute and explain that our customer journey, or sorry, our buy here, pay here journey, which will be both customers and dealers, is going to be, that track is going to be hosted and co-hosted, I guess you could say, by our AI voice persona, Sage. She and I will co-host that and we will bring folks to this conversation about the journey for both the dealer and the customer. And obviously they're intermingled, right? They're they're intertwined all along the way like it or not unless we just sever that relationship because we out of frustration or you know hard policies then uh you know then this this is where we're we're going to have a long journey in this business relationship with this customer if we're prepared if we sign up for that yeah and i think that's what we're signing up for when we agree to get in this business Fahad, thanks for piping, yeah, contributing, says, providing a direction to figure it out can help. In the instance of a mechanical issue, providing a list of vendors we have vetted tends to work better in the long run. In the long run, right. Yeah, no, that's true. That's an example of a step we're giving people sources. Exactly, exactly. I would say, you know, we've gone a step further, and a lot of the dealers we've worked with, and in my own experience as a dealer, we would... We didn't want to refer to some particular mechanic because then you kind of in cahoots and if it doesn't go well, you're sort of in it with them. So it'd be better to give the customer the list and what you're talking about. But there've been plenty of times that among the ways you can help a customer, we need to save them some money on parts. I mean, we can get money on parts better. And if we can pass that along to a customer, there's just, I can give you a list of example after example of things that I would love for our customers. collection team and collection supervisors to have at their disposal as far as resources and ways to support customers. But that's really up to us to listen and understand what the customer needs and then, of course, understand what the resources are and the options that are available. But I think we want to be prepared to lean in. We're certainly advocating White Hat Way to lean in with the customer. But in order to do any of those things, we have to be able to communicate with the customer, which means we have to have some sort of relationship with the customer where they will talk to us. And so this is kind of thing we talked about in the past about an open door policy at closing. And you mentioned underwriting early on, I would say, Today's conversation really shouldn't be about underwriting because the deal's already underwritten. We're talking about the customers in the thing with us now. Are we going to save it or not? That's where I was. I absolutely agree. But some of the comments on the stream were, well, that was an underwriting question. It's like, when you underwrote these loans... the circumstances could be incredibly different right now for your customer base. And I do want to kind of go back to that first one where Fahad even mentioned helping with lists of all of that. One of the things I really appreciated from reading this stream, and it was just like, for me, all hearts, thumbs up, is... and it goes, it ties into this, we have to communicate with our customers, is that we have resources and solutions, ideas ready to be able to, I mean, we've loaded the lip of our collectors and those that are talking to our customers. It's like, how can we help? What it's, it's not just about, you know, making sure that all the information is correct. And then how much can you pay today? But it's about, all right, we know that it's tough. Here are some, here are some things that might be able to help with other things that we know your money are going to or whatever, so that we can work together to, to, to make all of the things work. you know, all the things work. So, and so I loved where it was, uh, some of the, some of the, one of the dealers was talking about how their collection team has already put a list of, here are places that can help with food because it's food is with that, with that snap benefits. That's the thing right now is just food. How can we help with food? And, um, I've been watching a lot of other outside of our industry about, you know, how can we recognize this problem is affecting us deeply because of our customer base, but this problem is also affecting us in general in the country about how do we support our Because we for for the most case in this thing is it's not just about a car payment, but it's about how do we help people through a really, really rough situation. So, yeah, you know, the next the next thing we were talking about was a real ROI of caring. And it's like, is there an ROI there? to carry? What would that ROI be? Well, when you look at things like what is... What is the value? Like if we really take time to listen to our customers, we invest a few extra minutes and we build trust. We show compassion. That's how we build trust is by showing compassion and empathy for what's going on with them. Doesn't mean we give them everything they ask for, but we listen first. We build that relationship and that equity. So now how does that pay off for us? Well, Some of these things are going to be pretty measurable, others less so. But like your repeat business, right? If I can support that customer and listen to them and work with them and they are going to repeat with me, then that is going to be one way that we can measure our repeat business and how that pays off for us and why that customer chose to repeat with us. referral business would be the same, right? We really want to be able to measure, and this is really a good indication in dealerships of how well they adapt a long game approach, is that their success in repeat and referral business. And then the last one for me would be reputation. But that's a little less... measurable, we can certainly speculate that our reputation in the industry, whether that's on our Google reviews or whether it's in the coworker break room, it's like where our reputation shows up is there's going to be ROI associated with that. It's harder to measure. It's harder for us to know how it's paying off. But again, I would say in smaller markets, this becomes even more amplified. And this is why we believe that it's time well spent. It's time well invested. to just take time and listen to the customer, make sure we understand what's going on with them, and then we can step forward with whatever the solution is. But we first have to understand the real problem. And that just means listening, and that means investing time. And guess what? If you're tracking your collector's calls, they might spend an extra, you know, three minutes on a call, you know, that may be a part of what has to be invested here in order to have a chance to really get to the bottom of what's happening with the customer and have a chance to gain some ROI around caring. Yeah. And, you know, one of the things we were talking about last night as we were discussing this topic was, was, you know, we were frequently encouraging dealers to, we have been for, gosh, a long time, is like, create that relationship. The impetus is on us to create the relationship, not on them. It's on us. Um, and how you do that is by opening dialogue. And, and I remember a long time ago, um, that was the first buyer pair United when we were talking about how is buyer pair like a chicken sandwich. And one of the questions that came up, they said in the, in the age of eight of, um, Of automatic withdrawal from your bank accounts. We don't see people. So how do we do that? And it's like, that's on us. It's like, it's, it's, it's not on them. Um, where before that was, it was on them. They, they were coming in and they were doing the thing. And so it made our job. easier. Well, now that's no longer a thing. So how do we make that job easier with staying connected? And one of the things we were talking about last night is if we could encourage every dealer out there to put together an email Have chat GPT help you with it. Put together an email that's going to go out to all of your customers and say, hey, you know, we were aware of the stuff and we just want you to know that you can always come in and talk to us. Right. And and, you know, we're here. We're here to help. And, and so this is this, this, this, uh, speed bump along the way of our journey, um, is something we can both work together to, to get over. So if you've, if, if there's something happening, don't hesitate to reach out because you know, we can, we, we're here to help in any way we can. Yeah. And I think you can also be proactive in this case by showing that you care, which is also going to cement your reputation. If I went to the community and that includes my existing customers. So if I have a portfolio of two hundred customers and only forty to fifty of them might be affected by this missing check. Then the other hundred and fifty, I can I can just extend the offer to them and say, hey, we're doing a food drive for every sack of groceries that you bring in. We'll offer you if you're our customer, we'll offer you a twenty five dollar payment voucher. You can use it against your account anytime or whatever the number is. I can create a food drive where I can have groceries available to my customers who are in need and I can extend that offer to my customers who need. would also appreciate seeing that we're stepping out there in that way. And, you know, this is... It's a really great opportunity for our... industry to partner in some way with local food banks or other other organizations that are helping and this this kind of goes back to that thing that i was talking about where it's this is this is a a culture it's like there's this is happening Not just in buy here, pay here, but it's happening across the board. And so one of the things I was looking at, a relative of mine posted about churches now. It's like, can churches pick up the slack? And they can't on their own. They require community support in order to be able to do that. And so, you know, me, I'm like, this is such a great opportunity for us to come together as a community and help support each other. And so we're just one aspect, buyer payers, just one aspect of a community that are of those that are. um, unbankable downtrodden, whatever you, you know, we're one element within that. And that we, you know, we have an opportunity to not just to send that email, but to reach out to those organizations, whether it be a church or a food bank or whatever. And it's like, what can we do to help? How can we help support? Can we do the, the, the food drive? Can we like combine efforts and help with that? I've seen where, um, Some dealers that we've worked with, and I just applaud them, at Thanksgiving, they combine efforts with food banks, and then they're helping with getting Thanksgiving dinner out to more and more people. So that's another way of being able to just really step in. And I would say this ROI thing is like, look, again, I can't say it enough. This is the current setback, but most customers are in a three-year contract. Obviously there are varying stages of those contracts in the portfolio, but the reality is this is the setback of the day. There will be others. So next month, everything that we're talking about here, Also applies. This is a percentage of your customers not getting a check. But what about next month when it's a mechanical problem, a job change or somebody sick in the family? These things still apply. It's like, are we it? How are we managing setbacks? And do we expect it? When setbacks happen, that's on the customer, right? We've covered that. The next point was setbacks are not red flags. They're relationship tests. And this is true on the microcosm and the macrocosm. I mean, in a relationship with your children or a spouse or a business partner or whatever, when setbacks come... Um, it's like, what, what are you willing to step in or push away? Yeah. Run away. And, and to me, this is, it's, we were talking about this last night is that this is a beautiful time for dealers to step in and, and not, and get, get off of the other side of the table and scoot your chair around to the same side of the table and say, okay. I'm in this with you. I'm in this with you. What can we do to help? Because guess what, Mr. Dealer? You are in that with them. It's how you react to it. Let me read exactly the way that ChatGPT spoke to this thing about the red flag. I love this. A late payment isn't the end of the story. It's the middle of one. Dealers who handle setbacks with patience and guidance prove their brand's integrity when it matters most. And that's when customers remember it most. I mean, I just don't know how you could say that any more succinctly. It's like, this is why we think that it tests the relationship. It shows your metal and a lot about your business philosophy and approach in difficult times. How are you going to show up for your customers? And the customers are going to remember that. And so, so when it's time to repeat, when it's time to refer, you know, certainly when they have to buy another car, when their SNAP money does finally come in, they have to go find another car, you know, they're probably not going to be back to do business with you. So it's a really question of, you know, if we handle those things in the wrong way. So, you know, it's, it's really begs the question is, you know, what does it mean for us financially? If, if we have to if we don't collect these payments in November, what does it mean for us financially? Or does it, can we keep the lights on? That's a whole nother, um, uh, side topic thing that I, I'm, I'm hoping that we can just touch on briefly before we're done today. But, um, the next one is from repossession to repositioning, um, short game dealers, repossessed cars, um, Long game dealers reposition customers. So they ask, how do we get you back on track instead of when can you pay? Okay. So this is, uh, it says this, the reframing changes the entire energy of the conversation. So that's important. And the customers perceive that. And we, we don't give them enough credit for that part. Do they struggle in other parts of their life? Certainly, but they recognize when we're working with. Oh, and I want to just read that and listen to this because they're basically saying the same thing. How do we get you back on track? And when can you pay? They're saying the same basic thing. One of them is a wall. The other is... we're a team yeah um and and and you know when when a customer hits a hard patch it's time to be a team player it just really is it's time to to step in as a team um and work with them so yeah uh next one next one white hat way is a business strategy um you know we just when when white hat way was Formulated. Formulated when it was like conceptualized. And then, you know, and it's it was just a way to be able to create an identity around a philosophy and a way of of approaching business. And so White Hat Way is the name. But it's like the white hat way is all of these things sitting on the same side of the table. This is a partnership in a business dealing. It's like we're here to work with you. It's prioritizing relationship over transaction. Exactly. And, and, and so, you know, we, we ask our, we ask dealers that we work with all the time, you know, what is your, what is your strategy? What, you know, what is your vision of, and, and this becomes really a differentiation. And, and, and People ask us all the time, hey, can you guys do collections training? And collections is like, this is the backbone of the entire business. And so if you don't have kindness as part of your backbone, I don't know that we can help you. It's just because it's a philosophy and it's a business strategy of how do we this isn't us against them. This is a we. And let me just share that yesterday I had a meeting with a prominent lender in our industry. We don't need to say who, but I can say that I was able to share with them because we referred to this same Facebook thread and they had seen it and they were also alarmed by some of the things that they read. So again, this is a lender who would be your capital provider if you're looking to grow. And they were alarmed by the same things in terms of the what was emphasized, the disparity between some of the comments versus the others, relational versus transactional, and sustainable. In a way, I don't have a problem saying who it is. I don't think it's important here, but I think the main thing to understand is that when you're a lender who does factor in character, OK, then you recognize that when they see these threads and they they also from the white highway perspective, they understand that the things that we talk about here are difference makers. And they obviously want to do business with people that are in it for the long game. Right. They want to make they want to have a business relationship themselves with a dealer who's going to be around. Yeah. Right. And so this is why it's important to them. And the sustainability fact is it's one thing to be profitable. It's another thing to be profitable, build a relationship equity in a community and have a business be around for decades. So you brought in capital. And this was that was the stream that I wanted to to to just touch on briefly. You know, and this this kind of goes back to a year ago. And we talked about this where, you know. not only right now are our customers feeling a huge pinch, our dealers are feeling a huge pinch and, and they're there. It's like, we, we really need to this whole stepping back. It's like, where are we asking for grace? Right. Where are we asking for grace? Because, you know, with our lenders, we're asking for grace. And what's the best way to be able to, what's the best foundation to be able to ask for that grace? It's communication and relationship. And and if if we are being honest with our lenders and we're asking our consumers are to be honest with us and and that we you know, we have an open line of communication. We're not ghosting because, you know, we that's one of the things that people complain about. Dealers complain we are being ghosted. We talked about this last week. We're being ghosted by our by our customers. Are we ghosting our lenders? Yes. You know, it's keeping this an open dialogue and open communication and asking for grace. And so this, we really, as dealers, we stand in the middle of something that it can just be, it's kind of, I think, karma. Mm-hmm. when we are offering grace in a smart way, cause you know, you're not giving away the boat, but we're offering grace, let's figure this out. And that we are communicating with our lenders and that it's, there is, there is a level of, of that grace, just kind of, we create our own experience and it will, it'll spread out both ways. And, and, and if we're, if we're holding the line and it's like, I want the payment or I want the car back, then how can we expect our lenders to offer us any grace? And so it's really, I see, you know, we're talking about the last point on there is the journey ahead and choosing which road we choose to travel. I'm of a mindset that There is a lot that's happening in our country, in the world, all of that. And that this is just one of the things that is going to be coming up that tests us as to whether or not we care about our fellow men. Mm-hmm. Or that we're only caring about our pocketbook. And again, you can be kind and loving and compassionate and full of grace and still make a lot of money. You just may not make as much for the short term while we're all working together to get through this thing. But on the end of the thing, you have created a foundation in your community and in your business that will be stronger in the long run. It will weather other storms. And so what kind of energy what kind of mindset do we want to bring to our business today? And for, and not just today, but it's like, how, how do we want to approach this? Because gosh, darn it. If everyone is feeling this and, and you're of the mindset, take the car back. You're going to have a very full lot of rebounds. of repos and and and with some that's part of a strategy some that's the strategy they choose i think for this one where we wrap up on this idea of the journey ahead we're going to choose which road to travel i think the first thing we have to acknowledge is do we accept that it is a journey Like, do we accept that this is a long, ongoing journey that we're on? It's like the old thing about, you know, the journey versus the destination. Of course, the destination matters here in that we are all focused on an outcome that we're looking for with the customer, which to me is they're going to repeat, they're going to buy from me again and again for decades, and they're going to repair friends and family. That's the model that I would be choosing to adopt if I were in business. That's what we were going to teach with YI Way. So if that's the journey, That's the outcome that I'm looking for. And I accept that the journey is ongoing. And if I bring a neighborly approach, this is a white hat way element. Like if I'm bringing a neighborly approach and I, and I regard these folks as my customer base as being my neighbors and I want to support them. And yes, they're a different place in life than I might be as a dealer or others may be. But they're going to be the lifeblood of my business. And in addition to the lifetime value of the customer, like the financial value, I'm saying the lifetime customer equity value, the value of that relationship is the part that is harder to measure. But I would say there's real ROI in that. There is real benefit in adopting that strategy. And there's a lot less stress and frustration when we're neighborly and we're supportive and we can work through things and we expect things to happen. And we're prepared to step in and support customers through that stuff. And to me, that's just the nature of this business. And I think folks who don't see that are set up for a lot of charge-offs. A lot of frustration. And I would just say maybe another business makes more sense for those folks because it's a frustrating way to do business if you're not prepared to cooperate and work with your customers. And I was just thinking as you were saying that, are we a day trader or are we an investor? Good. Because a day trader, it's volatile. And it's a high level of stress if what you're doing is day trading. But if you're investing, that's a different mindset in that. Are we just burning through? Or are we like we're playing the long game in this? All right. Send an email, ask ChatGP to help you write a compassionate email of like, we understand what's going on and we are here. And that, you know, just talk to us. If there's something that's happening, talk to us. And in some, get your collectors involved. armed with with tools to be able to help make sure they're authorized to be able to do what can be done absolutely we've talked about that quite a bit too all right everybody thanks so much for joining um happy whitehead wednesday we will see you all on friday uh we might be on the road i don't know we'll see if we get everything done and yeah we might be in between homes i don't know um all right thanks again so much and we will see you guys on friday
