My Story
My name is Scott Prokopetz and I’ve been in the automotive industry since leaving university, where I studied physics and computer science, over 35 years ago. My first job was driving a parts truck for a small Chevrolet Oldsmobile dealer in a small town just north of Toronto. Within a couple of months, the Parts Manager moved on to another store and I took over the role of Parts Manager. I still remember that first demo, the parts truck, a Chevy S-10 pickup with a 4-speed manual transmission, black vinyl seats, and no air-conditioning … a true joy to drive in the summer!
Since falling into management so early on, I’ve devoted my career to helping automobile dealers make more money in their Fixed Operations.
I believe in quality in everything I do. Quality delivers value to customers and relationships, vital for survival in today’s world. My father was a Quality Manager and owned a business. He instilled in me a work ethic which revolved around continual improvement and followed the teachings of Dr. W. Edwards Deming. That practice of continual improvement was a catalyst for my rise in management early in my career, became paramount in my personal life as well, and continues to drive me to this day.
My Dad is a man of many quotes, one of my favourites and another pillar of my character and work ethic is this one…
The man who will use his skill and constructive imagination to see how much he can give for a dollar, instead of how little he can give for a dollar, is bound to succeed.
Henry Ford
Over my 35 year career, I’ve been a Parts Driver, Parts Manager, Service Administration Manager, Service Manager, and General Service Manager. I later transitioned into the DMS side of the industry. I started out working with a company that had a DMS repackaged from the Newgen System and was partnered with DIS Ltd. I later purchased their support contracts and found myself the owner of a software company. Throughout this stage of my career, I performed training, consulting, support, installations of new systems, developed new software, maintained legacy software, setup CRM and follow-up systems, and later worked for a dealer as an Information Technology Manager.
I’ve worked for, supported, trained, or consulted with dealers across North America and the Caribbean such as Mills Motors Buick GMC, Hogan Chevrolet, Roy Foss Motors, Taylor Auto Mall, Charles McEnearney & Company, Marvin Starr Pontiac Buick, West York Chevrolet Oldsmobile, Pineview Pontiac Buick, Walnut Creek Ford, Hilltop Ford (Walnut Creek Ford and Hilltop Ford are part of the Stead Automotive Group), Dave Gill, Bartow Ford, Wolfe Chevrolet Oldsmobile, Wolfe Mazda, Donway Ford, Jubilee Ford, Bob Johnston Chevrolet, and several others.
My unique experience on both sides of the dealership business (Fixed Operations Management and everything in the DMS business), coupled with my knowledge and technology skills, has given me a distinct advantage in recognizing areas for improvement, identifying root sources and causes of issues, solving problems, and implementing solutions.
For 35 years I have been helping dealers find new sources of revenue, decrease expenses, train employees, improve processes, and find innovative ways to sell more labour hours and parts with results in the millions of dollars. I'd love to help you too!
Set aside 20-minutes and let's talk!
You can follow me on LinkedIn.
Scott Prokopetz
Drive Safely!