How to Open a Car Dealership in Quebec

Quebec dealerships garnered another victory when the provincial government gave them the green light to reopen their sales departments on May 4, after more than a month of closure due to COVID-19. The one exception is Montreal and Laval — dealerships in the Greater Montreal area will be permitted to reopen only on May 19.

Still, it's another big win for dealerships in the province, which on April 15 were allowed to reopen their service departments for more than just emergency needs. And that came thanks to the strict protocols created by the Quebec Dealers Association (CCAQ), according to Norman Hébert Jr., President and CEO of Groupe Park Avenue.

"As we closed, a lot of these protocols were just becoming a reality, so we didn't really have them in place when we closed — I think it was the 18th of March,"  said Hébert Jr., in an interview with Canadian auto dealer . "But I got involved quite quickly on a small task force with the CCAQ, and its leader Robert Poëti, and developed a protocol for service departments in light of the warming season and winter tire replacement."

Prior to the creation of the protocol, Hébert Jr. said he created a crisis team composed of senior management, HR and communications people, and then they made the decision to reduce the number of staff in the dealership. At the same time, the provincial government was reacting to the pandemic and by the third week of March they closed their operations and laid off 1,150 employees and shut down the store and focused on the financial part of our business.

Hébert Jr. then worked on the protocol with the CCAQ and the rest of the task force, which is what eventually led to the reopening of dealership service departments on April 15, and showrooms in May.

"We developed quite a strict protocol, and we had seen the grocery stores starting with plexiglass dividers and things of that nature. We worked with suppliers to be able to develop those products for dealerships — for service advisors and eventually sales people, (with things like) markings on the floor for the 2-metres (social distancing)," said Hébert Jr.

"We did all that, we presented it to the government, and on April 15 they announced that we were able to reopen as an essential service. And then right away we started to work on a sales or showroom protocol, which we developed and again presented it to the government," said Hébert Jr.

The protocol, of which many of the details were covered by Canadian auto dealer in April , begins the moment the employee is getting ready for work at home (showering, dressing, preparing lunch, washing hands and entering their vehicle) to the moment they arrive at the dealership, and then return home from work.

Asked what advice he can offer dealers across Canada, Hébert Jr. said to remain proactive, remain positive, be safe, and be healthy.

"Let's be safe and make our places of business a healthy and safe environment for our employees, and for our customers," said Hébert Jr. "Let's focus on the recovery. Let's be proactive — we're in a retail environment, and a selling environment. The programs that the manufacturers will be offering us will probably never be as aggressive and as interesting for the consumer."

* This story has been updated to reflect the change in date for dealership openings in the Greater Montreal area. The provincial government recently changed the date from May 11 to May 19 .

How to Open a Car Dealership in Quebec

Source: https://canadianautodealer.ca/2020/05/quebec-dealerships-are-open-for-business/

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