ADI’s CSI Certification Workshop a Big Hit!

This year’s F&I Conference offers an inaugural CSI certification workshop, presented by the Automotive Dealership Institute.  Desire for this groundbreaking training proved insatiable; due to a far higher than projected response rate and overwhelming demand, F&I Conference officials and ADI were left scrambling to increase the number of available seats.   

Despite this increased capacity, seating is still extremely limited for this certification.  Excitement over this cutting-edge workshop is mounting, so attendees who wish to take part should register as soon as possible.

Although this CSI workshop is valued at $325, it is offered free of charge to registered F&I Conference attendees.  Participants will experience two hours of interactive training, culminating in a CSI certification exam.  Those who successfully complete the course will receive an engraved certificate mounted in a beautiful, gold-embossed hardcover presentation portfolio, as pictured above.

Perhaps most important of all, this accelerated training will arm participants with the knowledge necessary to train their own dealership personnel in successful CSI practices.  “I’m looking forward to the new and innovative ideas that will lead to a consistently favorable customer service experience,” says Randy Hoffman of Florida-based Morse Operations, Inc.  Mr. Hoffman further reports that he is anxious to “utilize the training at the dealership level.”  However, this certification is also of great value to those without defined CSI practices.  Pete Hancock, President of the National Automotive Council, says that his company is attending this workshop “for an introduction into CSI, so we can get a firm understanding of the entire process.”   In fact, Mr. Hancock and his business associate, Pete Lista, chose to attend the conference for the sole purpose of participating in ADI’s CSI certification.  

Take-away skills of the workshop include:

• A comprehensive understanding of how to earn high CSI scores
• How and when to present the CSI survey
• How to use CSI surveys to improve the dealership’s products and services
• How to use CSI surveys as market predictor models
• Ideas to improve and maintain the full range of CSI metrics
• Ways to increase product and dealer loyalty

The certification workshop will be taught by ADI Professor Wayne Mehrtens. Prof. Mehrtens is responsible for teaching ADI’s CSI, Ethics, and Compliance programs. He began his automotive career in 1982 as an F&I manager in San Antonio, Texas. Later, he became a General Manager of United Auto Group, known for maintaining some of the highest CSI scores in the country. He also has extensive experience with BMW North America. Professor Mehrtens is a graduate of the Skip Barber High Performance Driving School, Ryan Finance and Insurance School, BMW Sales Management School, and the M.A.P. Management program. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Prof. Mehrtens helped author ADI’s groundbreaking CSI Certification Program, which is expected to be the standard for dealership and related-industry professionals.

The workshop will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 18. The F&I Conference runs from Sept. 17-20 at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas. For more information about the certification program, the conference agenda and how to registration, visit www.fi-conference.com.

The Automotive Dealership Institute is a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based automotive management school that specializes in educating the next generation of Finance and Insurance managers and service advisors. ADI is licensed by the State of Arizona Board for Private Postsecondary Education and approved by the Arizona Department of Education. For more information, call 877-998-7200 or visit autodealerinstitute.com.