posted 05-16-2002 08:08 AM                  

I voiced some of the complaints and comments about the Prowler techs (or lack of) at the dealerships and the quality of these technicians.

Some of the information that was shared is as follows:

1. Chrysler developed the training programs for the dealership technicians. The basic training program was then offerred to the dealerships who were going to be receiving Prowlers.

2. As we know most 5-star dealers received Prowlers, but that was not mandatory to participate in the training.

3. As I understand it (and if there are any techs out there who can help explain this, please do) there are three levels of certification for techs. Bronze, Silver and Gold. After receiving the basic training from DC, it is up to the techs and the dealers to pay for and upgrade the skills of their techs by attending classes, etc. Not all techs work their way through these levels. Not all dealers pay for their tech's training. Some techs pay for this on their own.

4. After the initial Prowler tech training was done, these techs were "classified" as certified Prowler techs. If a tech leaves a dealership and begins working at another, DC tracks this, so they know where the certified techs are. As a result of this "tracking", they are then aware that the dealership that lost this tech may be without a certified Prowler tech(this also applies to Viper and those techs earning the different skill levels). They then can approach the dealership about replacing that tech with someone who is already qualified or suggesting training for a new person.

5. However, if the certified tech leaves the business altogether or goes to a competitor dealership (meaning GM, Ford, etc.) he falls out of the tracking system. DC has no way to know this as he is not showing up at another DC dealer. At that point, it is definitely up to the dealership to hire and train a new tech. They don't have an obligation to notify DC that a tech dropped out of the system.

There have been a number of posts and comments about the techs and one of the issues was the lack of knowledge and training. Obviously, DC provides this training, but it ultimately is the dealer's responsibility to take advantage and implement this training.

I hope I remembered all of this accurately, and if there are any techs out there who can maybe clarify this more, please do!!