mécanicien automobile

sales consultant

receptionist

technician

shop technician

Dilawri Group of Companies

This rating is about Dilawri Group and NOT Barrie Volkswagen or its staff.  My time there was very enjoyable and the team is comprised of extremely hard working, loyal people trying to bring prestige back to their dealership.

Continuous Dealership Management turnover since Dilawri Group bought this dealership 5 years ago.  6 General Managers later, they still don't accept the problem isn't the managers...

Demotivating and demoralizing approach to performance improvement.  There is no sense of respect from group to dealership management for your own experience or intelligence and managers are treated more like children than professional managers.  No collaboration, just top down pressure.
-Real everyday challenges, when brought up for discussion with Group Management, are turned around as Excuses instead of acknowledging them and working toward a solution.
-Unrealistic Forecasts are pushed onto managers, taking their focus off good sustainable business practice and, in many cases creating poor short term solutions to "take the pressure off".  As long as the number moved in the right direction, the group doesn't care how you got there.  They will never tell you to lie or cheat, but will look the other way if that brings the results they want.
-Never heard a positive remark for great results, only negative comments when they weren't hit.  

There are some positives however.
-central support for IT, HR, Building Maintenance, Marketing and BDC are great and take a load off management.  These are Full Service operations at managers disposal.
-Reports Galore.  You couldn't possible come up with more comprehensive reports about anything and everything.  KPI's for Day/Month/Year, Year over Year, Actual vs. Forecast, running monthly targets, etc... you want it, they have it.
-Meetings every month for all department managers.  some hate them, some love them, but I feel these are great tools for self improvement.  There are many great managers in the group that are encouraged to share best practices.  Give and take learning.

Overall, my experience was disappointing as a first time General Manager.  I took the job knowing that this dealership had extreme problems they were trying to overcome, even thought these were greatly downplayed by the Group.  There was ZERO relationship or communication from the group specific to my dealership or the expectations thereof, only report after report that every dealer got.  there is more to managing successfully than generic reports... You need to create a relationship of open communication, One on One, not Group meetings monthly.  Although the monthly management meetings are great, they cannot be the ONLY communication with the dealership management, but sadly they were...

Hopefully this helps shed some light on what it might look like to work for this Group.  It works for some, but its certainly not my management style.

If you are considering a position with Dilawri, you should know that for the most part what you read in the negative reviews is accurate.  The glowing reviews you read are solicited by HR to try to increase the rating as their reputation in the industry is terrible.  Instead of listening to and valuing staff, the answer seems to be to fake it instead of fix it, and they somehow at the same time believe cutting pay will motivate and retain employees.  People do not matter, everyone is disposable. The only thing that matters are the numbers. The mantra of promoting from within is a fallacy, as are the promises they make and do not keep. The owner and senior management run the company with an “if you don’t like it we’ll find someone who will and who will do it for less pay” attitude.  Management at the dealership level is a title only so expect to be paid for it, appreciated for hard work, or be able to manage anything. While there are plenty of horrible places to work within the industry, there are far better groups or stores to work for. Dilawri believes you should be unwaveringly grateful to be part of their “team”. Having worked for larger companies than Dilawri, and in other industries, I firmly believe that being big is not an excuse for this mindset, many companies find ways to value what has gotten them there, the people who do the work day to day.  Like the incredibly successful Richard Branson says “Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough, so they don't want to”.

  When you start any new position, you will eventually start to see the flaws in the company. This typically can take anywhere between a couple of months, maybe a year depending on how things are, however I started seeing issues within my first week. I heard that turn over was a huge issue, but wouldn’t have expected to see a general sales manager to get fired within my first week. 

  From the time I’ve left, half the team had changed, and that was only the beginning. The amount of work you have to put in that doesn’t involve direct customer relation was surprising. Computers are run off of emulators, and half the time they shut down on you. Sales people are expected to spend hours outside the showroom as lot attendees, and the disorganization has lead to some customers waiting over an hour for deliveries when they were told a specific time.

  While I had a decent relationship with the management, they felt more like bosses than actual leaders. Rather than coaching or teaching, it was demanding deals or having expectations and goals so without any real plan or direction on how to get there. The finance manager was fantastic at his job and great a coaching however. 

  The team was fun to joke with and that was probably the most enjoyable thing for me. Unfortunately there are way too many flaws for this to be a lucrative opportunity for anyone looking for something long term, but good when it comes to a stepping stone in the automotive industry.  

I am fortunate to work for an exceptional company that truly values its employees and fosters a positive work environment. From day one, I have been impressed by the company's commitment to employee growth and development. The management team is highly supportive and encourages us to take on new challenges and expand our skill sets.

One of the things that sets this company apart is its strong emphasis on work-life balance. The company understands the importance of maintaining a healthy personal life and provides flexible working hours and remote work options. This flexibility has allowed me to better manage my personal commitments while still delivering high-quality work.

Moreover, the company's dedication to innovation is truly inspiring. We are encouraged to think outside the box and come up with creative solutions to problems. This culture of innovation has led to numerous breakthroughs and has positioned our company as a leader in the industry.

Additionally, the company's commitment to corporate social responsibility is commendable. We actively participate in various community service initiatives, which not only make a positive impact on society but also foster a sense of pride and fulfillment among employees.

Overall, I am proud to be a part of this company. It has provided me with countless opportunities for growth, a healthy work-life balance, and a chance to make a difference in the world.

I started off loving this job working with a great team of sales people and the best sales manager I have ever met. The problems started with an awful GM who was very old school and full of bitterness from the years it took him to climb to the top under a cheap and cynical owner. So instead of rewarding excellence this imbecile was determined to make it increasingly difficult to accomplish the outstanding experience his team was so capable of delivering. 

He did this by constantly slowing the process with new checks and balances that were never required, cutting pay and adding fake incentives that were designed to be virtually unachievable, thereby cutting pay further, this fool even had the sales people doing lot guy’s work while demanding a premium “business formal” dress code. Needless to say, he was an irrational nightmare, but the sales manager was just the opposite with excellent teaching skills, very approachable, with a new school sales approach, he was supremely capable.

Under this sales manager, the majority of the team earned over 100k per year, but then the GM hired a power hungry manager that was just like him and they slowly destroyed the place. All the best sales people left and it went down hill from there.

I could go on and on but you must have got the gist of it by now.

With changes in management at the start of the year, policies and procedures were changed for seemingly no reason other than the arrival of a new department head wanting to control optics, leaving workers scurrying to catch up with no real understanding of why we were abandoning functioning procedures for halfbaked ones. Lack of experience and direction from department heads left workers feeling unsupported and wayward. Minor positions like receptionist or cashier are not filled so the responsibilities of those positions fall on other team members. This means more work than can be done within your stipulated shift, resulting in management seeming disappointed that you either have unfinished tasks or no interest in working overtime to complete them. As an employee not in a management position, you're left with the overall feeling that your hard work is not appreciated and you can be replaced at any time by someone more "malleable". It quickly became very apparent that unless you were a friend of, or previously employed by, the general manager, or willing to devote all of your personal time to the organization, it was unlikely that you were going to fit in with the "big picture" or have a long-term position here.

There was a certain arrogance among those in upper management positions and it is apparent that you are merely an under achieving placeholder; I did not feel respected and often felt easily replaceable. The sales managers at the location I worked at were all very kind, but had a lot on their own plates. The overall atmosphere was chaotic, disorganized and often emotional due to high pressure felt in all departments; very negative. There was a lack of support in place for new employees and while it can be said that we are all responsible to some degree for our own success or failure, it is necessary to have access to proper resources and mentors - this was not available during my experience. The hours I spent at work greatly exceeded the amount of time I spent at home. I often spent that small amount of time at home attempting to teach myself about products and policies pertinent to my job in hopes that it would help me achieve the expected sales targets. Hitting those targets ultimately reflected my pay as this was a commission based position. Because this position did not offer a good work-life balance, burn out from the constant stress was inevitable. I personally did not have a good experience while working for this company.

I worked for the Dilawri Group of Companies for over half of a decade and in that time I watched it go from a well managed, happy environment, to a poorly run company. My role advanced quickly and for that I am thankful, as they took a chance on someone with no further education than high school. With management change in the last couple of years and the acquisition of more dealerships came an avalanche of extra work with no willingness to hire more employees to handle the load. This left me with a severe imbalance of work/personal life, onset of anxiety and health issues, as well as a terrible complex of self worth in the office due to the countless hours spent trying to keep up with my workload. I should note that sales and finance was never held accountable for their quality of work being sent to our office or deadlines, hence the extreme amount of overtime trying to overcompensate for the delay in paperwork. Hours of overtime went unpaid and seemingly unnoticed despite speaking with managers on multiple occasions. My co-workers were great, same with DIRECT managers, but it seems their hands were tied by UPPER management who cares about nothing but the bottom line. I had to leave my career with Dilawri and I have not been happier in years. I would never recommend anyone to work for this company.

My experience working at Dilawri KIA was interesting. When I first arrived it seemed good on paper. You get a salary and commission on top. Seems perfect right? However they use the term salary differently than how you think it is. When someone receives a salary that is guaranteed the same amount every month no matter how many hours. The job is full time and you work 40 hours a week. Our target is to sell 8 cars before hitting commission. You get a certain number after 12 and than after 18+ cars you sell. But what you don’t realize until it happens to you that one day you’ll feel sick or you’re not in at work you get money deducted. After knowing that than you realize that you’re working minimum wage and the amount that you receive every month is actually calculated by the amount of hours you put in. Also when you calculate the commission of each car you’ll also realize that you’re salary comes out to being 8 cars. So whichever way you look at it, it’s kinda bs. The staff at my dealership is really great but the Finance managers are very unreliable for delivery days and communicating with. The upper management are often disrespectful and try to give their employees the run around.  

I don't think it's any secret that the automotive industry in general can be a rough place to work, but Dilawri is without a doubt the worst there is. Loyalty means nothing to this company, either for employees or customers. They will send out mass emails ranking your job performance against other employees who dont even work for the same brand as you - for other employees and managers to see, on a weekly basis. They cut benefits three times in the time I was employed there. Excessive pay plan "re structuring" which always ended up with a pay decrease. When they realized how bad their turnover rate was, HR requested everyone give 5 star reviews instead of actually addressing any of the issues. You will be a number only at this company with no actual value as a person, being ranked on reports that have no logical benefit. And even if you rank highly on those reports, it will never be enough and upper management will find a reason to scrutinize your performance. If you dont like it, you'll be replaced by someone who will suffer through it quietly. Do yourself a favor and work for literally any other dealership that isn't a Dilawri store.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Mécanicien automobile 14 salaries reported	$37.30 per hour
Sales consultant 1 salary reported	$120,000 per year
Receptionist 1 salary reported	$19.00 per hour
Technician 1 salary reported	$44.92 per hour
Shop technician 1 salary reported	$32.00 per hour

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