Working on the dealer level, we know firsthand how difficult it can be as a "customer" to pay our repair order or get our own vehicles' status. Let alone what our customers go through when paying their repair order or inquiring about their status. As a customer, I wanted to pay my service repair order but was stuck on a conference call. Sure, I could call the dealership after the call, but they were on their way with my vehicle. It dawned on me if the dealer can text me to let me know my car is ready - why can't they text me with a link to pay with Apple Pay? (or for those with Google, Google Pay; there are vendors out there!). Instead, the dealer kept calling my phone until I texted my sales guy, and asked if the could tell service that I could not call them back until after my conference call, which left me a little on edge as I was trying to juggle both situations. Not to mention, the "text" notifications regarding my vehicle was "one way," and I could not reply to it. What could have been a simple, easy situation got a little frustrating. I wanted to pay the repair order and take care of it, BUT I couldn't! 

We continue to talk about what "digital retailing" means, but often forget about simple fixes that could create a smooth, painless experience for our customers. Imagine this. The dealer sends you a text that your vehicle is ready, and you can click "pay" within the text message. At which point, you get a confirmation text that your RO is paid! 

Instead, I had to wait until I was off the call, placed on hold for 20 minutes, to then finally pay the RO. And because the total was what was discussed earlier by a significant difference, I had to wait another 18 minutes to speak with the advisor. That's 38 minutes to simply pay an RO. All of this could have been through a text, which would have saved all of us time. I do not mind being on hold, I get that the dealer is just as busy. But imagine if I were able to text the question regarding the new total, get the reply, pay, and be done? 

And look, this pain point certainly does not mean I (or our customers) won't go back to the dealer, I will. But it's these pain points that create a distraction to the customer. Working on the dealer level, you often see the customer calling you before calling them with an update. If you can effectively manage the updates in near real-time, you are proactively communicating with the customer before they contact you. In doing so, the customer might even be more inclined to purchase more since they are not distracted by worrying or thinking about their vehicle's status - or the process of paying for their car. Especially if the customer is picking up their vehicle after service closes. That's another topic for another article. 

So, how do we make this happen? What's holding us dealers back from making a move to offer online or payments via phone? There are vendors out there doing this - and think about it, regardless of the customer paying online or at the dealership, you still pay fees. Sure there is a fee to use the service, but imagine how much time we as dealers could save if we were not tied up on the phones taking payments/explaining charges? This also brings up another concern, which is taking credit card payments over the phone. Taking payments over the phone is not only a security issue, but there are also other security issues to think about. If the customer does not actively insert their "chip" into the card reader, they can easily dispute the charge online. Whereas, if they use the app on their behalf, there is now a paper trail, making it a little harder for the customer to abuse credit disputing. 

Bottom Line: If we can minimize one pain point at a time, imagine how this will impact our customer's experience? Imagine how much easier we are making it for our customers to do business with us? Imagine how much time we would be saving on the dealer level? Not to mention, this goes back to bringing the dealership to the customer. Instead of the dealership interrupting the customer playing phone tag, it could have all been done in a few texts. If this is the one change your dealer makes this year, it is a change well worth the effort! 

For those dealers that have launched a mobile/online payment system, what kind of success have you seen with it? 

Trust is imperative as it offers the customer the peace of mind that they have made the right decision regarding the servicing of their vehicle. And while the trust is earned through providing the correct information on the site such as accurate pricing, services, and rentals.  Earning the customers trust is also an integral part of other services offered with chat & text being a considerable part of that! 

When is the last time you were on your site and went through the chat or text process? Do you offer that on your site? Those that do offer it - do you have their chat reps handle the leads? If so, have you taken the time to speak with your account manager setting expectations for how customers are to be handled? 

Here are the top things to review and check-out to earn their trust! 

Chat Service 

Chatting can be very convenient for the customer. Where more often than not the customer is simply wanting to book an appointment. Perhaps asking a question about their service inquiring about what their contract entails. Sounds simple enough right? 

The problem comes into play, however, if the customer asks a question that the rep is unable to answer. And what's worse is if the rep misinforms the customer about a service cost or their service contract. When the customer arrives - the service advisor is most likely unaware of where the appointment came from much less what was offered - the customer than has to feel as if they are defending themselves with the information they were provided. Starting the visit off on a bad note. All because the chat rep was misinformed about policy.

One example of a mishap you can avoid is a chat where the customer was told that windshield wipers were a part of the service contract. When the customer arrived and asked “what type of windshield wipers they were getting” the service advisor looked with a blank stare offering that it is not at all apart of the contract. The customer got upset and while we were able to de-escalate the situation it made for a frustrating experience for both the customer and advisor!  

Take the extra minute and work with the account rep to ensure they are on the same page about expectations on customer questions & services! 

Texting 

Having all of these options are GREAT! But, not so great when a customer texts you and their response goes into the abyss as no one is checking the CRM for unmatched texting conversations. 
The customer texts a simple question - can I wait for my vehicle tomorrow while it is in service? Only to not get a response. Comes in the next day and it's completely backed up! And will take 3+ hours for the service! No fun for anyone. 

Do you use texting for service? If so, who handles the texting conversations?

Booking the Appointment 

When the customer schedules their appointment for a service (and the pricing is offered for the said service online), they are expecting it to be the same cost. Now mind you, of course, there will be the situation where the customer did not select the right service for their vehicle. And the advisor has to explain to the customer the price difference. Sure the customer might be slightly upset. But they are most likely going to be more understanding then if the customer were to have selected a service and the cost is much higher in store than of what was advertised! 

Do you show pricing within the service scheduler? If so, has it made a difference in overall spend? 

Bottom Line: if you are offering services to assist the customer offering them a more transparent experience then make sure the quality of their experience is the level of customer service you expect! Turn Key is GREAT, BUT only great if it WORKS! 

When is the last time you used your chat service to book an appointment? How was your experience? Do you manage chat/text in-house? 

There have been several rounds of conversation in regards to videos. Namely, videos are the new it factor when it comes to capturing our customer's attention whether that is giving the service customer an update, thanking the customer, or building value in the service advisor by having him/her share a personal video with the customer.

Videos are powerful, BUT - the way we have been approaching video (for some time now, really) might not be what the customer is looking for in a video. Sure there are in fact some customers who love the videos!

This article is not to discredit the hard work of those who have been brave enough to load a million apps, take time out of their personal day, spend their money, and argue with his/her GM & Service manager be a part of taking videos.

What I am saying, however, is that there is an easier method of being relevant when it comes to video that we have yet to approach. That is creating a collection of videos that ‘effectively’ explain the services s/he needs for their vehicle. And no, this is not a personal video that would be done onsite for each and every customer. But rather a menu of the services your dealership offers.

Think about it, when a customer explains a problem in the service line it is like “it makes this grrr crackkkkk grrrr sound,” to which the advisor says “we’ll take a look.” The more confident the consumer feels - as if s/he were a part of the decision-making process - the more trust they have, which means they will spend that much more money in the lane.

In regards to the videos, you would have a simple to use catalog - using YouTube Videos (45 seconds or less) - explaining the most common problems. The video’s (while short) are informative, offering the customer a plausible explanation as to what could be wrong with their vehicle.

The best way to start this project is to create a video for oil change, cabin filter change, even a vehicle detail. This video needs to be appealing, too - refraining from using an OEM video where everything is too perfect. It is like booking a hotel on Expedia where the photos are from the resorts first day of business. So upon arrival, the hotel has been through heck and back looking nothing like it once did.

How often do you take videos? Are you having great success with it in the service lane? Any customer feedback?

Fixed-ops is the dealer's bread and butter when it comes to the bottom line. Your dealer's service landing page mustn't offer just relevant content but strong call to actions. Several dealers do not have much content at all on their service landing pages. And or their service scheduling tool leaves much to be desired. Here are the top things to consider when revamping your service page. 

Remind Your Customers that You Can Service All Makes! 

We all sell pre-owned vehicles, but how often do we remind our customers that we can service them too! Sure, we might offer the "free" oil change program that has not changed since we've opened - but do we even market to them afterward? Most of us do not! And for most of those dealers who do market to them, they are sending them "OEM Service Specials" that do not even apply. You can easily add an SRP Banner on your own site that says "We Service All Makes" with a link to your scheduling tool. It's that easy. 

Highlight Oil Changes With Competitive Pricing 

It is no secret that customers still believe that the dealer is more expensive for an oil change vs. taking it to a bix box service center. But the fact is that the dealer is often less expensive! Yet so many dealers do not explain that on their landing page! In addition to not offering a "price comparison" to show their customers that they are less expensive! To illustrate this, you can create a graphic that includes five different prices for oil changes in the area. Having a strong visual reminder can help increase the chances of potential customers booking an appointment. 

Service Scheduling Tool 

Not all service scheduling tools are made equal! And it is not a fun experience trying to book an appointment on a phone when the platform is not responsive. Yes, sadly, many of the tools out there today are still not mobile-friendly! Not to mention, there are still apps that do not offer you the ability to "sign-in" to easily book your next service appointment. With the ability to review previously declined services, or services that you have been recommended to schedule in the future. Having a tool that works and is easy to use - that offers relevant information - can make or break their not only booking an appointment but booking an appointment with multiple services. 

Highlight Your New Processes for Picking-Up and Dropping Off their Vehicles 

With your processes having been updated and changed with COVID-19, make sure to outline those procedure changes. Making it easy for the customer to understand what they can expect during the process. One of the things that you can also do is create a quick video outlining this process. 

Bottom Line: Your service page is a significant landing page! Make sure you take the time to ensure that the content is relevant. Including a competitive price analysis for oil changes, information about servicing all makes, and an easy to use service scheduler that will make you stand out! In doing so, you will increase your chances of the customer booking service!  

When is the last time you re-vamped your service page? 

In most cases, it takes a lot of time and thought on the dealer level to introduce a new business process. However, in times like this, we are facing unchartered territory, which means that we have to pivot on a moment's notice and act on it. That said, one of the ways we have worked towards handling process changes is to offer curbside pick-up for service. 

By offering curbside pick-up for our service customers, it eliminates more traffic in the dealership, which is to assist in social distancing. At the same time, it is also offering our customers peace of mind so they can still service their vehicles. 

Here are some of the things to consider when offering this service to your customers: 

Create A Well Defined Internal Process 

For this process to work, your employees need to know what the procedures are. Understanding that the situation is fluid. In that there will undeniably be hiccups in offering this service. However, the more your team is involved in helping create and manage this process, the fewer interruptions there will be. 

Inform Your Customers 

One of the most effective ways to inform your customers is by creating a short video that entails what steps and precautionary measures you are taking to provide uninterrupted service. Once you have a defined, clear message, be sure to post on social and business pages. 

Things to Consider for Your Process 

• - Offer pick-up for service appointments within a 5-10 mile radius

- Have a well-marked area outside of your dealership where customers are to drop-off/pick-up their  vehicles 

- Offer payment solutions outside of the dealership 

• - Minimize as many touch points as you possibly can - i.e., how many people are touching/moving the vehicle 

• - Increase sanitation processes 

• - Offer clear communication on how the customer is to expect updates, etc. Most CRM's enable you the ability to text the customer with their permission. 

Bottom Line: Again, there is no right answer for how your dealer is to approach these unprecedented times. But what you can do is offer your customers alternative ways to manage their vehicle being serviced. 

How are you handling service for your customers? 

Having an onboarding program for any of the positions within your dealership can not only save hundreds of thousands of dollars. It can also significantly decrease turn-over. Increasing profits as the managers have a clear outline as to what steps are necessary for training the new employee. Setting them up for success at the dealership. Long gone are the days of being able to put the new hire with an employee (to train them) who has not been with the dealership for more than a few months. 

The other thing to consider is - do you really want an employee who does not have the same level of experience training a new hire -  where they can shape (and influence) their perspective on the organization? 

Here are the top reasons to have a well-thought and developed onboarding program: 

Chaos Causes for Concern & Disinterest 

I remember the first day in the auto industry all too well. Where the first day I was shuffled around to 5 or 6 people. All of which were frantic in trying to get me what I needed. The problem, however, was that I was unsure of what I needed! I did not know what logins I needed - what products I needed training on! That said, it took well over 2 weeks to get the logins needed! 

As a new employee, you already feel as if you have taken a huge risk to make a career move. Where in the interview it is made to seem as if everything is well planned out. No problems. Easy as pie. But we all know, that is not how it works! 

Training - What is Expected?

You cannot hold someone accountable if they have not been given the necessary resources to do their job. Where the manager just gets frustrated with the new hires lack of knowledge on a vendor’s product. Yet, even the managers - themselves - do not know how to use the product hence the frustration they exhibit when dealing with a new hire. 

Make no mistake, the new hire can not only sense the frustration, but they will also sense a sign of weakness. Where if you are frantic and chaotic in trying to assist them with the simplest of things - they can (and in many cases will) lose respect for you as a manager. Where they will not want to come to you with questions regarding the selling of a vehicle, etc. 

Go Ask Someone Else

Sure, if you have been a long-time employee, you might feel comfortable and confident to ask someone for assistance in working with a new product. But when you are brand new and do not know anyone and are told to “go ask someone else” to handle something it sets the tone. Not to mention, when you do go and ask the other person, and they say “go see them,” which just so happens to be the person who directed them to you! 

This causes for frustration in the new hire. Where they do not feel supported. And if they do not feel supported within the first week or so they quickly lose interest.

Not Keeping Track of Training 

If you are not keeping track of what items s/he has completed then you are missing out! This allows a new employee to set the standards and expectations regarding the timeline to complete their training. This, of course, is a dangerous approach as it makes it that much harder to set expectations. To avoid this approach, have a training guide that offers what it is expected for the first 2-3 weeks of employment. Where both the manager and new hire sign off on what has and has not been completed. Giving you an actionable plan to follow when managing your new employee. 

Bottom Line: 

Onboarding someone - regardless of the position - is never easy. There are many facets to a job within a company. That being said, it is essential to ensure that the new hire has all of the necessary tools and resources when they first start. Making sure that the management team is involved when it comes time to train the employee in the various roles. Remembering that the more in alignment everyone is at the dealership, the better off the entire department will be! 

How do you handle onboarding? Do you get the employee their logins as the days go on? Are you the type that pushes the employee to someone else? 

There are a lot of costs associated with extending hours. However, with fixed-ops being the dealer's life line and main money maker, it seems like a no brainer to have extended summer hours two or three days of the week.

Here are a few top reasons you should extend your hours

Late Appointments

Imagine all of the customers that would now stop in after work? If you close at 8 PM, you can set your scheduling software to have the last appointment set for 7:15 PM. This would easily generate 10-15 more appointments per week. The Advisor (or in some cases a service BDC) can use this when booking the appointment via phone or chat if the customer isn’t available during the day.

Appointment Oriented Culture

The goal with the extended hours is to promote appointments. Walk-in traffic (which is most common for dealers) can actually cause for upset customers and chaos. As there is extended wait times in addition to the shortage of staff to handle the flux of R/O’s. That said, this “extended hours” is meant to be used as a means of making appointments for that time frame. Offering as “this Thursday we have extended the hours to 7:15 - that is the last appointment I have available. Are you available at 6:45 or 7:15 PM?” The customer then feels as if you’ve helped them by ‘squeezing’ him/her in.

Investment Revenue

With the extended hours being successful it offers the dealer the chance (based on 4 advisors) to add an additional 35-40k on the books per month. With that said, the money can be used - depending on the overall absorption, which should be 70%+ -  to reinvest in the service department. Whether that is newer technology in the lane (such as tablets) or even newer amenities for the service lounge.  

Bottom line. The cost to remain open for 4 additional hours per week can be paid back in thousands of dollars with appointments. Run the “extended hours” for 90 Days. Use the data to review how many appointments vs. walk-ins there were for the time frame. Understanding that there will be a percentage of walk-ins. If this is making the dealer money, then it will have a huge impact on the dealer's bottom line. In addition to giving the advisors the chance to earn additional income.

Would you consider late nights for the summer? Who has extended hours now and is having success?

It is no secret that your service customers are valuable! And while there is a lot of debate on what the best practices are for “Exchange” programs are - here are some best practices for running a successful program. Ones that will encourage the service advisors to assist with the growth and development of without fighting back! 

1. The Service Advisor should be a part of the “X-Change” program. Remember, the advisor is the one that has “carried” on the relationship with the customer when s/he purchased the vehicle. All too often, the sales consultant approaches the customer with a hard sales tactic. One that turns off the customer. Whereas, the advisor - who has rapport and trust with the customer - can offer the program instead of an expensive shop bill. As if they are “watching” out for them. 

2. Have a Service Liaison in the lane that can assist the advisor with the greeting of customers as they make their way into the lane. This will not only ensure that the customer is greeting within OEM standards (many of which are within a minute), but are also “checked” in and ready to go when the advisor becomes available. 

3. Use a CRM/DMS program that is linked or a part of the appointment software. Namely, if you use a program that is familiar to both the service advisor and service liaison s/he will easily be able to identify customers in equitable positions. Allowing them to inform the service manager before their visit, which allows the service manager to notify the advisor. Teamwork makes for dream work. Dreamwork makes for happy customers and profits!

4. If the customer agrees to “reviewing” the program make sure to have the car of choice pulled into the lane so as the customer is checked in they are test driving the new vehicle. This allows for a cohesive flow. Allowing the sales department to appraise the vehicle while they are test driving! 

5. if the customer is not inclined to participate in the program offer a “soft” approach by including a “payment” summary - quote - of a similar vehicle with their service paperwork. Sometimes an “extra” touch peaks their interest. 

6. Lastly, make sure to not “over-sell” this program. Whether that is sending too many emails - more than two per month - in addition to the regular marketing. Instead, make sure to have strong POP marketing that is in the lane as well as the customer lounge. And remember this a soft sales approach. Too much marketing can cause for opt-outs and upset customers! 

How do you run your service “Exchange” program? What are some of your best practices? Do you have sales consultants manage it? 

There is nothing better than hitting your monthly goals in the service department! Especially considering that fixed-op's is the dealerships money maker. But to hit your fixed-ops revenue goals - as a department - there are fundamental processes that need to be in place! Here are the top things to consider: 

Limit Daily RO’s per Advisor 

NADA statistics offer than an advisor should not be handling any more than 20-25 RO’s per day. Managing too many RO’s leaves room for “underselling” as s/he is trying their best to push everyone through the lane. Leaving hundreds - if not thousands - of dollars in the lane.

The best way to combat this issue is to a) make sure you are staffed correctly by reviewing your average daily appointments, which is most likely a *small* percentage of your business and daily average walk-ins. Track your *busy* times making sure you have your “A” team in place. In doing so, your advisors will not only make more money BUT - you will hit your goals!

Review the Weekly Appointments

This sure does sound tedious. I get that. But what if the advisor (depending on how your store’s scheduler works) were to review their upcoming appointments. Looking to see what s/he is coming in for? This is *huge* not only does it give the advisor the chance to see what's coming up, but it affords them the ability to plan ahead on what they need to focus on!

This also assists the advisor in understanding when their *busy* times are. Making sure that the lane is staffed accordingly. If the lane is not staffed, then you are absolutely leaving money on the table.

Offer A Shuttle Service

If you do not already have a shuttle service. Get one. If you offer to take the customer to work - or wherever within reason - s/he will not be sitting in the service lounge bored. Instead, when you call to offer them the recommended services s/he might be more inclined to take the recommended service. However, it is crucial that when you are “upselling” to focus on the “discount.” Namely, explain to the customer “Mr. Customer, everything is going very smooth - btw, we noticed that the windshield wipers were a bit cracked. It is common with the weather we’ve experienced. But the good news is we are running a special of $15 off! Not to mention, these guys will keep your windshield clean!”

Discuss Dollars Per RO

Going back to how many RO’s the advisor should handle daily - is also reviewing how much s/he is averaging per RO. If you don’t know what your average per RO is then you might not be as motivated to focus efforts on upselling. Not to mention, when reviewing average dollars per RO you might be shocked at just how much money you are leaving on the table. This is the selling tactic to the advisor when they argue that they need 50+ RO's a day to make money!

It is best practice to have a quick pow-wow in the morning with the service advisors to discuss what the store's average is and strategize a plan for each advisor. For example, you have 45 appointments for the day. Calculate the percentage of appointments that should have one or more upsells. And at the end of the day tally the results. Going over them the next morning. This will help increase average dollars per RO, and build up the momentum in the lane!

When is the last time you had a morning meeting with your advisors? How many RO's do your Advisors handle on a daily basis? 

Reporting is essential for understanding what your ROI is, right? So why then are we wasting several hours of your manager's time creating reports (using excel) in the service lane? More often than not, the reason managers are creating their own reports is mainly due to their not knowing how to pull the correct report. Albeit, there are multiple vendors the dealer works with daily. However, there is a way of collectively aggregating all of the data using the vendor's platform.

Many, if not all, vendors have substantial reporting options available within their platforms. And I understand that there is such a thing called analysis paralysis. But, it is best to review your essential vendors - i.e., marketing, appointments, email collection, and compile all of the "performance" reports into one cohesive report. In doing so, it allows you to better understand how the vendors and services interrelate in so far as how they work together. For example, in the service lane, a dealer wants to better understand how many appointments are being booked online. To then reviewing how many of those appointments came in, and what their average spend per customer pay RO was. 

Who Keeps Track of Appointments On the Excel Sheet? 

If you are using a manual report - often having human errors - then you are not getting the whole picture. Whereas if you are analyzing web traffic, conversion, appointments, and show rate - vs. the average dollar per RO for both warranty and customer pay, you are able to make a much more sound decision. A decision that can have a profound impact on overall sales in the lane - while you might already keep track of this using excel. I do recommend working with your vendors! In fact, when is the last time you called your vendor's account manager asking them to come in or give an update? 

Do you still use Excel? How do you manage the monthly reporting? 

As mentioned above, it is hard enough to compile all of the reporting into an excel sheet, let alone being consistent at it! One day off, or a day where your team is to busy to do the report, the less likely they are to continue with that report. Not to mention, in many cases, we wait to report on items until there is an issue of epic proportions. Yet had your dealer had monthly reporting in place, it would have been much easier to identify the breaking point? In which case, your management team could have potentially resolved the issue(s) at hand! 

How do you manage your reporting for service?