We have all been there - well, those who haven’t are lucky or have done some seriously good research -  and booked a reservation online because we were not only mesmerized by the pictures. The price was right. You add perfect pricing with amazing photos, and man do you feel good! You feel like you have won something! Seriously.

This is all very exciting except for when you arrive the pictures are nothing like the ones you had seen online. It sure does set your experience off on the wrong foot, no?

Well, let’s face it. Dealers are also expected to uphold certain standards in appearance and atmosphere in the Service Lane.  

Here are some top things to avoid & do to enhance your customer's experience:

1. You want to make sure your building is free of smoke smell. There is nothing worse than walking into a building that wreaks of an ashtray. It will inevitably turn off the customer.

2. If you offer amenities such as hot dogs or sandwiches, make sure to keep the food area clean. Making sure the food is presentable. No one wants a burnt, shriveled hot dog that has been left out since yesterday morning. Lastly, make sure employees are not lounging in the customer waiting area eating the food. The customer might not feel comfortable settling in if there are employees in the chairs and eating the food.

3. The bathrooms should always be stocked, and if you do not have a cleaning company, you might want to assign a detailer/porter to check the bathrooms throughout the day. Our customer does not want to have to dry their hands on their pants. It is just awkward.

4. Try and keep the chairs as clean and orderly as possible. If you have leather chairs, make sure to wipe them down. If they are torn and dirty, it sure doesn’t make for a nice place to sit. Let alone spend money in.

5. Wi-fi - make sure to have wi-fi that is in alignment with your OEM standards. Not having wi-fi can make the visit a drag. Not to mention, it is a *great* way to get the customer’s name & email. This is common practice at hotels.

6. Music - try and refrain from playing music with curse words or content in which can be deemed too racy. Remember, it is a family environment. This isn’t a club.

The cleaner and nicer your service lane is the better the customer's experience will be. The better their experience is, the more s/he will spend!

How do you handle keeping your Service Lane clean and organized?

Convenience is a luxury. A luxury that many people seek. So why then haven’t we offered a simple solution that not only gives into the customer's expectations but also saves the dealer money too.

As of now, many customers are forced to pay for their services at the time of pick-up, which - in many cases - causes frustration, inaccurate discounts, and most importantly it results in an upset customer who just spent 100+ dollars - the customer who will destroy you on social media- what gives?

Progressive dealers are offering their clients a luxury amenity - one that s/he will remember - that is being able to pay his/her RO online!

Concerned? I get that, and security is a *key* concern for sure. But trust me, it is safer than the customer's credit application left in the employee lounge, or the driver's license and customer information left on the showroom floor.

Here are the top reasons you should allow your customer to pay online:

• Customers are busy at work, no? So if they are busy at work and you are offering them a “solution” to their being busy they might spend more. Think about it, you are in the middle of adding things to your cart at work - boss walks by - and all of the sudden you are clicking as hard as you can to get that order completed. Most of the time without even thinking about it. But the thing is you aren't thinking about your order - instead, you are thinking about getting back to work, but you are relieved you got the order in! (Whew, thank goodness for Amazon’s One-Click Purchase, seriously)

• Convenience = Luxury - there is the fear of the unknown - in so far as knowing exactly what your bill is for the repair. So if you can inform the customer of the *exact* charges for their services they have the peace of mind knowing what the costs are allowing them the convenience of coming in grabbing the keys and going!

• Having the customer pay at the time of service online can assist with accuracy. Having to rely on the cashiers - who are handling more than one thing at once - is asking for inaccuracies to occur. Everything from getting the wrong email (if you are expecting a receipt, you will always give a valid email, no?), wrong discount, or not knowing what the charges are, and what if the customer has a question about their charge forget it the advisors and manager have left for the day - so, they have to wait all night wondering what happened. All of which leaves a bad taste in their mouth

• Customers want convenience. In today's market, you not only have to sell a product, but you have to sell the advantages of your product and services. What about your services offers the customer a unique, hassle free experience?

Do you offer your customers the ability to pay online? If so, how has that increased your overall customer satisfaction?

The profit margins in the service lane remain high and are every dealer's biggest asset. Yet to maintain the profits we have to be competitive with pricing. Noting that not everything has to be less expensive so long it is relevant, and the value is translated to the customer. Not everything that is cheaper is the *best*  option - where more often than not if there are *excellent* reviews the customer will opt for the more expensive service. 

Here are five ways to be competitive with pricing: 

Online Comparisons 

Best practice is to list the major services your service lane offers online. Posting the competitors pricing (using shops that are within reason). Where if your pricing is only a few dollars more - and the customer has previously serviced with you - then s/he will most likely return. And if asked, the pricing is supported with local pricing. Informing the customer that your techs are OEM certified, and training to work exclusively on your vehicle make. 

Mobile Apps’ 

For those who still have mobile apps - with geofencing - you can pick targeted locations such as big box retailers, which will push a notification to the customer's phones. This is invaluable when it comes to tire & brake sales. If the customer is headed to PEP Boys or Jiffy Lube and receives a coupon for tires cheaper than of what the big box guy is doing it might prompt them to visit the dealer. If this customer is in your assigned customer base - from the OEM - it could assist with the retention requirements. 

Meet or Beat Competitors Price 

This is mainly for oil changes. It does not hurt to have a coupon in your email blasts (to non-sold customers), which might urge the customer to look and see what your pricing is in relation to your competition. As I mentioned above, you might be a little bit more expensive, but if you are willing to match or beat their oil change offer it can lead to the dealer landing a new customer. 

Building Banner (It really works)

If you a store with a repair shop in your backyard you can always consider placing a banner on the side of the service bay. Allowing the customers at the neighboring store to see your low oil change price. This has proven to be very effective with our one store. Where customers at the adjacent location have literally pulled out, and driven into our store. Servicing their vehicle with us. This has resulted in a few extra sales a month as well. 

Rewards that Translate 

Letting the customer know ahead of time what their rewards would be on that service is a great way to build value. Expressing that not only are we less expensive, BUT you will also earn up to $3 dollars back per service. Not to mention, if you are wanting to upsell a major service you are able to use their rewards dollars as an “additional” discount, which builds value with the customer. 

How are you competitive with pricing? Do you use “Meet or Beat Your Competitor Pricing Tactics?”

In recent months, our OEM has been pushing the use of tablets in the service lane. Handling everything from the walk around, explanation of services, and charges to even completing the RO on the iPad offering the customer an easy experience.

An experience sounds great, no? But the problem is what is the “experience”? And how does Service integrate them into the lane? What are the benefits?

All valid questions. Here are some overall benefits on using the iPad in the service lane streamlining the customer's transactions and touch points.

1. Removes the “behind the desk” approach. No longer is the advisor crouched behind the desk when greeting the customer

2. The “walk-around” is started immediately after the meet & greet allowing the advisor to stay with his customer, which allows him/her to mark the appointment completed.

3. The Advisor is able to their iPad to explain the charges and explain the recommended items in an honest approachable way

4. The Advisor can now close their RO - leaving less room for error for discounts, etc. Also letting the customer update his/her information all from the iPad. Where s/he might intuitively complete the form submission.

What the iPad in the service lane eliminates:

1. Long wait in line at the cashier's office

2. Coupons & Discounts issues are resolved and properly marked on the RO

3. The customer standing aimlessly wondering what's going on.  

Do you use iPads in the service lane? If not, is it something that you would consider using? What concerns do you have with using an iPad in the lane?

The DMS is the main house that stores all of your customer's information. Information that is used by all of the vendors you work with. Yet, the most important tool - the DMS - is mostly managed and left to the devices of your employees. It is essential that they understand what their role is in managing, and updating customer accounts. Here are some tips and suggestions in how your service advisors might actually be hurting your lifeline, the DMS!

Updating Customers Accounts & Duplicate Accounts - You Already Have my Email or You Don’t Need my Email

We have all been there. Standing in line ready to check out and the cashier or service advisor asks to update your email. Where the customer kindly says “you already have it.” To which we nod politely, and move on. It is also a widely known fact that many customers will give us their spam email.

So instead of caving in - we might say; instead, I understand I just want to confirm as we would then be able to send you advance notice on recalls versus having to wait for a letter in the mail. In addition to more coupons from our store.

Not saying it will work every time, but if you are able to give a reason with value - an added benefit to the customer - s/he may feel more obliged in giving/confirming their email.

The other thing your advisors need to be aware of is ensuring that if VIN is brought in by a spouse, etc. - they do not add a second profile for the customer in the DMS. That is not to say, however, that the advisor cannot still collect an email for the individual. As creating a second profile for the database skew the actual amount of customers there are.

Not Scrubbing Data

People move, sell their vehicles, or have opted out of your emails. However, we still keep them on the email list. It is always best practice to scrub your data quarterly working with a vendor that manages your email campaigns. In doing so, not only will you have an accurate count of emails, but you will also save yourself from getting flagged as being spam.

Data is precious, but data that is invalid such as an email that bounces or has opted out is junk. Junk that slows down your DMS. Giving you an inaccurate count. Not to mention, getting hundreds of kick-backs will undoubtedly flag you for spam. Another reason to update the email.

Several vendors actually have the ability to append data for a small fee. If they do not, it is worth asking your marketing company (if you are in-house you can easily find one) what the cost is to append your data quarterly.

Manually Adding Appointments to the DMS

Service Appointments are different than sales appointments. Namely, a service customer is often viewed as being “captive” vs. the selling of a sales appointment. Nonetheless, the advisors might not be aware of the damage they are doing by “manually” adding appointments to the DMS when the customer did not actually have an appointment or called into the store for appointments.

Unless the appointments that are manually being added into the DMS are able to be sourced, then it is best practice to use the appointment scheduling tool. Adding the source if possible. This is essential when reviewing and understanding what the conversion is and was for service appointments booked online. In particular for OEMs that offer “express” services where the foot traffic may not be counted as accurately if in fact there were a manual appointment added.

Do you manage your DMS? What are some best practices that you follow?

Customers - just like the advisors - often think one thing and say another. To alleviate the guessing games and unnecessary drama here are the top five things your customers are thinking, but just not saying until they get the survey that is!

Where do I go?? - Okay, let me see - do I pull up into here who do I work with? Am I going to get my maintenance package I already bought?

Sounds simple, but the fact of the matter is the advisor needs to approach the customer in their vehicle as they’ve pulled into the lane. Making sure that the customer is not waiting a prolonged amount of time for the garage to open.

On the flip side, standing behind a counter staring at them as they awkwardly try and find an advisor to go to will set you to a bad start. Especially when there is other personnel in the lane that has not greeted them. The customer might not know that s/he is in the middle of completing something.

Greeting the customer will make them feel more comfortable! The more comfortable s/he feels, the more they will spend.

How long will it take?

In a perfect world, an oil change would be done in less than 40 minutes. But the truth is if the customer did not have an appointment and came in at 12 PM during the rush then the service will take longer than expected. Be upfront and honest with the customer. Possibly even offering the customer a rental or shuttle service using it as an opportunity to upsell the customer! Talk about a wow moment, right?

(this for extreme cases, typically. Where the wait time could be more than 120 minutes for an oil change)

Keeping the customer informed!

This is nothing new. In fact, at DSES 2016 there was a speaker that said if Domino's - who is delivering a $10 pizza - can keep the customer informed on app. Why then can’t we keep them informed on a vehicle!?

One of the most effective ways of combating this issue is to figure out what your platform offers in the way of texting, emailing, etc. In addition to making sure to *ask* your customer what their preferred method of communication is when dropping off their vehicle. 

Think about it, if the customer is not aware of their status - they are going to call in. When they call in the advisor is with another customer. The customer gets stranded on hold and hangs up. And does it all over again until s/he gets ahold of someone. Or, worse, they just show up - only to find that their vehicle is not ready. Having to wait. Ouch. Not a good situation to be in!

Do I really need that?

Upselling isn’t always easy, am I right? However, if customers are presented the service in a way that makes sense to them the likelihood of their buying that upsell is that much greater!

For example, it all starts with the initial greeting. If you took your time with the customer and did a complete walk-around, then you had time to point out “concerns” such as windshield wipers, tires, brakes - etc.

I would also focus on selling certain products. Not just the typical special bundle, but have a “hot item” and create a sales pitch that is a part of the walk-around. I think you would be surprised with the success of it. As you know, it is all about the way you sell.

Couldn't you take five mins to vacuum out my car? I just spent $150!?

It is all about impressions and experience, no? The customer doesn’t realize or know what the markup is for a service. In their minds, they have just spent $150 - to ease that pain of spending they will feel that much better leaving in a cleaner vehicle. Not to mention, many OEMS ask their customer if the vehicle was cleaned after they left.

How expensive is it for the service lane to have a vacuum on hand? And no, not a shop vac causing tornado like noises in the service lane. But a simple vacuum that is kept in the lane. Where the customer can visibly see you vacuuming the vehicle. It is all about perception!

So let’s face it - we have all had that moment waiting in line where we’re thinking one thing but revert and say another. Our customers do the same thing. The problem with this approach, however, is that by the time the customer does voice their thoughts, concerns, and problems it is too late. The damage is already done. Damage that overshadows all of the hard work and time you have put in with the customer!

How do you handle keeping the customer informed - texting or calling? How has managing some of the above issues impacted your CSI in a positive way? 

Reporting is essential for understanding what your ROI is, right? So why then are we wasting several hours of your managers time creating reports (using Excel) in the service lane?

More often than not the reason managers are creating their reports mainly due to their not knowing how to pull the correct report. Albeit, there are multiple vendors the dealer works with on a daily basis. 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 understand better how the vendors and services interrelate in so far as how they work together. For example, in the service lane, a dealer wants to understand better how many appointments are being booked online.

Who keeps track of appointments on an Excel sheet manually entering them? If you are using a manual report - often having human errors - then you are not getting the whole picture.

Whereas, if you are using the vendor's reports to analyze web traffic, conversion, appointments, and show rate vs. the average dollar per RO for both warranty and customer pay, you can make a much more sound decision. A decision that can have a profound impact on overall sales in the lane.

So 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?

Recalls are easy money, right? Several dealers are already taking advantage of recalls as a means of up-selling other services. Including the sale of a new vehicle! If you are not currently taking advantage of open recalls here are some helpful thoughts & marketing ideas that will assist you!

Customer Information

When selling the vehicle - originally - or with a customer who came in for service should always give their email to the advisor. But if there is skepticism the advisor can always use the line “in the event there is a recall we can immediately notify you via email (even text) long before you will receive your letter in the mail," which allows you to quickly and efficiently communicate with the customers who have an open recall. Even including a coupon in the email offering a spring/summer/fall/winter package.

Marketing

If you have marketed via email, you should use a dedicated BDC rep or manager to call the customers who have opened/engaged with the recall email. Obviously not telling the customer that they’ve opened the email. Instead, offer “Mr. Customer I wanted to make sure you have received your recall notice? Are you available now or later today for us to address the recall.”

More often than not you will secure the appointment especially since you are not up selling on the phone saving that for the lane.

Internal Management

You want to make sure you have a manager or BDC rep keeping track of the “recall” campaign. Making sure that all of the customers have been called. Including keeping track of when the appointments are booked for the advisors ensuring that the customers will not have a longer than usual wait time (depending on the service demands).

Keeping track of the campaign will also - as you know - help assist in future campaigns as you will have a good idea on what the ROI was!

New Customers

There will most likely be a few new service customers! This is as good as receiving a golden egg! So be sure to offer them a complimentary “rewards” account - not saying give away hundreds of dollars worth of services. But perhaps offer them some coupons or even just one free oil change. This will assist in increasing in PMA or ACB (assigned customer base) customers.

How do you handle recalls? Join the conversation today!

People (and yes, *many* not just the millennials) will forgo their favorite store to save a few dollars - so why do you expect service customers not to?

The hard truth is that they will, unfortunately, go to a one stop shop - such as a big box retailer - to save a few dollars. Often not having a good experience, but at the end of the day and a bad review on Yelp later they’re still “winning.”

Before throwing the towel in, however, there is a way to combat the pricing war. Video marketing is the it factor - but not a video “selling” a product or a service. Instead, a video advertisement that appeals to emotion and logic where the customer will subconsciously believe that your service center is the logical decision.

When you just use language to sell a product with a “pitch to the customer - who is automatically bias - s/he will have made up their minds within seconds where s/he has already defected from your sales pitch. So you have to change the way you sell by offering two choices. That is both a logical and illogical option.

For example, in a service advertisement it would go as such:

“You wouldn’t trust a plumber to be your primary physician, right? So then why choose a repair shop where you do not have to be certified? Yikes. (Physician with a stethoscope in background popping your hood) Make the right choice and hire one our award winning professionals to repair your vehicle. Giving you the peace of mind you deserve both in the shop and on the road.”  (pan in with shot of your lounge area showing all awards and certified techs - smiling with the customer)

People want to believe that s/he has made the decision of choosing what is best, and when presented with a logical and illogical perspective more times than not s/he will choose the logical option.

Some might argue it is nothing more than a political ad tuned auto campaign. But the fact of the matter is decades later video marketing with both a logic, and illogic perspective that appeals to emotions remains highly effective.

I will leave you with this thought - think about it - people know that a dealer sells cars and has a service center, right?

So why then continue to promote what people already know? It just doesn’t make sense. Creating a video with two options - yours being the right, logical, option just makes sense.

Would you or your dealer consider an ad campaign based on this? Who has already done this with great success or shear failure?

Service Appointment Integration - how does your DMS connect with the CRM?  do you use another form of software? If so, how do they connect? Do you have an accurate picture of your customer's account for both sales & service?

We spend so much time and effort booking service appointments! Whether that is online, by phone, text, or email but do we spend enough time tracking them? Do your systems even connect? Such as your CRM, DMS or Service Software?  If you have to take a moment to think it about - they might not be!

All too often in our industry, we have to have a vendor for each department - sales, service, and a system for accounting - the dreaded DMS, which of course houses all of the vital customer information. But are the appointments that are booked connected to both the CRM, DMS & Service software?

(the new trend for software is to move to an all in one platform CRM & DMS - this is the new way of handling a customer account)

Do the appointments go into the abyss? Do they go to your CRM for general lead submissions? Does anyone check that?

In our one dealership, we have three different systems to manage & maintain service appointments. After reviewing the CRM, we were able to add the appointment software they use to the CRM.  Linking the information together.

Another benefit in linking all of the appointments together was the ability for the service advisor to manage their schedules. Whereas before, the advisor might have - unbeknownst to them - overbooked their schedule. Not allowing them to offer the right level of customer service for the customer in the lane - leaving the customer in the lounge for far too long.

The problem with not having your software linked is the advisor is not able to see the complete profile of the customer. Having the complete profile of the customer allows the advisor to be more effective in working with the client. Especially given that is incredibly difficult if not impossible to remember everyone's name.

The customer, however, does feel more important when s/he is greeted by their name or acknowledged for their loyalty to the dealership. Something as simple as recognizing their loyalty can increase the dollars spent per RO leaving both the customer and the service advisor happy!

Are your appointments linked across your different systems? How do you track service appointments?