Another satisfied car buyer drives away in their new Honda/Chevy/Ford/other make. They’ve just experienced the best car purchase in their life. They have the perfect vehicle with the right features. Their new car is within their budget. Best of all, they didn’t feel pressured nor did they get the feeling the salesperson was hiding anything. It was the ideal, transparent transaction, and their SSI survey reflects it.

Six months later, that same customer returns the lowest survey score ever from their first service visit. “There must be something wrong,” you think. “They love us! They would never trash our dealership on a survey.”

You’d be right. They didn’t trash your dealership.  The customer blasted your service department alone.

From years of auto retail experience, it happens more than you’d imagine (unless you’re in the service department – then you probably know it’s true). This type of two-faced feedback comes about when the sales and service departments aren’t operating on the same wavelength.

It’s About Culture

The service department in most dealerships is geared for an overriding purpose: generate income. With front-end sales gross dwindling, dealers lean on fixed operations to generate the bulk of the income for the store’s operations. The message service advisors and service managers get is to bring home the bacon.

The sales floor used to be the same. In recent years, with buzzwords like ‘transparency’ becoming more prevalent, the sales floor has undergone a reform. The focus on the sales floor isn’t to slam buyers into any car you can – it’s to help them find the right car for their needs, facilitate a no-nonsense test drive, and provide a no-pressure environment for the transaction. That’s the way it should be in today’s marketplace. It’s a culture change.

Discrepancies in Dealership Culture

But the culture hasn’t made its way into the service department in the same way. There’s no such thing as getting ‘just an oil change’. It’s an oil change and a wheel alignment. Or an oil change and a tire rotation. You can’t just fix the primary issue on the work order. You must fix that PLUS the three other add-ons the technician discovered.

The pressure is high in the service department, and it’s no wonder customers hate bringing their car in for service (that applies to dealerships and independents alike).

Culture Shift

Dealers need to align their culture across ALL departments. The customer bringing in a damaged car to the collision center should have the same experience as the one who just walked into the showroom. The new car buyer visiting the service department for the first time should get the same feelings as they did in the showroom.

To state it clearly, the culture must be a customer-centric one. There’s no room for pressure sales anymore; not with so many online avenues to vent and complain in today’s market. The customer-centric culture must be spread across all departments, and that’s to provide the highest level of care possible.

Shift the service culture away from high-pressure sales and towards transparent, manufacturer-aligned service recommendations. Give the customers a reason to trust you, not distrust you.

Look at your dealership today. What message are you conveying to your customers in each department? Is it the same across all of them? If it isn’t, you need to re-align your department cultures.