At the dealership level, the customer’s expectations are high. For the price your clients pay, they want an experience – even more so than their car fixed right. Now, while you absolutely must be committed to ‘Fixed First Visit’, there are little things that aren’t prerequisites that are just as important, or perhaps even more important.

The Dealership View vs Customer Perception

In your store and your service department, the staff have one overriding thought (from what I’ve seen anyway): get the car fixed right and the customer will be satisfied. It’s a service department where you fix cars, and shouldn’t that be the main concern?

The problem is that nearly any shop can fix the customer’s car – dealership or the corner shop down the street. Staff members think your premium charges are for your expertise in vehicle maintenance and repairs, so naturally, that becomes your daily focus. But that’s not how the customer sees it.

The customer’s perception on a service visit to the dealership is minimally on the repair or service. It absolutely must be done correctly, but in the customer’s view, that’s a foregone conclusion; a natural expectation. They are in your store for a purpose beyond the vehicle’s requirements. And that’s where the problems come from.

Realistic Expectations?

It’s all the little things that your customers expect at the dealership level. There are benefits that only your store provides that they desire, expect, and get frustrated about more than anything. It’s these little details that make or break your CSI scores, convince customers to be long-term clients, and trust your store for their next vehicle.

You’re wondering which details I mean. Here are a few:

• Car washes. If your store offers a complimentary car wash for visiting the service department, you’d better be certain you can handle the volume. Every. Single. Car. After it happens just once, the customer has a realistic expectation that it should happen every time they bring in their car. I can’t tell you the number of customer surveys over the years that complained their car wasn’t washed.
• Shuttle Service. It’s a delicate subject. Obviously, you can’t have a one-to-one ratio of drivers to customers, and wait times have to be expected. But when a customer’s wait time isn’t acceptable and they are late for work or otherwise, it’s going to make them upset. That little thing, a perk that you provide, is a stumbling stone you’ve placed in the customer’s path.
• Vehicle pickup. Sometimes it’s just an oil change, so why should an advisor attend the cashier with the customer? I’ll tell you why from my wife’s perspective: There may have been an expected call that new tires were required, or that the maintenance is up to date. Speaking with the customer when they’re picking up their vehicle gives reassurance and positive reinforcement that they’ve made a good choice for service departments. Or, in my wife’s case, a sour taste in her mouth for NOT getting that level of care.

Driving It Home

Every time. The little things need to happen every time. Do you promise your customers their car will be washed? There’s no excuses for a backlog in the wash bay. Put extra bodies back there to make it happen. Are you concerned with the availability and efficiency of your shuttle service? Add an extra vehicle to the fleet, or take advantage of your manufacturer’s incentives for a loaner fleet. Frustrated about the vehicle pickup situation? Change the process so customers see the advisor, not the cashier, to pick up their cars.

Whether it’s a verbal or written promise or not, the little things are what set you apart from the other shops. The independent and chain repairs shops are narrowing the gap for repair quality. You can’t rest on your expertise as the sole reason customers should see you, and not them.