Your store has a steady stream of customers with recall notices in hand, storming through your door. But unless you haven’t had access to the internet, television, or a newspaper in the past three or four years, you’ve noticed that it’s not just your particular brand that’s been inundated with recalls. It’s industry wide, and it’s because there are more stringent safety and emissions standards than ever before.

Everyone has the same problem – you want to focus on customer pay work, not the piddly .2’s and .3’s that most recalls bank for you. So, your view of recalls becomes tainted. There are thousands of recall customers to deal with in your area, yet you don’t want to reach out to them because they aren’t generating a windfall for your department. They’re plugging up your service drive, your shuttle seats, your parking lot, and consuming your advisors’ day without producing any real results on the bottom line.

Likely, you have pressure from the manufacturer to pound through the recalls as quickly as possible. They want to show that they’re taking the problem seriously, “ensuring public safety” and whatever other catch phrases they can come up with. The end of the recalls doesn’t appear to be in sight.

You can turn it around. Recalls don’t have to be a bane. They can be a boom for your dealership instead. It’s all about finding a process that works for you and your staff, and one that produces results – long-term, revenue-generating results.

Here are a few ideas on how to make that happen.

Make recall customers feel important

Often, if a customer has an appointment for solely recall work, they’re viewed as a second-class customer. They can feel it. They are sluffed off to the junior service advisor who is left to clean up all the scraps, receiving inexperienced, slow service that only increases their frustration.

Make your recall customers feel just as wanted as your customer-pay clients. Because that’s exactly what you’re going to turn them into.

If the customer senses that they aren’t wanted, they aren’t going to open their wallet before, during, or after the recall work is completed. You won’t sell them a wiper blade let alone a transmission service or electrical repair. If they feel like you truly value them, their safety, and their patronage, you may just crack their billfold open.

Get your senior service staff involved in recall customers

Show your recall customers that they are valued by putting your best people on the job. Senior service advisors have the experience to put a customer at ease, making their visit more pleasant and comfortable.

The problem you’ll discover is that senior service advisors know the money is in customer pay work. A minor recall is hardly worth their trouble. That’s when you remind them of their role – to care for every customer the same, converting non-paying customers into those who gladly fork over their money to your service department.

You might have to incentivize recall customers for your staff. You can spiff your advisors for converting recall-only customers into CP customers, and you will find that the best advisors will rise to the challenge. The thing is, they already know this but any commission-based position needs to be reminded occasionally that there’s a ceiling with easy money, but you can break through that ceiling if you bust your…hump.

Streamline recall repairs

You’re not going to convert every recall customer into a paying client on the same visit. It would be folly to think otherwise. However, if you provide exceptional service, you may just earn yourself another visit from that customer in the future where the purse strings have been loosened.

A common procedure is to dedicate a few specialized technicians to recall work, especially during the heaviest periods of a widespread recall. Vehicle after vehicle, that’s all they do, accurately performing recalls for fast, consistent repairs. It has the potential to significantly reduce wait times and can ease the pressure on your shuttle service or loaner cars.

Go the extra mile

As mentioned, recall customers can be made to feel like second-class citizens. Show them that they are valued customers by treating each one to a car wash or some other bonus service while they are in. Make sure it doesn’t chew up too much time or it could backfire in its intention, damaging your survey scores (if your recall customers get surveys) but more importantly, damaging your delicate relationship so they don’t return to you in the future.

Convert your recall customers into sales prospects

Many recalled vehicles are three years old or more. Those are the perfect customers to target for a service-to-sales handoff. I know – you’d prefer to keep your customers in older cars because maintenance and repair costs are higher. But switching your recall customers into new cars not only increases their satisfaction, it also creates a much stronger opportunity for long-term customer retention.

Make a plan with your sales department to offer a bonus or spiff to specific recall customers. Make sure your service advisors know all about it and are on board to convert on the opportunities. There’s no reason not to try switching a recall customer out of their ‘flawed’ vehicle and into something new and shiny.

The overwhelming number of recalls that are currently floating around, whether from General Motors, Fiat Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, or virtually any other brand, is staggering. Your view of recalls can quickly become jaded or just washed out. It’s important to remember that it’s not just about customer satisfaction for your recall customers, but converting on opportunities to increase your service department’s productivity.

Treat your recall customers as first-class customers with friendly, courteous, and complete service, and you’ll reap the rewards.