To anyone outside of the automotive industry the term “waiter” can mean many different things. To our customers using this automotive slang is very confusing and can be frustrating as well. As this business evolves it seems that our waiting lounges are becoming more and more crowded and not just at peak times, it stays full all day long. A majority of my career being with Nissan and my most recent store I came from had four separate waiting rooms and another area that our customers can get refreshments. This design was Nissans latest floor plan and had specific emphasis on helping the customers feel more comfortable while they are in for service and/or buying a car. We designed 2 separate waiting rooms that had couches and comfortable chairs, a kids playroom and then also an area where customers could sit down and work.

The point of this is to highlight the fact that customers are willing to wait at your store for their car to get serviced instead of leaving it with you. This brings up a couple of questions in my mind; are customers waiting at your store for their vehicle because they have all this extra time to kill or are they there to keep a watchful eye on their vehicle? I suspect they are there waiting because if they leave their vehicle they feel as if they loose control and their car could be there all day long.

On routine maintenance services such as oil changes and tire rotations we encouraged our customer to wait for their vehicle and stop in anytime. For this to be successful and create a positive service survey we really had to make sure our processes were tight and centered on getting the customer in and out in less than forty-five minutes. Here are a couple basic steps we created to help us deliver on our promise.

• Teamwork – All support staff, all advisors, all express technicians and even the service manager at times had to be involved in order to make sure the customers car was progressing through the repair
• Buy-in – Everyone had to have a vested interest in making certain that we delivered on our promise and created an exceptional service experience.
• Choreography – Every step had to be efficient. The write-up to pulling into the express lane, the multi point inspection to explaining the results to the customer, the paper work to delivering the car back to the customer all had to have urgency and everyone needed to know their role.
• Customer involvement – As the customer is sitting there make sure they are involved in the repair process. Make sure your update of their vehicle’s multi point inspection is completed within 15 minutes of write up. Show them the condition of the filters instead of telling them and ask them if they would like to see the condition of the tires and brakes. This step will help the time to pass quickly and build trust.

Commit to exceeding the demand from our customers. They want service and they want it now. Now how come we simply don’t deliver? Answer: It is tough and will not be easy but I encourage you to meet your customers expectations and get the express service mastered.

Clear some hours out of your day tomorrow and set up camp on the service drive. Record a voice mail message that you will be unavailable and set up your email to auto reply and inform everyone that you will be unavailable for a few hours while you are performing an onsite process evaluation and training.  Now that you have “gone dark” you will be able to focus your entire attention to what is being said and done in front of your customers on a daily basis. Take this opportunity to observe every customer touch point and evaluate if your process is being followed or ignored. Challenge yourself to think like a consumer and really determine if you were a customer would you come back. Lets dive into the write up process and evaluate the active greeting process.

Preparation – Are your service writers in control and prepared for every guest that walks in the service drive. Being prepared lets the customer know we were expecting them and gives the customer a welcoming feeling. In addition to that we start this service process on a sturdy foundation.

Greeting – Is there a warm and welcoming greeting? Are your service advisors completely engaged or are they simply going through the motions? Here are some of the worst greetings I have observed.

• “Next” – while motioning to the next customer in line to come over
• “Can I help you” – When I hear this phrase I feel like saying “Uh, no thank you I thought I would take a few hours out of my day to just come down here and stand.”
• A complete phony greeting – One that is way over the top and kind of creeps you out.
• Emotionless – This is the blank stare or dazing into the computer screen and never making eye contact.

The way your front line employees greet your customers has a huge impact on the bottom line, utilize some of the following tips to start the customer experience off on the right foot.

• Open body language
• Smile
• Handshake
• Talk about the weather – I know this one is way overused but is common ground
• Make sure the customer knows you recognize them
• Show them, don’t point them.
• Talk about the school sticker on their car or the custom accessory they have added.

Be objective and make sure you find everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. In most cases you have a superstar that can help the others get up to his level by simply pointing it out. Remember the first impression is made within five seconds and within that five seconds your fate or success will be determined.

Having thirty plus years helping customers in the automotive industry has turned me into the biggest observer of customer service. I could be in line at the fast food restraint critiquing the customer and employee exchange or at a high-end resort picking out the areas that they may be falling short in providing the best overall customer experience. Actually my family is so annoyed by it I am often standing there alone when the customer in front of me might be getting the short end of good customer service because I will probably say something to the service provider when it is my time. I feel compelled to let them know what I see and simple ways it could be improved. Here are a few easy tips that can and will help your next customer exchange.

• Smile – The most basic mannerism I look for during an interview of a future employee. Someone that does not have to think to smile will typically be best in front of customers.
• Stay Engaged – There are a lot of distractions, tune them out and give your live customer all the attention
• Do not pre judge – Never choose a book by its cover and treat everyone equally awesome.
• Look for areas to improve – Be cognizant of what your customer is telling you verbally and non verbally and be aware so you are able to fix the problem.
• Actively listen – All to often we know the answer before the customer has finished their question and nothing is more frustrating than being cut off. Allow the customer to finish their thought and then reply.
• Remove the phrase “we cant” – Replace it with telling the customer what you can do to solve their problem.
• Show genuine interest – Its one thing to listen but to listen and not care is a top ten customer complaint. Be empathetic and have genuine interest in fixing the customers concern or request.
• Never discuss customers in front of other customers – You may know the customer in front of you pretty well and think it may be ok to finish telling them about one of your previous customers and the issues you had with them. It is not ok and do not do it
• Be sure everything is completed – Nothing is more frustrating than not getting what you asked for. Make sure you follow through and complete everything that has been asked of you.
• Tell the guest “thank you” – Our customers have many choices you should be thankful they chose you for service.
• Invite them back – Just like a good friend leaving your home, please invite them to come back and see you

If you think that I am alone in the world of forming an opinion of a service provider due to the interaction I observe from the previous customer then you are crazy. I would venture to guess that every customer is very aware of what is going on around him or her and it weighs in heavily on his or her overall assessment of you. Remind your staff, they are on stage from bell to bell and if they need to get something off their chest or out of their head then they need to exit stage left and get off the service drive.

“Control your own destiny, or someone else will” – Jack Welch.

This statement rings true every time I pick up the phone to call a rental car company to provide a service for one of my customers. Furthermore, when I pay the bill at the end of the month I realize that my loaner car business could and should be a profit center for me.

Owning the complete customer experience and not loosing control when outsourcing to a rental car company is key. I saw close to a ten percent increase in customer satisfaction scores since taking over control of this entire process. Ultimately I discovered rental car companies have different goals and incentives than we do as dealers so this fueled my need for change.

I wanted to be able to provide a seamless transition from my service advisor to the rental car agent and make sure that the customer experience was not going to falter somewhere in between. I wanted the rental car process to be a proactive process and empower my employees to take care of the customer. In addition I found out that customers actually wanted to rent a vehicle for the weekend or for road trips. Sometimes their vehicle was not large enough or reliable so when they were heading on a road trip they found it easy to call the place that they come and do service with.

I surveyed my peers and found that they have started to have great success in creating additional profit for the department by offering and marketing that they have loaner cars. Our rates were very competitive and I determined that if I could have this vehicle on rent for 16 days of the month I would make money over the depreciation factor set for the vehicle and in five to six months we could turn this vehicle over to the used car department and they would have a nice used vehicle for their inventory.

All together this is a win, win, win scenario. My customers win with a better process to meet their expectations. My department wins by controlling expenses and potentially generating a profit and our used car department wins by having a premium used car that can typically be sold at a premium as a certified used vehicle. This process took full immersion and dedication but I guarantee you when done correctly the benefits will be plentiful.

We have all heard about distracted drivers; texting, using your smart phone, talking with passengers and all the other items that could potentially create a dangerous situation while driving. As it relates to service retention in the dealership: the term “distracted drivers” brings on a whole new undertone.

Todays “distracted drivers” or millennial – Gen Y customers are the ones we are trying to grow our loyal database with. Our goal is to retain them as an active customer coming in for service multiple times and then hopefully they will purchase another vehicle from you and then restart the cycle.

By no means do I want to make light of something as serious as distracted driving but when it comes to customer retention we are dealing with another style of distracted drivers. Our drivers or guests have many distractions when it comes to choosing a service facility or how to maintain their car or when to come in for service. Today’s customers are being pulled in many directions and being hit with an arsenal of service specials. This is serious and will affect your bottom line and future growth. We better have a game plan set in place to help reduce our customer’s distractions in an effort to retain your guest. Lets start with education and a clear well funded marketing strategy.

#1 – Education – Lets face it our customers are being bombarded by service specials from the guy on the corner with free this and free that in addition they also offer a fast and convenient solution to service your customer’s needs. The increased push from the aftermarket is eroding our customer database.  Actually they own over seventy percent of a $310B dollar industry.

So the next customer that purchases a vehicle or stops in the service drive we need to educate them as to why you are the expert and all the other reasons to service with you. You have a competitive advantage on knowledge, facility and amenities and a greater staff to exceed their expectations. Start yelling it from the top of the dealership why you are better than the guy on the corner

#2 – Marketing - Most customers today are simply looking for a light to come on and when that light comes on, are they coming in to see you or are they simply going to stop at the nearest corner and have a “fast lube”. In 2014 73% of your customers ended up stopping at the corner! End result, you loose and now you are in danger of the customer not needing another service until the light comes back on and this could be another 7 to 8 months. Think about it, one missed service interval might cost you a customer because it could potentially be 15 to 18 months from their previous service until they will need another one due to the extended intervals. We need to act quickly. Establish a clear marketing strategy to eliminate the defection.  Make sure you are exploring all digital avenues. Seven out of ten of your customers are searching online before making a buying decision. Communicate to customers on a timely basis, not on your schedule but when they are ready to buy. Direct them to custom landing pages within your dealers website showing service specials, parts, accessories, oil changes, brakes and tires and all the other things you sell. Lets get aggressive and eat into the Fixed Operations opportunity proverbial pie. Harvard performed a study and indicated that a mere five percent increase in customer retention can increase profits by twenty-five and ninety percent. With that type of upside it seems to me customer retention should be the number one focus of todays modern dealer.