Providing the right experience that attracts and keeps customers can be difficult.

Why?

Well, according to an article on CMSWire, we are doing it backwards. The Toyota Product System, otherwise known as “Lean Manufacturing” advocates that all improvement projects start by reversing the process. What this means is that you don’t start with an introspective look, but start with the customer and work backwards from there towards the dealership.  

The creation of a customer experience strategy should begin by walking in the shoes of the customer. You must go to the place and see for yourself. (Genchi-Genbutsu - Get your boots on and observe the process).

I am pretty sure you all know what a great customer experience FEELS like. For example, consider why Amazon is so popular with shoppers. They make it easy to shop and you can get what you want fast and painlessly. They use a process of working backwards that starts by writing the press release first and then making sure they achieve that.

Disney is another great example. They invented Magic Bands for their parks and resorts. Using the very latest in Radio Frequency (RF) technology, now guests never have to worry about losing hotel keys or venue passes. They can use these bands to enter the parks, unlock their Disney Resort hotel room and buy food and merchandise. These companies know that the better the customer experience, the more revenue generated because, quite simply, it’s easy.

Take a few minutes to consider the customer experience at your dealership. What would make the vehicle service process a smooth, easy experience that is attractive to your customers? What would make them want to return, thus increasing service revenue? Is it having loaner cars available? Perhaps a pick-up and delivery service? What about status updates on their vehicle? Easy communication channels? The best way to find out is simply to ask them!

Rather than looking at what YOU want, or what YOU think makes a great customer experience, design one by reversing this thought process and looking at it from your customers’ point of view. Then adopt technology and processes that make the whole experience less painful, more convenient and… easy.

Do that and you’ll see increased retention, customer acquisition through referrals and an increase in your average repair orders, which is exactly what you should want.

Consumers are all about convenience. The Internet has opened access to instant information and new technology continuously enables consumers to accomplish goals faster, access information more easily and organize their lives -- all without the help of a single live person.

In fact, the most influential new technology may well be voice assistants such as Amazon Echo and Google Home, which were by far the hottest selling technology devices this past holiday season.

These powerhouse companies continue to add functionality and other technology businesses are working feverously to ensure their products can integrate and work with these devices. Consumers can now order groceries, laundry detergent, you name it – all without even looking at a computer screen. Not only that, but they can play music, games or, more importantly, access information instantly without having to touch a keyboard or turn on a computer.

Well guess what -- now, this technology is coming to a vehicle near you.

The 2018 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) saw plenty of announcements about automakers adopting and integrating these technologies. Not unlike the adoption of Apple and Android by OEMs via CarPlay and Android Auto, soon a consumer will be able to schedule a service appointment simply by asking Alexa. In fact, Toyota/Lexus announced that Amazon’s Alexa will be integrated into some of its 2018/19 models.

So why is this important?

Currently, with Amazon Alexa, when you notice you are low on laundry detergent you can simply say “Alexa, order more laundry detergent.” And Alexa will. But how does Alexa know what brand or size of detergent? You set it up in advance. Amazon certainly doesn’t randomly choose what to send you!

Imagine once this technology is integrated into vehicles and is adopted by consumers on a broad scale. What will happen when a customer asks Alexa to schedule a service appointment? How will Alexa know which dealership to make that appointment for? Well, as with the laundry detergent, where Amazon/Alexa was previously notified which brand to order, the customer will have set up a preferred dealership for Amazon/Alexa. Now, when they request a service appointment, that’s where Amazon will schedule it.

My bet is that this will soon be part of the delivery process for sales and service; where you set up the in vehicle integrated voice assistant to identify your dealership as the customer’s preference.

Of course, if you don’t treat the customer right they can easily change that. But, if you do, consumers will have a very easy way to continue to do business with you, make service appointments and receive communications – all without picking up their phone.

A trending technology is the use of bots in customer service. While bots can certainly help companies manage communications faster, sometimes they fail to provide the correct information and consumers just stop communicating with them, pick up the phone and overload call center phone lines.

Have you ever tried to ask Amazon’s Alexa for information, or to complete a task, just to have it misunderstand you? The same thing happens with bots. When seeking information, customers quickly become frustrated if the bot doesn’t give correct answers, or they end up arguing with a technology that is supposed to make the buying (or information getting) process easier.

However, bots have proven one thing – they are efficient. So efficient, in fact, that they are ruining Christmas for a lot of consumers. A recent article in The New York Times reports that efficient scalpers and resellers are using bots to snatch up in-demand toys faster than any human could ever click and submit, as well as “hot” theatre tickets for shows including Hamilton. In fact, in one case, a scalper purchased 1,000 tickets to an U2 concert in less than a minute.

While bots helped make this nefarious and unscrupulous activity possible, and caused many consumers to miss out on these tickets for Holiday gifts, the one thing this illustrate is just how efficient bots are at accomplishing a fixed task. Given the right programming, bots can make a business incredibly efficient. Think about how long it would take you to purchase 1,000 tickets to ANYTHING – especially when there are ticket limits. The mere activity of searching for tickets, adding them to a shopping cart and going through the checkout process can take anywhere from 5-15 minutes, depending on how fast you can type.

While this example did leave a string of upset people who missed out on buying something, it also proves that bots aren’t going away. In fact, bots are increasingly used by businesses to lessen workloads, increase customer service times and to allow consumers to gather information quickly, without having to call into customer service, tackle a phone tree and wait on hold.

Resellers and scalpers have already figured out how to take advantage of bots for their own profit and OEMS and dealerships are quickly figuring out how to do the same – but in a much more beneficial way for the customer. While chatbots, including Siri and Alexa, are designed to answer questions on a universal level, auto industry-specific chatbots are designed for specific interactions.

Ask Alexa, “What is the warranty on a 2012 Jeep Wrangler?” and she’ll respond with “Sorry. I can’t find the answer to the question I heard.” (Go ahead, try it.) However, a chatbot tailored for that specific purpose, fed knowledge that’s appropriate for questions about its industry, (e.g. various basic warranty issues) would be able to answer this with ease.

Here’s an example that could happen before long:

Customer to service advisor: How do I transfer the warranty on my CPO vehicle that I just sold?

Augmented-Intelligence Assistant to service advisor: To transfer your warranty go to this link and fill out the transfer agreement

Service advisor to customer: Dear Mr. Nath: To transfer your warranty go to this link and fill out the transfer agreement, and please give the new owner my direct dial # (310) 310-3100.

Normally, the service advisor would have to login to the manufacturer portal, search for this process, compose their own message, copy/paste the links, and then send it out to the customer, a process that could take as much as 10 minutes. With the chatbot-assisted model it takes a mere 5 seconds.

Consumers want information when they want it without having to jump through hoops. Consider this reality as you analyze just how effective (or ineffective) your communication is with your customers. Are you providing the right experience and reeling them in, or simply driving them away due to a lack of fast and efficient customer interaction?

You might just find that implementing procedures and/or new technology which offers faster and more efficient communication delights your customers while increasing your productivity and profits -- no more Grinch stealing your future profits!

For some people, it’s family. For others, it’s pets. Others will maintain it’s their career, and some will point to their favorite pastime. Regardless of what anyone chooses, there is a common denominator used to keep up with their passion -- one that has become the center of the Universe for many people -- and that is a smart phone. 

Have you ever watched your customers in the waiting area? I’ll bet most are head down, engrossed in something on their smartphone! Smartphones have become so integrated into our lives that they serve as our primary communication tool -- our calendar, web browser, email provider, and, in many cases, our entertainment center.   

Why? Because as they have become smarter and more powerful, we can now consolidate many things into one portable, pocket-sized piece of technology. And, all is wonderful.   

Until it isn’t.   

Today’s consumers have become used to the simplicity and efficiency technology enables. But, there are always those who make using our phones annoying!   

I once called a dealership and was forced to listen to a 90-second welcome message, (yes really, over one and half minutes) extolling all their virtues and reasons why I should buy or service my vehicle there. There was no way out. I was trapped. And didn’t like it! 

I’m amazed that anyone could sit and listen to that without being annoyed. It would be interesting to discover just how many potential customers simply hang up and move on to the next dealership… the one that answers the phone. I’m sure many consumers just keep pressing 0 to get to an operator and when they cannot, they hang up – that’s business walking out the door just because a message that is supposed to attract customers in fact drives them away. 

When I call Google for support, the phone is answered immediately -- there is no welcoming intro but rather they immediately ask where I need to go. Say, “Technical support” and your call is transferred. Boom! 

In this era of “NOW!” efficiency, Google walks the walk. Ever wonder why Google’s home page is pretty much blank, with just a search bar? Google decision makers know that people aren’t visiting Google’s home page to be sold something, they are there to initiate a search query… and Google doesn’t get in your way, or try to hold you hostage by distracting you. 

Start introducing friction through insane phone trees, or force them to listen to long-winded recordings before they can act, and you may find they choose not to communicate with you.   

Don’t try and force your message on customers trying to communicate with you. Keep it short, keep it simple! 

Are your employees communicating well at your dealership? At most of the dealerships I have visited they are not! 

I see far too many stores that still utilize walkie-talkies or paging systems and while this may seem like a good idea, in my mind it is a “spray and pray” tactic.  Often you will find advisors walking around with their headsets dangling, until someone who has just heard a page says - “Jack, Steve wants to know if the lady has okayed the parts.”  Such interactions completely defeat the purpose of the instant communications. They wonder why their CSI is poor; why staff are never on the same page. 

Internal dealership communication is hugely important. When you seamlessly connect all staff via a desktop or mobile app, CSI and gross immediately increases, along with dealership morale. 

Dealerships have so many communication methods – each employee having a preference – that most fail to communicate efficiently. Think about it. The sales manager pages salespeople to the sales desk. The service advisors run around looking for a specific technician to answer some questions. The business office emails the F&I manager from the office right next door. The general manager receives text messages from the sales desk. You get my point. 

While these certainly are communications, they are happening on such a random, disjointed level that confusion sets in and customers pay the price. How many times a day do you need answers NOW?  Instead I bet you’ve had to put a customer on hold to go search for Joe to answer a question, just to find that Joe is off property at lunch. Now what? This isn’t just a lack of communication – it’s a CSI killer.  

Want to improve CSI? It’s simple: Ensure your entire staff has a standardized process of efficient communication channels, allowing everyone to be on the same page and get questions answered quickly. In addition, be sure to have a record of those communications for future reference. 

Many things are going on at a dealership at any point in time, all of which affect a customer in some way. Sometimes that customer is at the dealership, sometimes they aren’t. Either way, there are plenty of instances where acquiring information quickly can make or break a customer experience. Geographical challenges due to dealership layout can also exacerbate this disconnect, acting as a further roadblock to effective communication. 

If your dealership lacks a centralized communication tool that seamlessly connects all staff via a desktop or mobile app, you will be left wondering why it takes so long to get answers, assist customers and accomplish simple tasks. It gets even more frustrating when that poorly serviced customer takes it out on your dealership with a negative CSI survey. 

Get rid of email clutter and those awful loud speaker pages in your dealership. Instead, implement a communication method that unites your staff and creates more efficient conversations.  

You’ll find the entire staff more productive because they are no longer forced to hunt down answers and can continue working. In addition, morale will greatly improve, and your customers will be happier - which will take your CSI scores to the next level. 

Let’s cut to the chase. Internal debits from warranty claims are costing dealerships $100,000+ a year. And, with larger high-volume dealerships, this amount can be dramatically higher. Whether your dealership “needs” the money or not, my guess is that the owner would rather have it than not! 

Why is this happening and what can you do to prevent it? 

Well, it is happening due to a systematic failure in process. It starts and ends with poor documentation which in turn translates to rejected warranty claims. 

The very structure of a dealership lends itself to this phenomenon. Technicians get paid for each job they complete – most of the time at flat rate. Their motivation is to complete a job and then move on to the next. The more jobs they complete, the more money they make. Inputting the relevant documentation (pictures, video, written notes) for the warranty repair into the DMS is downtime for them. They either speed through it, or don’t do it until much later when their memory isn’t as clear. 

Then you have the person processing your warranty claims in the dealership. It’s a hassle when a warranty repair is unclear, or missing information, and just causes more work for them. This person either chases the technician down to get the details, or files a warranty claim missing important information. This, of course, leads to rejected warranty claims and internal debits which, in the most simplistic explanation, means loss of revenue for the dealership that was already reported in their financials. This can happen immediately, or it can be months later during a post-claim audit by the manufacturer.  

Consider adopting a new process in your dealership… video diagnostics. The technician simply uses their smartphone to make a video of the vehicle during the inspection process walking through all the issues, followed by another video after the repairs are completed. By so doing, they don’t need a good memory and, as long as they keep speaking about the repair during the taping, the person processing the claims doesn’t need to chase them down for lack of information. In addition, post-claim audits are easier because there is video evidence – that can easily be kept in the cloud and instantly retrievable – to share with the auditor. 

Adopt video diagnostics as a process and you’ll find technicians are more productive since they can move to the next repair faster; claims get filed faster as information is readily available when needed; and warranty claim acceptance increases.

Ujj Nath shares his vision of the fate of multi-point inspections in this short video blog.

RELATED: Tail Wags the Dog! Is the MPI in Danger of Being Exterminated?

myKaarma CEO/Founder Ujj Nath shares why it's the little things that matter when it comes to customer experience in the dealership.

The next evolution in the automotive industry will fundamentally transform dealership service departments… and this one will be big: service departments that could be empty. 

If you look at current trends, you can see the writing is on the wall; ride-sharing being the biggest current shift. 

And that’s not all. Consider the fact that someday consumers may be able to simply speak to Google assistant on their smartphone and the vehicle will wake up and drive itself to the dealership, get serviced and then return to the customer on its own. 

Automotive News just released a very enlightening article about this titled, “How EVs could create the biggest disruption since the iPhone.” The article states, “Electric cars, with a little help from ride-hailing and self-driving technology, could be about to change the auto industry in a similar way to Apple's upending of the mobile phone industry 10 years ago. The rise of Tesla and its rivals could be boosted by complementary services from Uber and Alphabet's Waymo unit, just as the iPhone rode the app economy and fast mobile internet to decimate mobile phone giants like Nokia.” 

Consider this. A normal internal combustion engine vehicle can have upwards of 10,000 parts all working together. This presents a huge amount of potential service opportunities as the vehicle ages. In stark contrast, an electric vehicle has as few as 150 moving parts, which obviously greatly decreases potential service opportunities. 

In fact, according to the Automotive News article, “After disassembling GM's Chevrolet Bolt, UBS Group concluded it required almost no maintenance, with the electric motor having just three moving parts compared with 133 in a four-cylinder internal combustion engine.” 

Decreased service opportunities from electric car ownership will bring lower repair orders and increased time between service visits. This will severely impact service department profitability.  

And, with over-the-air software and hardware updates that require no dealership visit whatsoever, as electric vehicles increasingly populate our roads traffic in service departments will further decline. 

Take for example an associate of mine who owns a Tesla. When they took it in for it’s very first service at 7,500 miles the total repair bill was a whopping $25. Think this is an aberration? It’s not. 

Tesla is so confident about its vehicle quality that it has issued an infinite mile warranty. CEO Elon Musk states in a blog, “The Tesla Model S drive unit warranty has been increased to match that of the battery pack. That means the 85 kWh Model S, our most popular model by far, now has an 8 year, infinite mile warranty on both the battery pack and drive unit. There is also no limit on the number of owners during the warranty period.” 

Wow, infinite mile warranties! While currently this confidence is only publicly stated by Tesla, every major car manufacturer is feverishly racing to compete in the electric car market. 

Additionally, a comparison done by Tesloop, a rideshare service which runs a fleet of Teslas, states that their total costs were $10K for 300K miles! 

“During the first 300,000 miles, the total combined maintenance and fuel costs of the Tesla Model S were $10,492, with a total of 12 days in the shop. Of these costs, $6,900 was scheduled maintenance and $3500 was headlight damage due to driving through deep water. Had this been an Mercedes S class, the scheduled routine maintenance and fuel would have been $86,000 ($52,000 maintenance and $36,000 fuel) with 112 days of servicing, or for a Lincoln Town Car $70k,000 ($28,000 maintenance and $42,000 fuel) with around 100 days of servicing.” 

What does all of this mean? 

Up until now, your dealership has connected with service customers anywhere from 2-3 or more times per year, depending on how much the customer drives. Aside from regular maintenance, you’ve had first crack at recommended services and replacements for wear and tear items such as brake pads and tires. Well, electric vehicles will change all that. 

It is now vital to make the most of every opportunity. Good news is that there are still 300 million light vehicles on US roads and these cars are lasting longer. Have you done a histogram to see what percentage of the service dollars come from cars that are more than 5 years old?  If not, you should.  In the future, the only way to keep your dealership’s service revenue from staying flat will be to start capturing market share back from the independents and to start servicing older cars.  

It makes sense to get ahead of the game.  Stand out from your competition now in order to keep the customers you do have and attract new ones. Prepare to offer your customers the convenience and ease they wish for now and will increasingly demand.

If you haven’t noticed, our culture has changed. Your customers are no longer willing to wait. Everyone wants everything NOW! 

Just look at the leader of the pack, Amazon. With this market powerhouse it’s all about same day or 2-day delivery. I can’t tell you how many times my first filter on Amazon has been to see how fast I could get something I needed – delivered right to my doorstep. This phenomenon is not going away. We’re already starting to see it in the automotive retail space. And soon, that will expand to include service as well. So, get ready for a huge shift. 

Why? 

Well, if you look at current trends, you can see that the writing’s on the wall; ride-sharing being the biggest current shift. In the next five years I would seriously advise you to start preparing for an automotive service environment that includes 24/7 service, or you will miss the next boom in fixed ops. 

Consider Uber, Lyft and other ride-sharing services. An ambitious driver will drive 60,000 miles per year, or 200 miles per day, approximately 300 days per year; allowing for a few days off. Any downtime for these driver’s vehicles costs them money. What do ride-sharing drivers want? Convenience. Take me for example. I like to get groceries at 2am because nobody is there and I can get what I need, checkout and be done. As ride-sharing proliferates, drivers will turn to those services that offer the most convenience and cater to their schedules. If those services are not at a dealership, they will go elsewhere. 

And, since 2010, new car buyers have decreased in every age group, aside from 55+. If, due to lack of convenience, today’s dealerships only get 1/3 of the repairs from younger generations, it becomes imperative to improve the convenience factor, or they will lose even more service revenue. 

Alright, so, what can you do now to prepare for this shift while optimizing your current service operations? 

I suggest that you: 

1. Take a look at your current operations and see what can be done to better maximize your service capacity. 

2. Once you’ve maximized your service capacity, institute a pickup and delivery service for your customers. It’s all about convenience and that extra convenience can make customers chose you over any competition. 

3. Extend your hours from 2 shifts to a 24-hour service operation, so customers can get service on their terms, whenever they can fit it into their schedules. 

4. If #3 above didn’t raise any eyebrows, I’m sure I’ll get a lot of push back on this one; but you’ll be thanking me several years down the line if you consider this option: What about building remote service facilities so that your customers can get service not only when they need it, but WHERE they need it? Think about it. Your current facility can only handle so much traffic. Perhaps OEM rules need to change so that these facilities can even be outside your PMA, which extends your brand and reach, and could even make for some new vehicle sales from service as well. 

Yes, this will take some getting used to; more resources and some changes in scheduling and organization. However, I strongly believe change is on the horizon and it is something you need to get ready for in order to survive and thrive. 

Doing it now means that your dealership has the first-to-market edge. And, while your competition may think you’re crazy, consumers will flock to you and remain loyal as you become the Amazon of automotive service. And that’s what leads to a profitable future.