Convenience is one of the biggest factors that influences customers when choosing where to take their vehicles for service. For the younger generation it even trumps price. Independents know this and it is one of their key marketing messages, along with speed of service.

Dealers tend to fall behind in this type of messaging in general and have to fight consumer perception that service from a franchised dealership is inconvenient, expensive and takes too long. Today’s consumers don’t want to have to drive to a dealership, drop their car off and return later – especially when there is a Jiffy Lube around the corner from their workplace that promises 30-minute oil changes.

How can dealerships alter that perception and make their service departments more attractive to consumers?

Well, I have seen several dealers kill it in their marketplace with remote delivery and pickup for service customers. It is a highly successful action and, I promise you, is well worth looking into.

With a remote pickup and delivery service you can easily trump any independent, as well as other dealers in your market. Consumers would prefer to have you pick up their vehicle from their home or workplace and return it upon completion of service, rather than drive to a location -- even around the corner to Jiffy Lube. This is the future of automotive service and customer experience.

And, let’s take this concept one step further. What about when autonomous cars proliferate the roads? It wouldn’t surprise me if, in the not-too-distant future, a consumer can simply push a button and the vehicle drives itself to the dealership, returning on its own when service is completed – just like a Roomba – but on a much larger scale.

But until technology develops to that point, the next best thing for a consumer is to have a convenient way to get their vehicle serviced with as little friction or effort as possible. If you offer your customers this level of service, along with the latest technology such as photos and videos of what needs fixing to help improve the customer’s understanding, you will find that, as a result, you have more opportunities to fix the car right the first time. In addition, by placing the consumer in a relaxed state of mind, enjoying the convenience of your service, they are also that much more likely to trust you and accept your recommendations.

According to a US Federal Reserve study, car sales fell 60% for the age group 16-34 from 2000 to 2016. Add to that the fact that a franchised dealer only sees one out of every three repairs, and it may be time to stop building mansions equipped with movie theaters and Starbucks and instead focus on implementing remote delivery and pickup services, along with satellite repair facilities. If you don't increase your repair penetration, with car sales decreasing, eventually fixed operations will get impacted.

Showing your customers that you value their time is the single biggest differentiator today. If you show appreciation and your customers find that your dealership accommodates all their needs, customers will start choosing you over independents and the competition down the road. Your dealership will become the customer’s one and only place for all their vehicle needs. .

Survey:

Does your dealership offer remote pickup and delivery services?

1.    Yes

2.    No

While many companies have entered the retail automotive space trying to capitalize on the experience customers want but are not getting from dealers, the biggest threat is actually looming on the horizon: The Tesla Model 3.

Until now, Tesla has bucked the system while pushing its direct-to-consumer sales model. However, their past vehicles were limited in quantity and priced too high for most Americans. Well now, the Tesla Model 3 with its $35,000 price range poses a direct challenge to many automakers.

Tesla has literally smashed all industry pre-order records with $1,000 deposits from a staggering 600,000 customers -- that’s $600 million in deposits from customers who haven’t even seen the vehicle, let alone given it a test drive!

When the Model 3 hits the streets – should consumers fall in love, which seems like a given at this point -- the auto industry will have to fight back – and fast. Everything will have to change – sales models, service departments, the customer experience… you name it -- will need to change.

Think about this:

Tesla is a software platform that has wheels. While American cars are wheels that have software.

Customers will now KNOW – on a mass scale – that buying a car completely online is very possible, not simply a pipe dream delivered by a handful of automotive companies. In fact, Hyundai has already realized this and now offers its highline model, the Genesis, to Canadian customers purely as an online purchase.

Customers will EXPERIENCE – on a mass scale – that they no longer have to visit a dealership for vehicle service. Almost all of Tesla’s components can be tweaked with over-the-air software updates.

Customers will UNDERSTAND – on a mass scale – that electric vehicles are practical and can save them money on fuel costs. It’s estimated that if a consumer drives 15,000 miles per year in a Tesla Model 3, they will only spend $602 on fuel for the ENTIRE YEAR.

Once consumers understand all the benefits of the vehicle, the experience and the entire Tesla process, dealers who haven’t adjusted to provide a similar experience will risk going kaput. And those that don’t understand the necessity of building customer loyalty NOW, will go kaput the fastest.

If we as industry fail to counteract Tesla’s moves now, Tesla will simply keep chugging ahead until, one day, dealers will no longer see Tesla in the rearview mirror but, rather, will watch their taillights as they pull further ahead.

Survey:

Do you think the Tesla Model 3 will have a major impact on the auto industry?

1. Yes

2. No

Some dealership personnel tend to do things that really boil down to just CYA stuff. A customer comes into the service drive and is made to wait while their vehicle is inspected for scratches, dents or dings, which can take a few minutes --- time a customer doesn’t have.

The most valuable currency on the planet is time. Everyone has too much to do with too little time. That’s why customers don’t want to come to get their vehicles serviced. What if you decreased the amount of time a customer had to wait for their car to be serviced? Even if you simply reduce the time in that check-in process, that initial impression of “fast” contributes to the overall customer experience.

Service advisors walk around the customer’s vehicle with an iPad, take pictures and notes to document vehicle condition while the customer stands there with arms crossed waiting impatiently. The longer a service advisor takes, the more a customer feels as if the dealer doesn’t trust them which, due to the general misconception of the industry by many consumers, contributes to the customer losing trust in the dealer. So what are you, as a dealer to do?

I get that it’s important to document any pre-existing vehicle damage. However, there are more efficient ways to do it – both technology and process-wise – than making the customer stand there for several minutes while the initial inspection takes place. Many luxury car manufacturers never make a customer wait because they want to provide an exceptional customer experience at every interaction. They recognize that the customer’s time is valuable, realize that building trust is a two-way street, and don’t want to plant any seeds of mistrust.

Take a page out of the customer service book used by leaders in the hospitality industry -- chains that offer superior service such as the Ritz-Carlton. They train their staff to put customer experience above and beyond everything. In the case of the Ritz-Carlton, each employee has the freedom to fix any guest issue to the tune of $2,000 per day per guest. And at the Mandarin hotel chain, if you ask a bellhop what distinguishes them, they will answer, “The answer is yes, what is the question?” This type of philosophy gives customers the confidence and experience that makes them want to stay and keep coming back.

Don’t use your customer’s time to optimize your operations at the dealership. It’s not yours and never will be. Optimize your operations and procedures to make it a great experience for each and every customer. Respect their time and make it as convenient and time-efficient as possible for them to do business with you. If you do, you will see them keep coming back.

Survey Question:

How long does it take your service advisors to do an initial inspection?

A) 2 minutes to 5 minutes

B)  5 minutes to 10 minutes

C)  I don’t know.

According to a recent article in AutoRemarketing, a study by J.D. Power found that customers are overwhelmingly more loyal, and will return for service, to dealerships that communicate with them well and take the lead in the communication process.

The study found both phone contact and texting increased customer loyalty. Among customers who are contacted by phone, 55 percent say they “definitely will” return for paid service. When receiving text message updates, that loyalty factor jumped to 67 percent.

Customers simply want to know what’s going on with their vehicle – not after the fact but during the whole process. And they want the dealer to stay in communication with them throughout the service process. Service advisors are busy people and, unless your dealership employs a full time staff member to continuously attempt to contact customers with status updates over the phone, you’ll probably find it tough to accomplish.

For the most part, dealerships stick to the form of communication that they’re used to – telephone. While telephones certainly play a part in the communication chain, texting and e-mail can also be effective ways to reach customers. In fact, I have found that a combination of communication methods is the most effective.

It’s tough to get a $500 repair order approved via text, as explaining the value of the recommendations to the customer is typically necessary, which is almost impossible via text.

You can, however, relay simple status updates regularly and/or ask simple questions via text.

And, as the J.D. Power study results show, by utilizing all forms of communication, you can improve customer loyalty, which means happier customers and more service revenue.

You want that, right?

Survey Question:

Do you use texting at your dealership?

1.    Yes

2.    No

myKaarma CEO/Chairman Ujj Nath shares an unconventional idea on how to increase customer pay ROs in your service drive.

For the past 15 years or so, technology has existed which enables customers to schedule service appointments online. In the beginning, the systems were very basic – the customer filled out a form online and an e-mail was sent to someone at the dealership who may – or may not – confirm that appointment.

Fast forward to today and online service appointment scheduling has evolved into systems that immediately verify the service appointment, check parts availability, analyze shop capacity based on other appointments, available bays and technician skill level, among other things.

But guess what? Despite all these advanced abilities, and the convenience to both the customer and the dealer, most dealers’ online appointment scheduling rates hover around 7-10 percent, with the head-of the-pack dealers sitting at around 20 percent – after 15 years a mere 2 out of 10 customers schedule an appointment online!

Today’s customers demand convenience, and, with all this wonderful technology, why are dealers still only getting 2 out of 10 customers to make appointments online—AT MOST?

I’ll tell you why: We went to a dealer’s website, (will remain unnamed, but most of them are the same) and we counted the clicks and inputs for the major scheduler. It took us 9 clicks and 19 inputs to get to an appointment. Is that crazy? I think so!

Yes, everyone wants to “shop load” correctly and plan the capacity. I am not asking you to go away from that, but just asking you to enable a different approach. How about a simple way for the customer to click a button on your website and have the system call them back - a-la Amazon?

It is a lot easier to verify the details and look up a recall if the person is calling you.  Now if the customer does not have time to call you, let them text you.  

Even that is simpler than the 9-19 step methodology. The fact is that customers don’t make appointments online because we’ve made it too hard to do so.  It reminds me of my doctor today.  When I go in, all she does is type into a computer and keeps collecting data on me, rather than talk to me about my health issues. We should learn from it, we have got to make it easier for customers to interact with us! 

Show your customers just how much they can benefit by making an appointment. But first, make it easy for them to do so via your website, text and chat.

In so doing you can increase your service revenue, traffic, appointments set and customer experience, while utilizing your shop’s resources more efficiently.

In this short video blog, myKaarma CEO/Chairman Ujj Nath explains why dealerships should analyze what their service advisors responsibilities are and asks whether they are overloaded?

One day, while bringing my vehicle into a large, very well-known dealership for service, a rather comical scene played out before my eyes. While the shuttle driver was leaving the dealership, his mini-van full with customers, all of a sudden a strong gust of wind came through. The shuttle van’s windows were open at the time and papers started flying out of the vehicle. He stopped the vehicle and desperately gave chase to the papers that were flying around. Ironically, these were his printed directions for each passenger. He eventually gave up and went back to the dealership to re-print the directions.

While entertaining, it made me consider the consequences that just one gust of wind had on this dealership’s service department:

1. The driver now had to go back to the dealership and reassemble the route

2.  The customers in the shuttle had to sit and wait. The shuttle, which was provided as a convenience, was now an inconvenience to them.

All because of a piece of paper and a gust of wind.

Why in this era of paperless technology would you choose to use paper-based systems? One of the reasons Uber quickly became so popular is due to its technology and simplicity. Pull out your smartphone, open the app, request a driver and with a couple clicks the app tells you exactly where the driver is and how long you have to wait until pick up. Once the ride is over, you simply get out, and your credit card is automatically charged the fare.

We all like convenience and technology because it makes doing business easier. Customers frequently make decisions about who they choose to do business with based on the ease of any interaction with that business. You can either choose to adopt new technology or risk being left for a competitive dealership that has.

myKaarma CEO Ujj Nath discusses the importance of effective communications with recall customers in this short video blog.

Customers generally get their vehicle serviced close to home or work. Dealers are lucky that customers feel they should bring their new cars back to the same store when there are warranty issues. They have that warranty period to develop the customer’s loyalty. That is, UNLESS their customer has a bad experience. After the warranty period is over, if they don’t wish to service at a franchised dealer (often due to the perception that dealers are more expensive) the customer will go to the most convenient independent service repair shop.

What happens when they go to the independent service repair shop - Joe’s Automotive Repair?

Joe answers the phone. There are no voice prompts and no need to get transferred. The customer explains what they need and Joe gives them an estimate. When the customer arrives at Joe’s shop, Joe greets them himself. He then inspects the vehicle and calls them to inform them of any repairs he discovers. After explaining technically what’s going on, he gives them a final amount, gets approval and repairs the vehicle. When the work is completed, Joe notifies the customer that their vehicle is ready. When the customer returns, Joe takes the customer’s payment and explains to the customer the work that was completed. A few days later, Joe calls the customer to find out if everything is to the customer’s complete satisfaction.

There are so many moving parts at a franchised dealership, as well as a number of different employees involved in a typical service process. That it is why it is very hard for franchised dealers to compete with the experience offered by independent service centers. Therefore, ensuring a smooth and excellent customer experience, providing a single point of contact who responds to the customer as well as personalizing the service experience, is quite a challenge.

When attempting to provide a higher level of customer experience many dealers typically resort to hiring more people to help – more porters, greeters, assistants, BDC personnel, etc. The customer now has to deal with a service advisor, greeter, valet, porter and BDC personnel -- The list goes on and it borders on overkill.

Take a look at the experience from your customer’s viewpoint. To compete with Joe’s Garage across the street, focus on improving interaction with your customers by providing a streamlined, efficient, and unified way for customers to interact with you. If the customer has to remember five phone numbers, or speak with multiple people at the dealership in order to get their vehicle serviced, eventually they will get tired of it.

Simplify your service process and make it easy for customer to do business with you -- or you will lose your customer to Joe.