Long Beach, CA —January 31, 2020 — myKaarma, the leading communications and payments software provider for automotive dealer service departments, today announced the launch of Service Cart. The mobile repair recommendation tool is designed to improve customer transparency and convenience by enabling instant approval and feedback from the customer. This results in higher retention, shorter authorization times, a significant lift in repair recommendation acceptance rates and higher customer pay dollars. Service customers receive easy to understand inspections in the form of a "Service Cart,” and with just one-click can approve technician recommended work. All recommendations are shown with prices, videos, and pictures of the customer’s vehicle shot by the technician, highlighting why the work is needed. Dealers using myKaarma’s Service Cart are realizing more than 40 percent acceptance of additional service recommendations.

Service Cart includes documented photos and videos, the ability to translate inspections into over 100 languages, declined services follow up through myKaarma messaging, and complete integration with the full myKaarma product suite and notification system.

According to myKaarma CEO Ujj Nath, Service Cart makes dealership customers the focus, resulting in significant financial and customer retention lifts. “There is a reason Amazon represents almost half of all eCommerce trade. It is because they make it so easy for you to interact – two clicks and you can order anything. When we built the Service Cart interface, we made the customer approval process a mirror image of Amazon and just as transparent for the customer. They can view photos and videos of the work needed on their vehicle, and with one simple click the estimate is accepted and the work can start,” said Nath. “Service Cart also introduces a brand-new concept where the customer can request an estimate for some piece of work they feel needs to be done on their vehicle. This is proving to be a revolutionary feature. With myKaarma’s enhanced video attributes and seamless communication choices, dealers are converting a significant amount of additional service recommendations,” Nath added.

Jeff Diers, Parts and Service Director at Planet Hyundai and Genesis, in Golden, CO, runs a busy service department at his Hyundai store, writing around 1,200 Repair Orders a month. He is piloting the system and has seen a 99.74 percent lift in Cash Pay ROs by using Service Cart to text recommendations to customers so they can view the accompanying photos and videos and subsequently approve the recommended work.

“Our Hyundai store has seen a decrease in declined recommendations and a 99.74% lift in Cash Pay Repair Orders for inspections when conducted with viewed media through Service Cart, compared to without. That is a significant increase in profitability. Our CSI has also increased, and we now have one of the highest ratings in our district,” said Diers.

One of the aspects Diers likes most about the system is the advanced communication features, “The platform enables us to assign one number to an advisor which the customer can use to text or call. The fact that the customer does not have to go through a switchboard or remember an extension is huge! I also love the cutting-edge electronic MPI that enables us to communicate back and forth with the customer. They can view photos and videos on their mobile device and then with a simple click approve the recommendations. This has resulted in a huge boost in approvals. If you are not going forward, you are going backward and myKaarma is constantly developing their technology to give us the next bump in our CSI and revenue,” Diers stated.

Service Cart is fully integrated with myKaarma's full software suite which runs on mobile phones, desktop, and tablet computers, offering two main features: end-to-end customer communication and payments. The communications tools are designed to blend seamlessly into a service advisor's daily workflow. They can be used across various mediums of communication, including voice, text, and email. The full platform, service@home, includes pickup and delivery, video walkarounds, and driver tracking, along with the communications and payment features. It is all seamlessly integrated and synced with the DMS.

The software enables service advisors to send photos and videos to customers which more clearly explain their repair recommendations. They can then receive real-time authorization for additional work. Once the service process is complete, customers have multiple options for paying their bills, including online, eliminating any wait at the dealership when they pick up their vehicle.

Service departments that implement myKaarma’s cloud-based software tools enjoy an average lift in dollars per repair order of 37%, a 50% reduction in voicemails left with advisors, a near 100% reduction in authorization disputes, a 33% decrease in loaner car days, and a boost in CSI scores. They also gain access to a comprehensive real-time record of communication with their customers and a bird's eye view of the service department that allows them to manage their operations more efficiently.

For more information visit: www.mykaarma.com, call 562-287-5527, or drop by booth #6243N at the 2020 NADA Show in Las Vegas, NV, February 15-17. To schedule a demo at NADA click here:

About myKaarma:

myKaarma is a cloud-based software company that focuses on enhancing the retail experience of service customers and increasing franchised dealerships revenue. The myKaarma platform provides 21st-century technology for digital conversations (Text, Email, Voice, video, photos) and payments (Mobile, Point-of-Sale) with auto-reconciliation. The full platform, service@home, includes pickup and delivery, video walkarounds, driver tracking along with the communications and payment features all seamlessly integrated and synced with the DMS.

myKaarma Media Contact:

Sara Callahan

Carter West Public Relations

727-288-2159

Would you like to hear a ridiculous, unbelievable ROI statement? Well, one luxury brand dealership integrated technician videos into its service processes and, in only seven days, made +$250K in customer pay recommended work revenue. In fact, 80% of all closed repair orders for the week had a technician video sent to the customer.

Why do technician videos work?

They create transparency and build trust because the customer hears the diagnosis and the recommended repair from the "horse's mouth" (the technician), and by the way, the video is in the technician's own words without needing a theatrical production crew! The majority of customers don't understand most service recommendations and will choose to decline so they can leave and ask family or friends if the specific repair recommended is needed. Videos build trust and dramatically improve acceptance rates.

Videos are the most effective form of communication, second only to a customer standing in the repair bay and talking to the technician. Seeing is believing.

I know what you're thinking, "I don't run a luxury dealership, and my repair order estimates are drastically lower than a typical luxury dealership." Well, lucky for you, I have some data from non-luxury dealerships as well.

A low-to-midline dealership added technician videos into its service process and within 25 days achieved a $15,800 increase in customer pay revenue. Also, that was with just 30% of all RO's having a technician video sent to the customer. So, now can you see the opportunity for increased service revenue?

Dealerships that adopt technician videos should expect sustained growth as the technicians get used to the process and increase the use of video to the 100% mark, which is the recommended best practice.

Once you build transparency and customer trust around what the technician is recommending, customers are much more likely to approve the recommended work.

How many hoops do you have to jump through to get a $5k-$10k increase in service revenue? And at what cost? Traditional mailer or email list marketing? Expensive local print, radio, or TV advertisements?

Try this!

Implementing a process that allows your current customers to accept recommended repairs through technician videos is much more effective. It is also significantly less expensive than spending money on service marketing, attempting to lure customers back into the dealership after they have left.

Most marketing doesn't include individual one-on-one conversations. Technician videos do. Consumers are much more likely to respond to, trust, and accept service recommendations when they are specific to their vehicle. When they can view and understand the needed repair; and when they are personalized and sent in a way that the customer prefers, be that by email or text; they respond in a much more favorable fashion.

If you adopt technician videos in service, your dealership could reduce much of its service marketing budget while, at the same time, increasing service revenue. 

Isn't that the ultimate goal?

Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently tweeted that he wanted to take Tesla private, which has garnered a lot of attention. Hey, I realize that Tesla as a company can be a polarizing issue in our automotive industry. But this is something you may want to pay attention to.

Here’s why:

Public company CEOs are notoriously beholden to quarterly projections. If you’re not familiar with the stock market, every quarter, the CEO and CFO of publicly-traded companies have a “earnings” call with an analyst to share financial performance, projections etc., and additionally they provide “guidance” for the upcoming quarter.

Truth be told, secretly most CEOs of public companies hate this practice because to compete they are often focused on research and development with an eye on long term viability, rather than the next quarter profit. Similar to meetings dealers have with their District Operations Managers (DOMs), except that these dealer calls happen every month with questions such as: “How many units will you sell next month (new and CPO?); and “How much revenue is expected in fixed ops?” etc.

The answers dealers give to their DOMs are very similar to the answers tech companies give to Wall Street… they are guesses. No dealership knows without a doubt exactly how many vehicles they will sell next month. They simply set goals by forecasting based on sales achieved at the same time the previous year, combined with inventory quantity, dealership traffic, promotions and staff talent. But, in the end, it’s all just a guess. Just like the answers these large tech companies are forced to give.

Take a look at Amazon. Jeff Bezos lost money daily. When investors asked “why?” he responded that if Amazon stopped R&D expenses they would be profitable the next day but it’s future would be more profitable by continuing to invest in R&D until they had a rock-solid base, then they could make money. And now they have topped almost a trillion-dollar valuation. In fact, according to TechCrunch, Amazon now accounts for an astounding 49% of e-commerce in the United States.

Tesla is following a very similar path. It is also mainly a R&D company, constantly innovating and coming up with new, crazy but viable ideas. It is also losing money on a daily basis. But it continues on the R&D path.

When market analysts and Wall Street come knocking on Elon Musk’s door, he’s barraged with the same questions thrown at Amazon. Perhaps his Twitter announcement about going private is his way of voicing frustration about having to answer these questions with guesses. By taking Tesla private (he has since backed away from this position as wall street also controls his capital raises), he can perhaps avoid answering these questions and simply continue to innovate.

Only time will tell. Business plans and net worth for R&D-based companies are always predictions and guesses, not precise. When you miss estimates, Wall Street will kill you, but it also has a short memory and, should Tesla succeed, it will be forgiven.

So, getting back to why dealers should care. Well, here’s the deal: As much as you may dislike the distribution model Tesla is trying to achieve, if Tesla and Elon succeed, dealers like you will have to live with it.

I believe Tesla only need achieve a 2% market share to make it a viable and authentic automotive manufacturer. As of July 2018, it has already achieved a 1.44% market share, exceeding sales of the BMW 2,3,4 and 5 series; Mercedes C, CLA, CLS and E-Class; Audi A3-A7; Lexus ES, GS, IS and RC; Cadillac ATS, CT6, CTS and XTS; Infiniti Q50 and Q60; Acura RLX and TLX; Volvo 60 and 90 series; and Jaguar XE and XF!

Love them or hate them, it certainly appears that Tesla is successfully gaining ground – and quickly.

While you may not be a fan of Tesla, you certainly should be planning for the day Tesla becomes a true automotive manufacturer (in terms of market share). I would advise you to start now and invest in making your dealership a convenient & transparent place to do business and invest in the long term!

The automotive industry is changing with self-driving cars, companies such as Uber entering the field and the decline of oil-dependent vehicles. 

To that point, I am sure many of you are familiar with the shocking stories and downfalls of three highly successful companies: Blockbuster, Kodak and Xerox.

So, what lessons can be learned from these failures that can be applied to dealerships? (my readers have written to me to say that my posts are too long and sometimes the summary may help to see if they want to read on, and hence the bottom line first.)

First, in the case of Blockbuster, you must constantly study and re-evaluate the market and your competition. I keep telling my employees that I wake up worrying more about two guys in a garage with a computer putting us out of business, rather than our current set of competitors!

The moral: Disrupt yourself!

Second, Kodak. Our industry is currently barraged with messages of disruption as new companies and technologies enter the market. Don't let others disrupt your business, do it to yourself. 

The moral: Cannibalize yourself.

And, lastly Xerox. While the company did invent the future, it failed to realize its full potential and produced technology that was ill suited for the needs of the audience it was serving. Their mouse had three buttons, broke every two weeks, the windowing system was far from simple and needed three clicks at times to do an action. Jobs went on to build a mouse for under 15 bucks, it did not break down in two years, his windowing system was simple and easy to use -- with just one click for most actions. 

The moral: It is all about reliability and customer convenience.

Let’s briefly examine – and expand upon – these three stories:

 1.  Blockbuster – In the year 2000, Reed Hastings, the founder of a new company called Netflix, proposed a partnership to Blockbuster CEO John Antioco and his team. Netflix’s idea was to run Blockbuster’s brand online and Blockbuster would promote Netflix in its stores. Hastings was pretty much laughed out of the room. Well, Blockbuster went bankrupt in 2010 and Netflix is now a $28 billion-dollar company, approximately ten times what Blockbuster was worth. Antico was not a bad CEO, yet for all his business expertise he failed to see the opportunity and what could happen in the future.

When Hastings made his original offer, Blockbuster was at the top of the video rental industry. It had literally thousands of retail locations, millions of customers, a massive marketing budget and dominated the competition. So, it would have been a natural reaction for Blockbuster to think that handing over the brand was a bad idea.

Here’s the catch, and something to learn from: Blockbuster’s model had a weakness that wasn’t immediately clear. It earned an enormous amount of money through charging late fees, and this became an important part of Blockbuster’s revenue model. The company’s weakness was that its profits were rather dependent on extracting penalties from its customers.

On the other side of the coin, Netflix had certain advantages. It decided not to have any retail locations and so lowered costs, enabling it to offer customers much better variety. Instead of charging to rent videos, it offered subscriptions, negating late fees. Customers could watch a video for as long as they desired or return it and get a new one. And they loved it and left Blockbuster in the dust.

2.   Kodak – Kodak didn’t ignore digital photography. It created a best-selling line of digital cameras as well as high-quality ways to print them. The problem was that Kodak made most of its money from developing film. This wasn’t an issue of stupidity, or ignoring technology, but rather a financial one. And, they failed to see how their product could be replaced.

3.   Xerox -- One of the most incredible stories in the history of technology is the story of the Xerox mouse and personal computer. In 1979, a very young Steve Jobs made a deal with Xerox. Apple was at that time one of hottest tech firms in the USA. Jobs proposed a deal: he would allow Xerox to buy a hundred thousand shares of his company for a million dollars in exchange for access into Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). An engineer at PARC conducted a demonstration for Jobs, moving the cursor across the screen with the aid of an early design computer mouse.

Job’s was very excited about the technology and how it could make computers much more user friendly. He could not believe that Xerox had no real plans to do much with the technology as he saw that it was revolutionary. One of the main problems was that the Xerox mouse cost three hundred dollars to build and was broken within a couple of weeks. Jobs directed his design team to build a mouse for less than fifteen bucks that could last for a couple of years.

Xerox did continue in the personal computer field and developed the Alto, which went on sale in 1981. However, it was slow and underpowered. So, shortly after that, Xerox withdrew from the personal computer market. Meanwhile, Jobs, who was working on the next generation of personal computers, developed the technology for menus, opening, closing and expanding “windows” to easily move from one task to another, and a better mouse. And the rest is history.

Xerox management failed to correctly provide what the market needed. They should have focused on ease of use and reliability. That is how Jobs and his team at Apple won the market.

From these stories, the takeaways and real lessons aren’t that these businesses were once leaders in their industries and failed. Rather, it is how to constantly innovate, even though in the short term it will cannibalize your business; but in the long term, you will enjoy the spoils when your competitors are out of business.

While we see these stories repeated often, for some unknown reason, we as humans tend to think “this is not going to happen me or my industry.”

In my recent travels I went to Tokyo and Kyoto in Japan. A few things struck me: just how space efficient and clean everything was.

I visited the famous Tsukuji wholesale fish market. To my surprise, there was no smell of fish. The local sushi restaurant (where I lined up at 4 am for the 1st seating at 5 am) served their sushi on the countertop. Yes, the countertop was so clean that you could literally eat off the table!

Now onto the infamous toilet seat.

I was training a dealer in the Northeast (and yes, I still do training). I mentioned to my consultant who was accompanying me that he should invest in a $1000 toilet seat to replace his current one. I had caught him off-guard, and he burst out laughing, unable to contain his laughter. He wanted to know why, and I explained to him all the things that this seat did; I decided to tell him the story of visiting a Shinto shrine in Japan.

When I wanted to use the public restroom at the Shinto shrine, they wanted me to take my shoes off. The thought of doing that in the public restrooms of the US would have appalled me! I did it anyway and was surprised to find spotless bamboo tile flooring with no paper towels on the floor. There were also bamboo sandals that we could wear to use the toilets. The toilets had bidets in them too. The cleanliness of the whole affair totally impressed me, to the point that when I got back to the US, I did some research and found this $1000 toilet seat that converts a regular toilet into a bidet.

At the dealership I was training, my consultant had already shared my “story” with all the dealership personnel. For a short while, I became the brunt of their jokes, until everyone saw this promotional video for the toilet seat https://youtu.be/U8KyBlGWI2k.

Now, why am I writing about a blooming toilet seat?? What Toto (the toilet seat company) shows us is that if you step back, look at any product or process, and get rid of the underlying assumptions, you can innovate just about anywhere. This is sorely needed in automotive service. We need to get rid of our assumptions and create innovative products and services that eventually bring convenience and luxury to the customers.

As an industry, we’re witnessing the largest shift and money grab in history -- from the likes of Carvana, Blinker, and Fair, to the possible entrance of Amazon into car buying.

And now, another huge retail company has decided to jump in… but in a way that dealers may be overlooking.

Walmart recently launched a used-car buying service in partnership with CarSaver, which offers vehicle shoppers a one-price model. Consumers can test drive the vehicle and pick it up at a certified dealership. The test launch was so successful that it is now expanding  to 250 stores. On the surface, it sounds rather non-threatening, as dealerships ultimately still retain the sale as a certified dealer.

However, every used car purchased through Walmart/CarSaver comes with a lifetime warranty. Why is this an issue? Because Walmart is not only a huge retailer, but also operates as an independent repair facility.

There’ll probably be some sort of reciprocity between CarSaver and Walmart to encourage customers who purchased through this program to utilize Walmart’s service facilities. In addition, any large repairs may also be captured by Walmart. The customer isn’t going to think of the dealer as the business they bought the vehicle from – only as the place where they picked it up. They will view Walmart as the “dealership” – even if only in a digital manner.

Disruption will continue to increase as these retailers identify further revenue opportunities. Ally Financial has also joined forces with the Walmart/CarSaver program incentivizing customers with gift cards to finance through Ally. There goes even more potential revenue for dealers. Add in the flood of off lease vehicles coming into the used vehicle market over the next few years and you have a triple threat: lower used vehicle prices, lost financing, and lost sales.

Every bite and chunk of a consumer’s money taken by a disruptor means less money for your dealership. Deeply discounted vehicles sold through Walmart, potentially serviced through Walmart, with Ally capturing the financing, serves to do only one thing… position the dealership as nothing more than a used car storage facility.

And that’s not something dealerships should embrace.

Don’t lose your lease returns to an independent or some new retail giant. As a franchised dealer you have many advantages; highly trained technicians, factory parts, etc. Make sure your used car department is on top of the “end of lease” process, have your service department flag cars that are good for trade-ins, extend your service hours, add a pick-up and delivery service … there are many things you can do to be more competitive in today’s marketplace. Embrace the competition by upping YOUR game!

If you’ve been in the retail automotive industry for any length of time, you’ve seen how inaction is thought to be the best course of action. With today's evolving retail world where consumer’s can order oil and battery changes on Amazon, I’m sure there are many more changes that Amazon is hatching for the automotive industry. If your attitude is that you are making money right now, so why change, it could lead you down a path of no-return!

Consumers are changing -- these days they not only vote with their wallets, they use their new-found megaphones of social media and rating sites to hit back HARD when they are not satisfied. Industry disruptors know this and are entering the space with new technologies in communications, payments, marketing, sales processes, financing, and overall experience improvements that leave any dealerships which continue to do it “like they always have” in the dust.

I advise you to pay attention to the trends that are happening in the retail world because, inevitably, those trends migrate into the automotive space. Even Tesla stole their “showrooming” practice from the retail furniture industry. Consumers are all about using technology nowadays. How many people do you know that DON’T have a smartphone? And yes, they’re not afraid to use that smartphone to price shop your competition while standing on your lot – or in your parts or service department. And they’re certainly not afraid to leave if they are dissatisfied with the experience they are having.

So, by continuing to do “things like you always have,” all you’re doing is telling consumers to take their money elsewhere. A large American retail icon, Toys ‘R Us, just went down in blazing flames because it failed to adapt to retail industry changes. Instead, it counted on its brand name to carry the stores. But it didn’t. And it’s sad. They had an opportunity to make their stores a toy adventure place for kids and parents, making it a destination of experience, excitement and hands-on fun for their visitors. How many toys would kids have left with if they got to play with other kids and experience 20-30 toys while visiting? Instead, Toys ‘R Us remained a warehouse of boxed toys customers could look at but not touch, while competing with online toy stores that show detailed pictures instead of sterile boxes and provided hassle-free delivery.

Change is happening all around us. Businesses that have failed to adapt to consumer needs in experience, convenience, efficiency and transparency are going away, right before our eyes.

Artificial Intelligence tool researches & answers questions, ensures advisors instantly know recall work when a customer texts and enables more efficient responses

LONG BEACH, California -- March 13, 2018-- --myKaarma, software that helps dealerships communicate better with their customers at every stage of the service process, right from check-in through to payment, today announced the release of a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool, SmartAssist. SmartAssist powered by AI acts as a personal assistant for service advisors, researching and providing answers to customer questions. It also provides information on previous recalls, assists in setting appointments and ensures advisors save time answering questions for the customer. SmartAssist speeds up communication with customers, enables the service advisor to quickly move on to the next customer without missing anything, improves the overall customer experience and service department profitability.

If a customer texts the service advisor to schedule a service appointment, the screen automatically populates with the customer’s VIN number and available appointment times, which can be sent to the customer with a simple click. No need to type a long reply. It will also pull up quick answers to monotonous questions, any outstanding recalls and suggest a reply that can be sent to the customer, saving the advisor time and ensuring they are on top of every opportunity to present context driven answers.

“Wouldn’t it be great if your service advisors never had to click on ten links to find a simple answer? With SmartAssist they can simply concentrate on taking care of the unique needs of their guests, type less, respond more easily, limit the need to do ‘research’ on each vehicle and instantly know what recalls a customer needs whenever they communicate with you,” said Ujj Nath, myKaarma Chairman and CEO.

The myKaarma software runs on mobile phones, desktops, and tablet computers. It has two main features: service customer communication and payment. Both of these products unite text, voice, and email into a simple conversation. All dealership’s phone lines for service are bundled into one phone number, ensuring that communication from the service department is easily identifiable to customers.

With myKaarma, service advisors can send texts—while at their desk—through their mobile phone, including photos and videos of recommendations for the customer to review. It is then a simple process for customers to approve work, and they can even pay their bill through the app. The online payment feature also streamlines customers’ pickup of vehicles after service. In addition, myKaarma helps eliminate all paperwork between advisors and controllers.

All communication is logged within the platform for future reference. When a service advisor is on break and the customer needs to get in contact, myKaarma “follow-me” technology sends the message to the service advisor’s smartphone, allowing them to reply even when not at their desk, while capturing the message in the cloud. Or the service advisor can delegate the message to another service advisor to handle. Instead of struggling to connect through phone tag, the advisor can update and get authorization from the customer in minutes.

When the customer’s vehicle is done, a payment request is sent to that customer through the app with a cash repair invoice, allowing the customer to verify repairs and pay on their smartphone tablet, or PC, without logging into a website.

According to Nath, the addition of SmartAssist makes myKaarma an even more effective tool for auto dealer service departments. “It’s like having a personal assistant research and answer client questions. Easy questions, hard questions, and everything in between,” said Nath.

For more information, or to schedule a product demonstration visit www.mykaarma.com, stop by booth 1047 N at the 2018 NADA show in Las Vegas, NV, March 23-25, or click here to schedule an appointment at NADA

# # # # #
About myKaarma:

myKaarma is the communication and payments platform of choice for the nation’s top automotive manufacturers and groups alike—enabling a consistent high-quality service
experience for their brand’s customers.

Service departments enjoy an average lift in dollars per repair order (RO) of 37%, a
50% reduction in voicemails left with advisors, a 100% reduction in authorization disputes, a 33% decrease in loaner car days, and an increase in CSI scores.

myKaarma's platform backed by its “crazy good” customer service gives dealers the ability to offer their customers 21st Century technology through digital conversations and smart payment systems. myKaarma was named as an official communications and payments partner for Mercedes-Benz USA.

There can be no arguing that most dealerships operate in silos. Typically, four exist: New Car Sales, Used Car Sales, Service and Finance. These four departments usually work independently of each other, each with its own revenue and volume goals, yet all are undeniably intertwined. And, as their goals aren’t aligned, the resulting friction costs revenue.

Frequently, to make a deal, heated discussions occur about having the used car manager step up the value of the trade, so the new car sales department can hit OEM and profitability goals. This often kills the used sales ledger and commissions paid from that department. Then used car managers argue with service directors over reconditioning charges. Salespeople are upset because they believe their commission from front-end profit is shifted to the back-end in finance, reducing their paycheck. And while the finance department typically communicates with sales managers to structure deals properly, it also has an edge, with add-ons that can make or break a skinny deal.

How then do you change the mindset and break down the silos?

One dealership in Texas seems to have found part of the answer to this and unified its departments by introducing a new process in sales: salespeople discussing F&I products with customers prior to entering the finance office to finalize the transaction.

According to Automotive News, by simply training its sales staff on available F&I products, providing brief summaries on what the finance manager will be discussing with the customer, the dealership has increased finance revenue by an average of $200 per vehicle.

Why? Because the finance manager has a limited amount of time with each customer (typically 45 minutes to an hour). While the salesperson oftentimes invests much more time in establishing the customer relationship, earning and building trust.

The sales staff, mind you, isn’t selling products, just pre-educating customers, teeing them up for the finance manager thereby creating a smoother process in finance. How does the dealership motivate the salespeople to care about this -- much less complete this process? The salespeople get 5 percent of the back-end gross in commission.

I know of at least one salesperson who got a $100 bonus for every deal that went into finance with a $1,000 back-end. Do you think he was motivated to discuss finance products with his customers while waiting to go into finance -- in that awkward dead-time that inevitably happens after hands are shaken and a deal is made? This seems like a perfect solution to increase gross without much effort, while also changing dealership culture away from silos and into teamwork.

While you may have a couple of star running-backs, you’ll never win the game if the offensive linemen don’t make those blocks and protect them. By breaking down silos, not only will your dealership operate more efficiently, it will also enjoy increased revenue which, by default, benefits everyone’s wallets.

Much progress has been made in the journey towards paperless transactions. We can now sign tax returns online; sign electronic pads at many retailers when using credit cards; and, in some cases, receipts are even emailed to us. When FedEx or UPS make deliveries we no longer sign a paper log, but a mobile electronic pad.

So, why is the automotive industry not doing this?

Despite the many new technologies now available to car dealers that enable electronic signatures, customers are still forced through a trillion signatures and countless initials (front and back, mind you) to complete a transaction -- EVEN IF the dealership has adopted e-signature technologies.

Think how frustrating, confusing and, frankly, distressing that is for the consumer. Imagine going to a retailer to make a purchase, inserting your credit card and signing the electronic pad, only to have the cash register spit out a paper receipt which you then also must sign. My first reaction would be, “why do I need to sign this PAPER receipt when I just signed my name on your e-signature pad?” Well, that is exactly the experience dealers are providing to their customers. Whether this is happening in finance or service, it doesn’t matter.

I do understand that some state regulatory bodies, such as the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) in California, require physical documents with original signatures. Whereas the federal statute allows for e-signatures, which is why you can buy a home without a single wet signature.  

Is this dated system required in our industry because dealers are not bothering to challenge it, or is it because the local enforcer (such as the BAR rep) claims it is necessary?  Regardless, I also know that this level of redundancy is so irritating that some dealers refuse to comply. For the sake of the customer’s experience, they allow customers to just sign electronically; willing to face any fines or lawsuits that may (but probably won’t) come back around. Not that I recommend going against any laws, I am just illustrating how frustrating this is for dealers – and their customers.

We’re at the point where the Federal government now accepts e-signatures, and many state governments have jumped on board. E-signatures are acceptable enough for credit card companies and financial institutions. You can even deposit a check via your cell phone! Yet, here we are in the automotive industry still wasting reams of paper on a single automotive transaction.

While we may all be nodding our heads in agreement with fully paperless transactions, we continue to demand the redundant paper signature -- even while adopting e-signatures! This just confuses customers and forces dealerships to continuously find storage facilities for the decades worth of documents that could easily fit on a single hard drive. Think of the storage costs, shredding costs, wasted time, effort and customer frustration. And let’s not forget the environmental impact of all that paper -- all while our ecologically-friendly governments, states, counties, cities, communities, neighbors and family members encourage us to use less paper and preserve the environment.

Does this sound like progress to you?