WHAT ABOUT FIXED OPERATIONS, WHAT ROLE DO THEY PLAY IN CUSTOMER RETENTION????
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Shawn McGee on
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I remember a JD Power report that said a service customer that had a positive realtionship was 3 times more likely to purchase a new vehicle from that dealership. Seems plain english to me. When they need a vehicle, they think of the servicing dealership. People that have had a poor experience are less likely to use or reccommend the servicing dealership.
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The old saying is "Sales sells the 1st car. Service Sells the rest." This is why having the best of the best in the Service Department (advisors, techs, Managers, etc.) pays off. They meet the Salesman once every 3 years or so. They see the Service Department every 3 months or so. They have a bigger and longer lasting impression of the Service Department. This is also why there are cookies, refreshments, and other goodies for the customers waiting in Service. This is why many dealers Wash the car before they give it back to the customer even after an oil change that dealers net about $2.00 on. This is a very important aspect to the dealer. However, never shy away from the power of the "Sales Department." Service retention is one of the most monitored aspects of the dealership by the Owner/GM. Your biggest and best dealers have the best Service Departments and Award Winning Service Departments. I can't say enough how important this Department is.
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Permalink Reply by Bob Spencer on
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Brad Newsome is spot on. THE hardest, most complex job in the dealership is the service advisor/consultant. If you are a GM or a Dealer, spend a couple of hours on your service drive in the early morning. How many meet and greets (ups) does each service advisor take. If you have a successful service department, each advisor will take more ups in the first couple of hours of the day than most of your salespeople will take all day. (Hope you have trained their pants off and empowered them to make decisions that follow your processes).
How tough is it for the service advisor to keep that customer happy? Think about why that cusomer is there to see the advisor. Unless it is the Express Service advisor, something has failed to meet their expectations on their vehicle and they are not happy to be there. Their vehicle is broken or not performing correctly, they want it fixed - right now, they do not want to pay for - warranty even at 50,000 miles and they are the second owner, they want a loaner car - nicer than theirs, and by the way - it is your fualt it is broken. An excellent advisor can turn this tide, one customer at a time, but it is an all day battle for them.
Your Parts department and Body Shop also play a huge role in customer retention. A parts department that has to order every part ever needed, (there really is no such thing, this is for illustration purposes only), causing a return visit for every repair. A Body Shop that doesn't wash a car prior to returning it to the customer or whose PDR repair looks like little Joey did it during recess.
We tell our employees, no matter their position; It doesn't matter which door that customer walks through today, tomorrow they could be walking through a sales door and whether or not they walk through OUR sales door depends on how you treat them today.
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Permalink Reply by William Demaree on
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Amen to the both of you. Process Process Process. Treat every customer like family. It is a MUST to earn their trust and build a relationship that would give the customer no reason to go anywhere else. Sales will sell the first car and service will sell the next one.
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