Stand out on your drive in the morning and watch your customers. Do they appear to know where to go and what to do? Or are some of them parking and walking in while others are driving their cars into your service drive? When they do drive in, are they staying in their cars, or leaving them to walk to the advisor’s desk?

Inconsistency in their actions is a sure sign that your customers are not receiving a consistent message.

Customers are looking for guidance and direction from the moment they contact your dealership. If we tell them what to expect upon arrival, we can relieve a lot of their apprehension. Compare this to flying. Have you ever noticed how much more relaxed frequent fliers are? We are prepared because we know what to expect. We know how to pack, where to go and how much time we need. Problems and delays come up, but we take it in stride because it’s not a surprise for a seasoned traveler.

Here is an example of how to prepare your customers when setting check-in times or making reminder calls:

Mr./Ms.________, for your convenience, we have your check-in time reserved for (day, date, and time). Please pull into our service drive and wait comfortably inside your car for an advisor. Plan to spend about 7 to 10 minutes with your service advisor so they can discuss your concerns, and perform a complementary walk-around. We’ll make sure we understand all your service concerns so you are completely satisfied with the service you receive. Is there anything else I can assist you with today?

This short word track will give your customers the information they need to be more comfortable entering your service department. To be the most effective, it needs to be delivered every time a check-in time is set. Be consistent with your messages, and you can expect some “frequent fliers” of your own.

Wondering about the “check-in” term? We’ll talk more about that in a future article.

Sally Whitesell is President of sw Service Solutions, which offers comprehensive Service Advisor training in-store and online, as well as off-site workshops.

She has 20 years of experience training and motivating automotive service industry managers, advisors, porters, cashiers and business development centers.

To read more articles that help you achieve excellence in customer service, click here.