It's easy to make a case for "no." Consumers connotate "express service" with an hour or less. Unfortunately, too many consumers experience a 2-3 hour express service, and the end result is customer defection.

There are dealers that are very efficient, and provide consumers with a true express service experience. Unfortunately, those dealers are the exception. Express service is essentially going the way of "complimentary car washes"; soon to be obsolete.

I believe that "Express Service" needs to be replaced with "Convenience Service." What's convenience service? Dealership provides pick-up and delivery of customer's vehicle to the dealership, and simultaneously provides the consumer with a loaner. "RedCap Convenience" in action; http://owner.lincoln.com/how-tos/vehicle-care/pickup-delivery.html?...

There are a number of reasons why consumers defect franchise auto dealers, however, the primary reason why consumers choose an independent repair shop is due to convenience. It's simply much quicker to drive 10 minutes to the independent repair shop, versus 20-30 minutes to the dealer, proceed with write-up, arrange loaner and drive home. Best case scenario, the consumer has spent an hour taking their vehicle into the dealership, not to mention another hour to retrieve their vehicle. Dealers have become very price competitive, provide transparency to consumers, and have improved upon "trust" concerns. What's left? Convenience. How many independent repair centers does your customer drive past to visit your dealership? Too many!

We're all familiar with "Build it and they will come", however, the real narrative should be "Make it convenient and they will come."

Did you know 90% of your customers want to experience sales and service without coming to your store? Customers value their vehicles and their time. They want to buy and service from you, but choose dealers offering the most convenience. Within a few short years, out of store experiences for automotive customers will be the norm...and we are already seeing positive trends in dealerships who have formalized pick up and delivery: 75% take rate, up to 38% service revenue lift, 40 point CSI lift, and 1.2 day loaner cycle time reduction.

What are your thoughts?