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.