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3 Pillars of Automotive Success: Convenience, Trust, and Value

By:
Mike O'Neill

Customer Retention Strategies, Customer Satisfaction, Service Advisor Training

Forty-five years ago, as a rookie service advisor, my employer sent me to an entry-level customer service class for training. I remember the focus of the class being on customer satisfaction and retention. The emphasis of the presentation was on the importance of convenience, trust, and value. While much has changed over the years of my career, it remains the same that these three focuses are paramount in customer satisfaction and retention.

Convenience

Let’s start with convenience. The first step is the appointment process. Many customers choose online appointments. Is our website easily navigated, with clear direction of our calendar, pricing, and clarity of common maintenance and repair operations, service menus, alternate transportation options, dealership amenities, hours of operation, special offers, and dealership directions?

For our guests choosing to telephone for an appointment, does the phone get answered promptly by a trained team member, without being placed on hold, voicemail, or having the call transferred? Do you have confirmation of the appointment process via text or email? Do our hours of operation suit the needs of the customers that work Monday through Friday, 8-5, allowing for evening and weekend options? When our guests arrive, do you have clear directional signage to the service reception area or ample parking?

Trust

Next, we will move on to trust. Many customers lose faith in service providers that are perceived as predators in the service drive, pushing chemical flushes and other operations that are not recommended in the owner’s manual by the manufacturers. The service menu should reflect the factory recommendations based on time of use or mileage of the vehicle.

Advisors that are perceived as predators will not produce long-term customer retention. Service advisor pay plans that promote this type of behavior should be avoided, along with cash payouts from the chemical companies. Multi-point vehicle inspections should be checked by management for integrity. A consistent usage of a published labor time guide should be in place to avoid over-billing by technicians or service advisors.

Customer concerns should be addressed promptly by management, with the goal of complete customer satisfaction and retention being the main result, avoiding any negative posts to social media.

Value

Value is the last piece of our equation. Our pricing should reflect our market area. Most of our customers are not looking for the cheapest price in town, but a fair deal on what they received for their money. Management should perform quarterly market analyses of common competitive and maintenance operations, and establish pricing based on the market average.

Our service advisors need to be trained on building value with the customer regarding the benefits we offer, such as a complimentary multi-point vehicle inspection, the topping off of washer solvent and fluid levels, complimentary battery test and car wash, the use of genuine manufacturer replacement parts and the associated warranties that are included, the investment that the retailer has made in regard to technician training, tools and equipment, facility, and parts inventories, and the dedication to the product from our technicians and their commitments to continue their training on new products and the latest technology.

Should you be experiencing a decline in your customer-pay repair order count, I suggest that you review this article and examine where you may be falling short of these three key components of customer retention and prepare an action plan for change to your business.

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