How to Prepare your Customers for an Exceptional Service Experience!

How to prepare your Customers for an

Exceptional Service Experience!

By Sally Whitesell

Most customers are apprehensive about bringing their cars in for service. It is an emotional experience to trust someone with your second largest investment. This can be magnified if they are not clear on what to expect or, even more importantly, what is expected of them. We always assume that our customers are in a hurry. However most often they are not in a hurry due to a time constraint, but because they are uncomfortable or have not been properly prepared for the check-in process. Stand out on your drive in the morning and watch to see what your customers are doing. 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 in? When they do drive in, are they standing next to their cars, or leaving them to walk to the advisor's desk or waiting area? 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. They want a consistent message about your procedures. If we tell them what to expect then they can relax and follow our process. You can compare this to flying. Have you ever noticed how much more relaxed frequent fliers are? We have been trained! We know how to pack, where to go and how much time we need. We know problems and delays come up and it is just part of the process. Nobody likes it but we are prepared and usually handle it with ease. The following is an example of how to prepare your customers when making appointments or delivering reminder calls.

Example: 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 with your car. Plan to spend about 7 to 10 minutes with your advisors so they can discuss your concerns, and perform a complementary walk-around. We want to have all the details needed to make sure that we understand all your service concerns and you are completely satisfied with the service you receive. Is there anything else I can assist you with today?

This short paragraph 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 an appointment is set. Wondering about the "Check in" phrase? We will talk more about that in a future post.

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Comment by Amy Kern-Smith on May 22, 2015 at 9:00pm: Sally this is absolutely key. In a recent visit to a new dealership where I took my husband's truck in for service I was met by an advisor who clearly thought I was in a hurry as he used phrases like "real quick" and "just a second" and rushed through the walk around without by his side. Little did he know I packed my new book and was ready to wait and escape from my office and kids for a bit. I had the whole day free and honestly knew my vehicle needed preventative maintenance but this advisor was so rushed I didn't even have a chance to speak. First impression of what to expect at this dealership is quick service but not exceptional service.

Comment by Kristopher Hampton on May 13, 2015 at 8:20pm: Great article Sally. We have to educate our clients into what to expect. People love direction and yearn for human interaction.

Comment by Sally Whitesell on May 11, 2015 at 1:44pm: Thanks for commenting Brian. People seem to remember the little things. Having a clean car waiting for pick up on time is a great step towards setting a lasting impression! Steve, you are ahead of your time. I love the video! My specialty is service and I am all about the transactions being in person with a friendly face. We could never replace the interaction needed to build a long relationship with a client. I can see how this would help sales but I am a little confused on how this translates to replacing the 7-10 minutes section. Could you please clarify?

Comment by Brian Bennington on May 10, 2015 at 6:52pm: Nice post, Sally. Many moons ago, I drove into an L-M dealership in downtown Chicago and they had a primitive-by-today's-standards motorize sign board over their service drive entrance conveying a message similar to your example's. I was with a client who arranged to have his oil changed while we had lunch at a near-by restaurant. At the time, what impressed me the most was that the car was washed and waiting when we returned, but that sign is the only one like it I've ever noticed.

I'd think with our current technology, dealers would use a much advanced model of the same idea to orientate their service customers and maybe sell a few "service specials" in the process. However, I don't get around much to see if anyone's doing it and "service advertising" isn't in my bailiwick.

Comment by steven chessin on May 10, 2015 at 2:35pm: Sally - This is timely. I was just explaining to someone what a major break-through it was for the direct-mail marketing business when early computers made it possible to fill-in those blanks with actual names and times rather than "Dear Customer". I believe TV Guide was the first to print actual customer names when they mailed to subscribers but that is by memory not by Google so I could be wrong. Technology even allows for "handwritten" personal letters and envelops to make MARKETING feel like SALES "hand-holding".

Another huge advance that began about 10 years ago when I produced this video was to move that "7 to 10 minutes with your advisors so they can discuss your concerns, and perform a complementary walk-around" .... is that walk-around by a video included in that email. A virtual walk-around might sound cold and impersona but it isn't intended to replace human interaction at the store but only to close-the-appointment with those that are apprehensive about bringing their cars in for service.

So how would this work ?

Exactly as in sales. My specialty has always been apprehensive long-distance eBay customers. I used a gentle and sincere PERSON addressing their issues with a friendly face and a voice rather than text. Even Shakespeare wrote his words spoken by the finest actors. To give words LIFE and emotion.

We must never forget the first commandment of this business is PEOPLE BUY FROM PEOPLE and that includes avatars. We humans are hard-wired since pre-linguistic cave days to base our primal friend-or-foe-fight-or-flight impulses on what people look like and how they sound. Bring-back "Mr. Goodwrench" !