For a process to be successful, you’ll need to make commitments and consistently meet them.  Getting your service process to that point takes a lot of coaching, teaching, and a very simple understanding of psychology.  It is also a very rewarding position in which to find yourself. And it’s a comforting thing for a customer to know that when he or she is told something will happen, he or she can count on it.

Case Study of Vehicle inspections:
John Doe brings his car into your dealership for its first service.  During the write up process, it is explained to Mr. Doe, that while performing the service, your technical team will be inspecting the vehicle using a particular form.  (Show the customer the inspection form).  Mr. Doe, and possibly your technical staff, may not feel that an inspection is necessarily beneficial on a vehicle with such low mileage.  This is your opportunity to explain, that while you certainly wouldn’t expect to find items in disrepair so early in the vehicle’s life, it is always a good idea to inspect the car for road hazard and any other unexpected issues.  You will also be advising the customer that you will call with an update on the vehicle’s condition.  This process must be repeated on every service visit.

Fast forward two years in the vehicle’s life span. You’ve performed an inspection and said the same thing each and every time the customer came to the dealership.  At each low mileage visit, you made a commitment to inspect the customer's car and to update the owner as you promised.  This builds equity and trust in the customer’s mind as to what kind of organization you represent.  You keep commitments and have your customer's best interests in mind, even though it isn’t necessarily profitable for you to do so at the time.

At this point (2 years of ownership) in the vehicle’s history and based on a vehicle inspection, your team finds that it’s time to perform a brake service and replace the transmission fluid due to wear.  As promised, you phone the customer with an update and provide him the opportunity to purchase the needed repairs.

During this phone call, the customer will recall your trustworthiness, past performance with him during service events, and will (at least partially) base his decision to proceed on your “equity” with him.  The phone call isn’t a surprise because you’ve called him with updates on every prior visit.  During those calls, you were not calling in order to gain authorization for additional repairs, but rather to update Mr. Doe on the condition of his car. So the phone call is not foreign and is the key to a smooth sale because you aren’t overcoming the customer’s shock that you called.

This and many other key service processes can improve your overall business performance.  Sign up today to learn how Auto University can help your team achieve a new level of results!