Continuing our discussion on Customer Loyalty Part 1, we now look at customer and wait times for work to be performed.

As mentioned previously, we at Auto University have analyzed data collected from CNW Marketing and found some very powerful data.

One thing that was truly amazing was the fact that based on the various manufacturers data we have from 2004 (most recent year), the average wait time prior to the customers Repair Order being written is 11.07 minutes! Obviously there are higher and lower numbers; however, from the customer’s perspective, having to wait more than 11 minutes to simply have a Repair Order written up certainly doesn’t lead to customer loyalty. The customer may feel that the dealership doesn’t care about his or her business.  The rapport is now so bad that any suggestions regarding vehicle work is most likely to elicit a negative response.

Further analysis of the data numbers points out that Consultants are missing the completion time by more than an hour, averaging 23.7% of the time. Building customer loyalty when your department has an average wait of 11 minutes and a completion rate that is underestimated about a quarter of the time definitely poses a big challenge.

Instead of having the customer wait for the Consultant to be available, Auto University recommends that you use a reservation process that schedules appointments at odd times. This allows the Consultants the necessary time with a client, as well as fixing an easily remembered time in the mind of the customer.  When your client shows up on the service drive for his 10:43 scheduled appointment and is promptly greeted by the consultant, it shows the customer that he is important. This feeling of importance is further enhanced when the Consultant is prepared for the client and is ready to give the vehicle his or her full attention.

In order to assist with delivery time of the vehicle, we need to keep in touch with our client on a regular basis. Often, when the customer repair order is written, the customer will be told “I will call you later and if you don’t hear from me, please give me a call!”  This type of comment may infer that you are too busy to call the customer and possibly, that he or she is not important enough to be updated on the vehicle’s status.

Instead, ask your customers the best way to contact them in order to give them an update! Perhaps the dealership also has email access and the consultant can quickly send an email update as well. The client may also provide a cell phone number to ensure he/she can be easily reached.

If a time of competition is set for 4:00 PM and the vehicle is delayed a half-hour, the customer would greatly appreciate the update. The best way to ensure that customers pick vehicles up on time (building loyalty), is to set a time when you will call and provide a vehicle update and to actually provide the information at that time or earlier.  When your customers are kept informed and know there is going to be a delay (or an early pick-up), they are going to leave thinking they were an important part of your day and likely will return again.