Motor Industry KPI and best practice provided by Jeff Smith

 Submitted by Amina Claasen

As the New Year starts, the slate is wiped clean and all businesses have the same opportunity when it comes to Customer Satisfaction; to be the best that they can be.

For franchised dealers, this applies to both Sales and Service as new targets set by the Manufacturer could be worth a substantial amount of money to the company. 

From a service perspective, Service Advisors are spending more and more time dealing with paperwork than the actual time they spend with their customers. Not only do they: 

• see the customer in
• damage check their car with them
• ensure that there is a signature on the job card
• process the repairs through the workshop
• sell additional work to the customer or
• liaise with the leasing company
• do the invoice
• get the car cleaned
• call the customer before they call them
• meet their umpteenth customer for the day with a friendly smile at 5.50pm…

And then they have to make sure that they are happy with the service received. At this point there is another form to sign to confirm that the customer is satisfied beyond expectation.

It’s understandable that processes and procedures are put in place to keep up with customer expectations and demands, however when did the simple art of making a customer happy become so complicated?

Gone are the days when washing a car and replacing a light bulb free of charge used to make a customer happy. Fitting of light bulbs are now almost certainly charged for and this aggravates customers. If you want it free of charge the Aftersales Manager will have to authorise it – times are tough!

So how do you go about ensuring that your customers are satisfied beyond their expectations when they leave the dealership whether in sales or in service? Here are some thoughts for your consideration: 

1. Get the company in order and ensure that employees know their responsibilities
2. Train employees in the basics of customer service and satisfaction and product knowledge
3. Book by appointment. Not everybody wants to bring their car in at 8am and there will be less customersqueuing in the service department, standing around looking annoyed because they have to wait to be attended to. This eases stress on all customer facing employees.
4. Instil a sense of pride in the team about the company they represent and the purpose of their position.
5. Check that employees are happy in their roles as this will bring out their full potential. It might be an old cliché, but happy employees make happy customers.
6. Confirm that employees know what the company goal is, why you want to achieve that goal and how they will benefit when you do achieve that goal. Own the goal with them.
7. Break the mould and dare to be different in how your company approaches customer service.
8. Support and encourage staff. When there is a customer complaint listen to all sides of the story. Remember – there are 3 sides to every story – the customers’ side, the employees’ side and the truth.
9. Internally promote and retain employees. Customers deal with your employees and will continue to do so long after the ownership of the company has been transferred.
10. Managers treat employees as you would like to be treated and ensure they carry that over to your customers.

Once the fundamental basics are instilled in employees, open the doors and welcome your customers in to your dealership. At the end of the year the CSI scores, and where you are on the league, will be a reflection of the hard work all Managers and employees have put into the dealership.

 Work towards the goal together and you will most certainly achieve it.

 Ready, steady, GO…. Let the race begin!

Good luck with your profit building… Amina Claasen

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008 at 9:04 pm and is filed under Customer Satisfaction, Service Department.