for following up with each and every customer after the purchase of a vehicle or a service visit to ensure every customer was completely satisfied with his experience. Have a polite script of no longer than 30 seconds in place. It is important that the person responsible for contacting your customers has the authority and understanding of what goes on in the dealership to proactively address any complaints immediately. The customer should not be passed to two or three managers, with none of them really sure of the entire situation. Making the customer repeat himself raises his level of frustration. The person contacting the customer initially should be able to make a decision. “I understand, Mr. Smith.” Repeat the problem back to the customer so he knows you truly understand. “I apologize that your visit was not completely satisfactory. I am here to help you. We need to have you bring your vehicle back to our service department so we can make sure to correct this problem. I will have a loaner car available for you. What time would be best for you, morning or afternoon?” No promise was given, no diagnosis, no one was thrown under the bus. We listened, we acknowledged and we acted. Now we will have a manager handle the customer from here, with a full understanding of the situation and without
passing the customer to two and three voicemails. Follow-up is one of the most important parts of your online reputation. See the problem and fix it before it causes permanent damage. Before contacting a customer for follow-up, you should know: • When he came in. • What he came in for. • If service, was the service internal, warranty, or customer pay. If a customer paid for the service, he is more likely to be upset or request some type of compensation if dissatisfied, and you should be prepared for that. • Who was the service advisor or sales representative? The customer will expect you to know, and if you don’t, it immediately makes him feel impersonalized and like he is insignificant or unimportant. • Who is the manager of the department? If there is a complaint, who will the customer be working with? It is important to tell the customer who he should ask for and to let him know that a manager will be working with him personally to address his concerns. If he was unhappy with his service advisor or sales representative, he will not want to work with him/her to address the complaint he feels the advisor/sales rep might have caused. Once the complaint has been addressed, the manager should build the integrity of the service
advisor or sales representative back up with the customer and bring the customer and service advisor or sales representative together for an apology and understanding. If a manager cannot support his employee, the employee should not be there. Furthermore, that customer might need to work with that employee again. You never want to get into the problem of having to be careful of who you place customers with. If the follow-up process is not handled correctly, you will end up with more complaints than if a follow-up was not made. Be sure to have policies in place for how to handle a complaint and be sure every manager understands the importance of handling a complaint with the highest sense of priority and urgency. The bottom line is, your dealership needs to have strategies in place to ensure its reputation is secure. If your online reputation is not being monitored and proactively maintained, it will decline. With 80 percent of your prospects checking your reviews before making a purchasing decision, it should be one of your top priorities.
BY PETER MARTIN
PETER “WEB DOC” MARTIN IS PRESIDENT OF CACTUS SKY COMMUNICATIONS. HE CAN BE REACHED BY CALLING (941) 756-1932 OR E-MAILING PETER@CACTUSSKY.COM. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT WWW.CACTUSSKY.COM AND CLICK ON “REPUTATION BUILDING”
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