If This Was My Business, I Would …
My Customer Service Experience at a Car Dealership
“That’s why we are always looking for experienced customer service professionals who demonstrate an unrivalled commitment to excellence when representing our products and services.”
from the website of a major car manufacturer
It might just be me. Maybe car dealerships and I are just not meant for each other.
About two years ago, I shared my story of buying a car at a dealership. Titled 'Wait Here, Let Me Talk to My Manager,' I concluded that the process is broken, ripe for re-engineering and disruption. The proverbial car salesman is not dead! And they all attend the same old school of playing games.
Fast-forward two years, cars need to get serviced. This is the review I recently left on Yelp and Facebook:
“Worst customer service experience. First, they make a big deal of their Service Event, with mailings, email, and phone reminders, a giveaway, and a price to win. They ask you to schedule in advance and tell you it will take about an hour. I arrived at the scheduled time, checked in, and took a seat. After 90 minutes with no communication, I went back to the front desk, only to find out that my car was still where I had left it and unserviced.
The only excuse was that some of their technicians had left, and they were short-staffed. The only two options given were to continue to wait an unspecified amount of time or to leave. I chose the latter. Why was it the worst? Because in addition to the lack of planning and communication on their part, and wasting my time, the front desk staff lacked knowledge, compassion, and basic customer service skills.”
A day after I left the review, the dealership posted a comment on Facebook:
“Hi Henning, we're disappointed to hear of the negative experience you had at our location. We'd like the opportunity to discuss this with you. Please reach out to us at (xxx) xxx-xxxx at your earliest convenience to discuss how we can turn your experience into a positive one.”
I decided not to call because my expectation was that they call me. After all, they have all my details. Well, they did not reach out, and after five days of giving them the opportunity to display better customer service, I did call and speak to the General Manager.
Rather than recite the contentious conversation we had, allow me to share what I would do if this was my car dealership:
I would put a process in place that ensures that the GM sees every review and personally calls every customer that has had a negative experience.
This call would begin with an introduction (“Hello, my name is … and I am the …”).
The conversation would then start with an apology (“I am very sorry for your experience …”) and gratitude (“Thank you for letting us know …”).
It would continue with an acknowledgment (“I understand how you felt …) and clarifying questions (“Please help me understand what you mean by …”).
The conversation would also include the sharing of the corrective action taken (“I have discussed this with my team, and in the future, we will …”) and an offer to rectify the individual experience (“I am hoping you might give us another chance. How about if we …”).
And it would end with another indication of gratitude (“Thank you again for letting us know, and for giving us another opportunity …”).
Needless to say, none of the above took place. To me, the above outline is customer service 101, and it starts at the top of an organization.
I will now give another dealership the opportunity to impress me.
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Photo by Anne Gosewehr