New problem solver column debuts
In this new regular feature, we introduce you to a remarkable customer service specialist who will teach you how to masterfully handle difficult customer disputes that arise in your dealership.
Whether you’re selling automotive products or providing services, customer satisfaction is crucial for customer retention and loyalty.
A customer should be treated politely, fairly, with dignity and respect as you would like to be treated — even when he or she is wrong! At the end of the day, customers are the ones signing your paycheque. Unhappy clients walk away and take their business to your competitors. You might win the battle by proving you are right, but you are losing the war.
In this regular column, I will provide you with tools and approaches that work amazingly well at defusing tensions and getting customers feeling good about their experiences within your dealership. Whether the problem originated in sales, the F&I office, or most often from the backshop, I will provide real examples of how the most difficult problems were handled successfully.
Need the right tools
Being in the automotive customer relations business requires many different talents, such as having a positive attitude, patience, active listening skills and a keen sense of discretion.
When you’re dealing with angry and difficult customers, sometimes you need to be both a judge and the jury. Often, you don’t have the luxury of making a wrong verdict given the impact it could have on your dealership.
You may have heard many times that “the customer is always right.” We know that’s not true all the time. When it comes to some customers, however, there are tools you can use to turn complainers into happy campers.
When complaining customers pay a visit, you have to act as a benevolent referee. Your first step is to determine whether the problem is real or imagined.
Get to the root cause
Discovering the truth can be difficult, but it’s your responsibility to thoroughly and fairly investigate the situation. It’s a best practice to involve your customers in the entire resolution process, preferably having a one-to-one meeting to determine the root cause of a problem.
Maintaining a positive attitude and being a highly effective communicator is the master key to resolve the most critical concerns to a customer’s satisfaction. Welcome all customers’ concerns as a learning, training and revenue opportunity rather than a burden or distraction to your business.
As a customer management operations manager with The Brimell Group-Toyota-Scion, I often come across situations where the customer truly believes he or she’s right based on his/her own observations and perceptions.
The leaky gasket
Case in point: A distressed customer came to see me recently with an oil leak complaint after her last engine oil/lube service.
First, she shouted: “You guys are taking advantage of me because I’m a female customer and leaving engine oil to leak out so that you can rebuild the engine to make more money!”
I apologized to her for the inconvenience caused and thanked her for bringing the issue to my attention. I said, however, this has nothing to do with a gender issue. I told her we value her business as a customer, and that as per the definition of customer in Webster’s dictionary, there is no mention of gender.
After inspecting her car on service hoist, the oil was leaking from the transmission pan seal/gasket due to the vehicle’s age and mileage — not from the engine oil filter or drain plug after the oil change.
I therefore recommended replacing the transmission pan gasket with new oil (which was overdue) to avoid an expensive transmission breakdown. She witnessed the source of leak and understood clearly the issue that needed to be resolved.
Let customers talk
During my dealing with the customers, I come across many stories like the one above, and work hard to turn their “tears into cheers.”
In most cases one thing is common: the customer believed he or she had every right to be angry. But instead of getting into a confrontation, the problems were resolved in a way that was mutually-win-win with satisfactory resolution.
Any efforts you make towards avoiding customer complaints in the first place and resolving them quickly and fairly when they arise, will pay dividends in reducing workplace stress, building a loyal customer base, and strengthening your dealership’s business.
Based on my extensive customer relations experience with the customers, maintaining the highest CSI by providing excellent levels of customer service is an ongoing challenge. And it takes some extra efforts and corrective measures to transform complaints into compliments. But the rewards are worth the effort to turn a browser into buyer and retain a loyal customer for a lifetime.
