As a regular reader of Canadian Auto Dealer, I wanted to congratulate you on the May 2014 edition.
I find much of the content well-written, interesting and informative and I often find myself with my trusty pair of scissors in hand after I’m done so that I clip out and save some of the articles (and in many cases, photocopy and share with management and staff).
I found that the May edition of the magazine particularly engaging — something to which both
my scissors and photocopier can testify!
I was unable to make the CADEX meeting in Halifax in April (sorry, Ford brought us to Italy that week to celebrate President’s Award and my wife didn’t allow me to cancel) but I found the write up a great read and highlighted Chuck Seguin’s comments about the marriage of upgrades to both process and bricks and mortar.
“The Human Touch” was a fun read too. As a dealer member of Ford’s communications & technology roundtable team, I have bore witness to the rush to develop and implement new customer-facing technologies all in the name of customer service. It’s refreshing to read an article that reminds us of the importance of human interaction to the sales and service process in an age when digital interaction is becoming the norm.
As a dealership that has made a deliberate move in recent years to increase our “female factor,” I found the article by the same name as well as the “Breaking the Stereotype” column very shareworthy. Eight years ago, the only frontline female employees were our receptionist and service cashier. Today, two of our six sales consultants are female, both of our F&I managers, two of our three service advisors and our BDC. Quite a change, but it has provided some energy that previously wasn’t there and our CSI scores are consistently near the top (we’ve won Ford’s President’s Award almost every year since!). I copied the articles and distributed to our frontline sales & service staff to recognize and reinforce the positive influence of
these people in our store.
I also distributed the “Quality Counts” article to our sales team as it also reinforced an effective practice that one of our “young guns” has adopted. We hired the young and energetic Matt Bourque three years ago as one of our newest sales consultants and he has quickly made his way towards the top. I brought him with me to NADA in Orlando back in 2013 and he brought back with him and implemented the practice of replying to email leads with a short, customized video for the customer. The results have been amazing for him both for his closing ratio on these leads and his CSI scores. The article describing the elements of an “initial Quality Response” really helped reinforce the importance and effectiveness of this practice for the modern car buyer.
Finally, your “Sticker Shock” article was another very shareworthy piece. Finally, a clear and concise description of the problem of the NRCan Energuide sticker listings and the coming changes. My staff found the article very accessible as it clearly and concisely spelled out the the problems with the listings and how the coming changes will affect these. Again, awesome job and very timely!
Thanks again guys and kudos to you for putting together a fantastic May edition, as always, I look forward to the next issue!
— Marcel Pothier, Dealer Principal, Tusket Ford, Tusket Nova Scotia
