Pitcher & Doyle, which offer insurance solutions for auto dealers, has released a checklist for dealerships that are re-opening and resuming test drives.
The information arrives as certain provinces in Canada slowly begin to lift COVID-19 restrictions — particularly in Quebec, where dealerships outside the Greater Montreal area have opened their showrooms for sales.
“Pitcher & Doyle recognizes that there may be questions regarding safety of employees and customers during this time of transition, as a result we are providing a brief checklist designed to help you through this shift in your operations,” said the company, adding that it will continue to dealers and their employees during the transition — “including during unaccompanied test drives.”
Dealerships that must offer a test drive during the pandemic are advised to ensure the following steps have been taken:
Ensure your employees feel safe, that they receive the required safety materials, and are willing to abide by internal and provincial health and safety protocols.
Try to avoid test drives until it is necessary to complete the sale. Try online or virtual tours of the vehicle instead, which can be done at a customer’s home or in the showroom.
The company recommends that dealerships obtain a copy of the customer’s driver’s license and two other pieces of identification (such as a bank card or passport, or the provincial health card.)
Make sure your vehicle tracking devices are enabled.
Make sure the vehicle is completely sanitized and disinfected before a test drive.
The customer should test drive the vehicle alone, with a dealership staff member following behind in an accompanying vehicle. Pitcher & Doyle also advises using hands-free (Bluetooth) communication with the customer.
When the vehicle has been returned, the customer should lock it and return the key to the employee responsible for cleaning and disinfecting keys.
That same employee should wash their hands upon returning to the dealership and advise the customer to do the same, either with soap and water or with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
“Ensure all staff involved in sanitizing and disinfecting vehicles are equipped with appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and public health approved cleaning products,” said Pitcher & Doyle. “We also recommend the use of steering wheel covers, and seat covers.”
The last safety measure on their list is to ensure the vehicle is sanitized and disinfected after the test drive, and for dealers to maintain a record of all information about each test drive — including things like the customer’s name, contact information, date and time of the test drive, and the name of the accompanying staff member.
