The best ideas we receive from our members are often well-thought-out processes that don’t require much investment or a commitment to a new vendor, just good efforts done the right way with some very good results at the store.

One of the recent winning ideas came from an engaged dealer that had developed a Service BDC follow-up system. They have been using the process for over three years with great success.    

Each day the BDC pulls the list of all ROs closed the previous day and makes follow-up calls. They are speaking with about half of all the customers and find that 90% are happy with the dealership and the service they received. Any unhappy customers get a call from the dealer, not the service manager or the BDC manager. 

The dealer said about 3% of their customers escalate to him monthly. He stated that he consistently has customers shocked to receive a call from the dealer, and most downplayed their issues once they found out the dealer cared enough to follow up. 

Some issues needed work to correct, but the customers have gladly allowed them to fix the problem. This dealership’s CSI in service is top in their district, and the dealer said many would end up discussing trading vehicles or asking about new products once the dealer was involved.

Additionally, the BDC makes follow-up calls to customers that dropped their vehicles off for service at night. They call them just after 8am to let them know the car has been received and service will follow up with them later that morning.

The results are happier and loyal customers and great CSI, something we all want to build into our culture.