Dealerships and aftermarket shops can help boost customer satisfaction by creating a “connected service experience,” making customer interactions with them more “app-like,” according to a new Canadian market study by J.D. Power.
“From scheduling appointments to interacting with the service advisor to staying connected via unobstructed Wi-Fi access, customers expect these services from their local coffee shop,” said J.D. Ney, manager of J.D. Power’s Canadian automotive practice.
“So why wouldn’t they expect the same of their dealership or aftermarket service facility?”
In an interview with Automotive News Canada, Ney said dealerships and aftermarket shops should build websites with functions that are “as app-like as possible,” allowing customers to set appointments from whichever device they use.
Once at the service department, Ney said customers expect Wi-Fi access while waiting for their vehicle, and lacking it could cost dealers and shops future business. Fifty-three per cent of customers “definitely will” return to a dealership for service if it is offered, the study concluded.
“I think a lot of customers are surprised” when there isn’t accessible Wi-Fi [at their dealership], Ney said.
The study found that service advisers who used tablets when recommending work were more successful in getting customers to sign onto that work than those who didn’t. About 61 per cent of customers had suggested work done if their adviser used a tablet, compared with 44 per cent with advisers who did not use one.
About 21 per cent of customers said their adviser used a tablet, according to the study.
“I think what you’re seeing there is the impact of transparency,” Ney said.