Excellent Customer Service
What is Your Service Costing You?
In the Increase
Your Conversion Rate page I used the term “systems
not smiles” – i.e. don’t just think
about your staff and getting them to smile and be
polite. A good example of this idea in action, or
rather not in action, is the garage where I currently
take my car to be serviced. This is a major national
dealership for a prestige German car manufacturer.
They have a very fancy showroom and all their staff
are always polite and courteous. Do they give good
service? Generally, I would have to say yes, but
with a recent problem with my car’s audio system,
the answer is very definitely no.
My car has now been in eight times to fix the ongoing
problem. Each time, a nice gentleman comes to collect
my car (something I now insist upon) and they always
bring it back clean and shiny, but have they solved the
problem? Not yet. The initial problem was with the CD
player, which was eventually sorted out after visit four,
but immediately on the car’s return, a new fault
with the whole audio system appeared, clearly as a result
of the earlier work. Why have they been unable to resolve
it to date?
Well, after visit five, I thought I’d “share
my views” with the Dealer Principal and a very
interesting fact emerged. Because my car is now just
out of the manufacturer’s warranty and instead
under an extended “dealership” warranty,
they have to follow a strict system for diagnosis and
repair – in crude terms this boils down to first
changing the cheaper items, to see if that works, before
trying the more expensive ones.
So let’s look at what this system of repair has
cost them. I would guess with parts, labour, valeting
and deliveries, well in excess of £1,000. But what
has it really cost them? Will I take my car there next
time it needs a service? Probably, but only because it’s
the only dealer anywhere near me. I like the marques
and have had many cars from the same manufacturer, but
will I buy my next car from this dealer? Most probably
not. Assuming I change my car every four years, they
may have just said goodbye to in excess of £200,000
over the next twenty years. An expensive cost-saving
system, I would say!
Would it be worth looking at your systems and procedures,
to see what they might be costing you?
If you would like to transform your business, then please tell me a little bit about
you and your business by completing this brief questionnaire. My assistant
will then telephone you to arrange a convenient time for an exploratory consultation call, to see
whether we would like to work together.
