Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F35
FIXED OPS JOURNAL
HANDS ON
WORK THE ROOM
Dealerships desperately need a chat feature tailored to fixed ops
T
he chat feature on most
dealership websites, as it
pertains to fixed ops, could use an
overhaul.
Activating the chat system for a service or
parts query is often a frustrating time suck.
Instead of quickly delivering specific
answers that allow me to schedule an
appointment, it drives me away. Too many
exchanges provide generic information I
could have found out myself.
RICHARD
I recently tested the chat features of
TRUETT
about
a dozen dealerships. The
rtruett@crain.com
conversation started: "I have one simple
Fixed Ops Journal
yes or no question: Is it possible to
schedule an oil change on a Saturday?"
The typical reply demanded my full name and email address and the
year, make and model of my car. The response seemed canned; I didn't
know whether I was exchanging messages with a real person or a
chatbot.
Many Americans are wary of giving out such personal data these
days, but like me, they still want instant gratification. Call it the Amazon
effect.
Yet chat features appeal to me. I work in an office with open cubicles.
My voice carries, forcing my co-workers to hear my phone calls. I can
often hear snippets of theirs.
It's not always possible to tune out office chatter, especially if
someone has been the victim of poor service and is using lunch hour to
phone the offender and straighten out a mess. (I say lunch hour
because we'd never - nudge, nudge, wink, wink - make such calls on
company time.)
Sales over service
In such conditions, an Internet chat can be a valuable
communications tool. The problem is that dealership chat sessions
aren't specifically geared to handling fixed ops inquiries from potential
service customers.
Chat is mostly designed to generate leads that eventually translate
into new- or used-vehicle sales. Noah Kaufman, a regional sales
director at Florida-based Gubagoo, a chat company that works with
more than 3,000 dealerships, estimates that 70 percent of chats are
directed to the front end of the store.
"Dealerships have a lot on their plates," Kauffman says, "and they
don't always give the right attention to the third-party products that are
supporting their business. More can be done, but dealerships have so
much going on, and it's our job to help them sell cars."
CarChat24, also based in Florida, provides live chat support service
and software for dealerships. When I checked, there were 15 reviews by
dealers on its corporate website.
Just one mentioned the use of chat to help a dealership improve its
parts and service revenue. Yet we know that in a well-run dealership,
fixed ops propel the profit engine.
Gubagoo counts Kia, Volkswagen and Land Rover among the vehicle
brands it handles. CarChat24 serves thousands of dealerships all over
the country from central locations.
Information, please
The chat professionals at such companies are expected to conduct
many online conversations for different dealerships at the same time.
That makes it challenging for them to get quick access to store-specific
fixed ops information.
Andy Lapin, an assistant vice president for retail solutions
architecture at Cox Automotive, says the chat function is an efficient
way for a dealership to shift some of its workload from a call center. But
he sees room for improvement in how chats can help fixed ops.
"How we are processing information on the back end maybe is just
not quite where it needs to be to make these things useful from a
consumer's standpoint," Lapin says.
Kauffman says the amount of fixed ops information that Gubagoo chat
professionals can provide depends on what dealers tell the company
about their stores. He agrees the process could be made better.
"I tell dealers how much information they can feed us so that we can
help provide the best service for them," he says. "I tell them, 'You are
outsourcing to us, but I want to be an extension of your dealership. I
want to be able to communicate with your voice and match your goals.'
"We have space for them to guide us," Kauffman says. "As with
anything else, more information is better."
Chat is another area in which dealership service departments are
leaving money on the table. The first chat company to roll out a
dealership-specific product that gives quick answers to detailed service
and parts questions - without data mining - is going to be a big
winner.
JUNE 2018
PAGE 35
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018
Contents
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - Intro
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F1
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F2
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - Contents
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F4
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F5
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F6
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F7
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F8
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F9
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F10
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F11
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F12
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F13
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F14
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F15
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F16
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F17
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F18
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F19
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F20
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F21
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F22
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F23
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F24
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F25
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F26
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F27
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F28
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F29
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F30
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F31
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F32
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F33
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F34
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F35
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F36
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F37
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F38
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F39
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F40
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F41
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F42
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F43
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2018 - F44
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