Fixed Ops Journal - April 2020 - F20

FIXED OPS JOURNAL

Service customers want more convenience, too

RICK POPELY

foj@autonews.com

hen Jim Henne, general manager at a Pennsylvania Toyota store,
checks in at an airport or a hotel,
he bypasses the service desks and
heads straight for a self-service kiosk.
Likewise, a growing number of his service
customers at Performance Toyota in Sinking
Spring, especially younger ones, are looking
for the same convenience.
"With the younger generation, that's what
they're used to doing. They're used to going
into convenience stores, airports and anywhere you go anymore that have self-check
kiosks," Henne told Fixed Ops Journal.

Easing the check-in process
After using a GoMoto kiosk for a year, Henne
estimates that 20 percent of the 1,200 customers he sees in an average month use it to check
in, and more than 90 percent say it makes the
process easier.
Henne says the kiosk at Performance Toyota
offers only four additional services during
check-in to keep things simple and quick:
wiper blades, cabin and engine air filters and
a wheel alignment. Only 3 to 4 percent of kiosk
customers opt for an additional service, but
Henne says service advisers follow up on what
technicians find during vehicle inspections,
as usual, to sell more services.

Added benefits
Henne, who plans to add a second kiosk,
cites these benefits: He gets current contact
information from every customer who uses it;
about 100 customers per month opt for a
trade-in value appraisal, which can help motivate them to buy a car from the dealership;
and he thinks the speedier check-in time of
about 2 minutes - compared with customers
who wait in line - improves his CSI score.
"Everybody knows that after 60 seconds CSI
starts to drop. There are mornings where we
have six people coming in at one time, and
you can see it on their faces after [waiting for]
1 minute," he said. "For customers, the kiosk is
just a seamless, quick check-in and they don't
have to stand there and wait."

Adding a third kiosk
Steve Ross, service manager at Volkswagen
Pasadena, in California, has had two GoMoto
kiosks that allow checking in and dropping off
a key at any hour for about a year in a pilot
PAGE 20

APRIL 2020

As airlines, restaurants and other businesses are using more self-serve kiosks, people want the
same quick service at dealerships.

program with Volkswagen of America. He
plans to add a kiosk that allows check out, key
pickup and payment.
Ross says first-timers average about 2 minutes to check in, and repeat users get it done
in as quickly as 1 minute. Kiosk usage varies
by how busy the shop is, Ross says. It can be 10
to 20 percent of customers on a weekday but
40 to 50 percent on a Saturday when the service drive is backed up.
"Some people need an attendant to help
them at times," he says. "With young people,
it's boom-boom-boom. If they're middle
aged, when they learn it once, they're fine
with it after that." 

Fixed Ops Journal - April 2020

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