Fixed Ops Journal - August 2021 - F28

FIXED OPS JOURNAL
PART 2: FIXED OPS JOURNAL FORUM
KEEP 'EM COMING
Affordability, transparency, experience are keys to customer retention
W
hy do dealerships score low on
customer-retention scores? How
do they give customers a luxury
experience no matter the brand?
And what do dealerships want from their manufacturers
to help with retention?
Th ese topics and others were addressed in a
panel discussion during the second installment
of the 2021 Fixed Ops Journal Forum.
Panelists were: Patricia Fradenburg, service
manager at BMW of Southpoint in Durham,
N.C.; Chris Ouellette, dealer and general
manager at Long-Lewis Auto Group in Florence,
Ala.; and Mary Nurse, dealer principal at
Nurse Chevrolet-Cadillac in Whitby, Ontario.
Here are edited highlights on:

Why customers tend to leave dealership service
departments once warranties expire
Fradenburg: I think aff ordability. Let's be
honest, with COVID hitting everyone, cost
means a lot to people. Don't make them go
searching for [ prices] or calling your dealership
for it. Make sure all your prices are out
there on the Internet.
Nurse: I think one of the biggest things is
building that whole level of trust with the customer.
I
think Chris mentioned it when he said that
one of the best ways to retain customers is to
have a high retention rate with your team. And
we have to build relationships. It's the relationships
that build the trust that keeps people
coming back.

How to give customers a luxury-brand experience
even if they drive a mass-market vehicle
Ouellette: It really starts with having a good
culture within your dealership, good communication
between your employees.
Like I talk about having an adviser that sees
the same customers over and over again. Th at
alone - it's just night and day diff erence from a
service department that doesn't perform good
and one that does perform well at retaining
their customers. And people are people; they
want to be treated with respect. It doesn't matter
what kind of car you're in or how much you
paid for it.
Fradenburg: (Explaining that she asked her
staff to defi ne " luxury " before sharing her
defi nition.) It's a cup of coff ee that costs me
PAGE 28 AUGUST 2021
Nurse: Build relationships to build trust.
$1.65. And they just looked at me, and I said,
" You know, every morning when I go into my
coff ee shop, Rose sits there. 'Hi, Pat. How are
you doing this morning?' " And it's $1.65.
Th at's really what luxury is - it's a feeling. It's
not a thing. It's not an object. And once you realize
that, you'll start treating your customers
and your teammates the same way.

What automakers can do to help dealerships
Fradenburg: Luxury is a feeling, not a thing.
improve retention
Fradenburg: I think BMW this year did a lot
for us ... when they came out with an oil plan.
(BMW owners of vehicles 5 years old or with
more than 60,000 miles get three years of unlimited
oil changes for $199.)
Th at was absolutely incredible. We didn't
believe it.
So it's bringing all those old cars back into
the dealership and into our expertise. So that's
backed by the manufacturer, which is absolutely
incredible for us.
Nurse: [Th e reopening of the GM Oshawa,
Ontario, plant] is going to be a factor in getting
people back that perhaps left General Motors
dealers.
But I also think the other aspect has to do
with the dealer itself and not just General Motors.
General Motors has a certifi ed service
Ouellette: Customers want to be respected.
program that they have had for years. Th e diffi
culty is that dealers need to spend time having
meetings with their service advisers and
other service representatives, technicians,
porters. [Th at way] everybody knows about
these programs so that they can talk to the
consumers about it, because usually they're of
tremendous value.
Ouellette: Our No. 1 opportunity is the technician
shortage. Th e amount of technicians
versus the amount of cars that need to be fi xed
for us is crazy.
My message to the manufacturers would be,
help get programs in place starting in middle
school and high school, and then in college, to
help get people into these trades. It would be
huge if [the automakers] would put some fi nancial
incentive for those up-and-coming students
or even just some marketing. You see a
bunch of advertising about companies, new car
- if they could do some marketing about, how
about a career as an automotive technician?
- Dan Shine
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2021

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