Digital Dealer - May 2018 - 41

their life.
This could be a car that
was passed through generations. This could be
a car that multiple family
members are relying on.
This could be a car that
the customer is planning
on retiring with. Whatever
the situation is, those customers are fully invested
in dedicating their time,
money, and energy for
the benefit of their car.
They think beyond
basic repairs and would
like to be informed. This
group of customers will
utilize services that would
improve their car's quality.
They will invest in their car
and only with the service
advisors they know will respect and care about their
car as much as they do.
Customers' commitments to their cars are
not the same as customers' commitments to you
as a service advisor or a
dealership.
The customer may be
"married with children"
with their car but they
might treat you as a "hook
up." The customer who
thinks of your dealership
and service advisors as
a one-night-stand will
be interested in doing
services with you only for
convenience, considering
physical proximity of the
service to their home or
place of employment, or
for rewards, like a prepaid
maintenance package.
For this customer, it is
usually the first time at
your dealership or the

first time working with the
service advisor. Maybe
this customer was dissatisfied with the last service
and they are giving the
dealership or the service
advisor one more chance.
However, when it
comes to significant
repairs you could make
money on, the customer will take their car to
the dealership and the
service advisor that they
are "married" to. This is
because customers will

tionships are particularly emotional energy
exchanges.
The customer that is
"married with children"
with you will be more
lenient when the dealership, the repair shop, or
the service advisor makes
errors. This is because
they have a history of previously positive relationships with you and they
know that one "fight" will
not "break their marriage."
In order for you to

CUSTOMERS'
COMMITMENTS TO
THEIR CARS ARE
NOT THE SAME
AS CUSTOMERS'
COMMITMENTS TO YOU
AS A SERVICE ADVISOR
OR A DEALERSHIP."
only invest in the dealership that they see as
beneficial to their own
survival, someone they
know has their best interest at heart.
The customer may
have "hooked up" with
multiple cars, yet be "married with children" with
you. This customer will
keep bringing you their
cars. They will ask for
your advice on the next
car they should buy or
lease. They will trust your
opinion on what repairs
they should complete
without rejections (though
not every concern and
decision making is a
rejection). Those rela-

survive and thrive in the
service department, you
need to "put the ring"
on your customers. You
need to demonstrate to
them that "marriage" with
you will be prosperous for
them.
This does not happen
from one service visit.
They need to know you.
They need to know that
you care about them and
their car. They need to
know that you have their
best interest at heart.
They need to know that
you are reliable. Obtaining this knowledge takes
time and experience.
For some customers, the realization that

they can depend on
you can happen only
through working together
through hard times. They
would want to know that
expressing their honest
disappointments will keep
you stable and predictable. For instance, some
customers will argue with
you, but only through this
argument will they learn
to trust you.
Some customers would
want to know about their
service advisor as a
human and only through
finding similar interests,
for instance liking the
same music, children
going to the same school
or cheering for the same
sports team.
Some customers would
gain trust in you only
through the positive affirmation from their friends
and family that your
dealership/service advisor
was helpful to them too.
The journey to marriage-establishing ongoing relationships-looks
different for everyone.
Dealerships, service
advisors, and customers
are all different. Yet, those
relationships are much
more rewarding and
pleasant on professional
and personal levels.
KATIA TIKHONRAVOVA,
Ph.D.(c), LMFT is a
business and relationships
coach who specializes in
automotive sales and service
relationships. She is an
owner of Corporation Clinic.
EMAIL: et427@mynsu.nova.
edu

D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Dealer - May 2018
