Digital Dealer - August 2018 - 29

warranty program fit in with an auto
maker's warranty?
ANSWER: Several domestic
manufacturers have been reducing
their factory warranty. What used
to be a five year/50,000-mile
warranty has been reduced to a three
year/36,000 version. We wanted
to make sure our customers are
protected beyond the factory warranty.
That's why every qualifying vehicle we
sell, including most used cars that are
less than 10 years old and have less
than 100,000 miles, are covered under
our program.
However, you must be careful
because not all Lifetime Powertrain
Warranty programs are the same. We
went through a couple of different
programs before finding the one that
worked the best. We've most recently
been affiliated with people who have
really helped us with merchandising
and changing the culture and
environment of the dealerships.
Merchandising the vehicles and the
dealership, the high-quality brochures
and more were all produced and
serviced by Binary Automotive
Solutions.
Jim Binkley of Binary works with
only the very best warranty companies
and their agents to provide collateral
material, point-of-purchase signage
and vinyl banners for all the qualifying
vehicles. When you drive onto a
Sunset lot, you know very quickly
this is the right place for warranty
protection for life. My advice to
other dealers is to make sure Binary
Automotive Solutions is working
behind the scene. This way you will
know you are working with reputable
agents and warranty companies.
QUESTION: Speaking of "selected
dealerships," it is my understanding
that on multiple occasions, Sunset
Chevrolet has won recognition for its
success at customer retention. What is
your customer service philosophy, and
what steps do you follow to help create
a positive customer experience?

ANSWER: We include Warranty
Protection for Life and Oil Changes for
Life, but it's more than that. We want
to keep the customer for life. We don't
want the customer to go anywhere
else for any of their automotive needs.
I think we're #1 or #2 in the nation
most years for customer retention
and service retention. This is what has
enabled us to grow. Losing a customer
is not an option. Losing a customer is
really expensive and a business killer,
no matter what business you're in.
People typically need multiple
oil changes a year. The average oil
change is 50 or 60 dollars and even
more for diesel trucks. So, if they
own the vehicle for 10 years, that can
range from a savings of $3,000 to
$5,000 and higher. We do between
80 and 100 oil changes a day in the
shop-and that's just the Chevy part of
our business. If you add in our other
stores, we're probably doing about 130
free oil changes a day. This all leads
into our Right from the Start clinics.
QUESTION: Could you tell us more
about a typical "Right from the Start"
clinic and how it works?
ANSWER: We've been doing these
clinics for new owners for about 25
years. We've had as many as 500 to
600 people come in on a Saturday
morning. They sign up for their free
oil changes and get a free continentalstyle breakfast. They learn about what
they can expect at Sunset when they
bring their vehicle in for service. By
the time our customers leave Right
from the Start, they feel as if they're
really part of the Sunset family. We
believe our relationship with the
customer really just begins when they
take delivery of a new car, truck or
SUV. We want to make sure we get off
to a good start, hence the name "Right
from the Start."
We do four clinics a year, one each
quarter, for each store, or about
12 a year in total. Customers are
not required to come to this gettogether, but we strongly encourage it.

Customers leave with a smile on their
face.
Right from the Start also fulfills our
requirement for the customer service
walk, which most manufacturers
require. I'd like to mention several
manufacturer representatives have
been out in the field to see our clinics
in action. Not just General Motors
but Toyota, Ford, Dodge, and others.
This sounds like puffery, but they
really don't believe they see what
is happening. At most dealerships,
if they even have a new customer
orientation, you might see a dozen
people show up. It is quite a sight to
see hundreds of people smiling and
having fun in your service department
first thing on a Saturday morning.
Although we don't advertise our
Right from the Start clinics to the
public, the clinics are on social media,
Facebook, Instagram, sometimes
even broadcast live on social media
platforms during the event itself.
QUESTION: How do you ensure
your employees are kept up-to-date on
products and processes?
ANSWER: We're pretty big on
training, so it's a constant thing. It
boils down to being actively training
every day by all management. We have
340 or 350 employees. Our philosophy
is "Training isn't something you did,
it's something you do!"
There's a difference between
training and education, and we do
both. Education is learning techniques
and product information. Training
is practicing what you have learned.
We send our upper management to
NADA and to Digital Dealer, wherever
it is around the country, to make sure
we are educated on the cutting edge
of everything new. We educate our
people and then make sure to train
them on a daily basis.
It's not unlike a golf pro before a
tournament. He's going to start out at
the driving range, and he's going to hit
every club in his bag. Then, he'll go to

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

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AUGUST 2018

29
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