customer service experience relies on your dealership's call management performance. Are customer phone calls getting answered promptly? Are their needs being taken care of during the first phone interaction? Unfortunately, in this area, many dealerships fall short in their attempts to deliver an optimal customer experience. Follow these tips to ensure that every service customer has a five-star interaction with your dealership. The person answering the phone needs to know the right contact for the possible variety of questions. FIVE-STAR TIP 1: DON'T LEAVE LOW-HANGING FRUIT Inbound service calls are low-hanging fruit. Yet, the NUMBER ONE complaint from customers is that phone calls are not being answered. In fact, CallRevu data recently found that 42 percent of inbound service calls are never answered. FIVE-STAR TIP 2: AVOID TRANSFERRING AND PUTTING ON HOLD The second most common complaint we hear from customers is when their calls get transferred or put on hold. Nothing is more annoying for a customer who has a simple question than being transferred to a voicemail box. Additional resources and/or staff training might be required to avoid these scenarios. The person answering the phone needs to know the right contact for the possible variety of questions. An internal messaging system is highly recommended. Having one will make it easy to find and connect with the caller with the appropriate person. Considering that 44 percent of inbound service calls are leads, can you afford not to answer your calls? If you don't have the staff to answer calls correctly, consider using a BDC or hiring part-time help. JANUARY FEBRUARY 2023 || FIXED OPS MAGAZINE 25