Auto Relationship Crashes:The Changing Dynamics of Service vs Sales

The world around us has been changing rapidly, impacting most industries in extraordinary ways. The challenge is businesses do not always see the changes going on or strive to hold on to the status quo as long as possible. Eventually they see the shift, but unfortunately it is usually too late for their business. How do you protect your business? Or even grab hold of these changes and lead the way?

I have been thinking about this way more than necessary lately, so I wanted to share the story and open the dialogue regarding the sea of change impacting many service and sales organizations. Many of us have dealt with either a new car or used car dealer over the years, so I expect my story will relate to many of you. The Internet has truly changed the dynamics of the sales experience. In the past consumers did not have in-depth knowledge of costs or the negotiations of other customers. They had to guess. Today we can submit through services like CarsDirect.com or TrueCar.com and have multiple dealers competing to gain our business. I have used these type of websites to assist me in the last three cars I have purchased, including this past week. The challenge is in the past dealers thrived on trying to trick or manipulate customers, but today dealers know we have the power, especially in sales. I have to admit the car buying experience for the past three cars I have purchased has been progressively getting better. I was so impressed with the sales experience with Burlington Chevrolet, that I wrote about it in my book. This past week I was even more impressed with Flemington Infiniti.

If the story simply involved the sales process I would be hopping for joy about each of these businesses, but there is always more to it when purchasing a vehicle. It is the start of a relationship, not the entire relationship. The challenge for both dealers and car companies is they have not always built the trust in someone's mind fully, so even the strongest trust built in the sales experience can erode away fast.

It has been a number of years since I owned a GM product and I was looking forward to it. I always wanted a truck and I loved the Chevy Avalanche. I planned to keep it forever, but there are times where those hopes evaporate quickly. After having the vehicle for two years, I took it to Burlington Chevy for its scheduled oil change. When I brought it in I reported a hesitation that occurred over the weekend but no other issues to report. The service experience seemed to go well and I left with my truck a few hours later. They found everything checked out, so it was simply the cost of the oil change.

Pleased with the experience, I started my drive home. Unfortunately, when I was five miles away, the service light went on, so I returned to the dealer. By the time I made it back the light turned off, so I spoke to the service person. He mentioned the oil was low and it was overdue for the oil change so it was probably crude build up. I never find it good to accuse a customer in that manner, especially one who had in his email a report from OnStar service two days earlier showing oil was fine and just coming due for an oil change.

When I stated that, he told me I should not trust that. Anyway, they checked the car out and said no issue. I drove away with the light coming on again, so I turned back. They asked me to leave the car overnight while they ran transmission fluid through the engine to clean it out. I am still not sure I understand that, but they are the experts. My wife picked me up and I returned the next day to pick it up.

You will never guess what happened when I left the dealer the next day! Of course the light came back on so I returned again. This time they were going to try to change the wires and plugs. This cost me $700. Well guess what? After paying that, it still did not work so I returned it again. This time they decided to replace the lifters in the engine and they needed the car for a few days. This work was done under warranty, so I was pleased with that.

When I picked up the truck all seemed well, at least for two months. The ever-giving service light came on again, but this time intermittent. Each time I contacted OnStar to find out the error code and the proper handling. It was an unusual oil pressure situation. I once again took it to the dealer and I was told it was an oil pressure switch connector.

The car was safe to drive while they ordered the part. I did notice that the dealer changed the service people at the desk and the new team was much more pleasant. I made sure to recognize that change to the service manager, as well as reiterate my prior experience. I returned a few days later to have the part installed. You will never guess what happened when I left with my truck! Once again the service light came on as soon as I left. This time it had a statement, "turn the engine off now." So once again I returned to the dealer. This time I had to leave it and they provided me a loaner. After several days passed, I received a phone call stating they were going to replace the engine. In some ways I was thrilled with the resolution, but I was still upset at how long the trouble has gone on. It all started with a basic oil change. A week or so later my truck was ready. I picked it up and I was thrilled, at least until the next morning. The next morning I noticed an odd sound, so I returned to the dealer again. This time it was a problem with the exhaust manifold. They kept the truck for another day and corrected that.

Unfortunately I completely lost faith in the truck, Chevy (as well as General Motors), and especially Burlington Chevrolet. The experience was amazing during the sales process but the service process never came close to that experience. I had other issues with their service experience over the years as well but I never highlighted to them. At the end of the day, I traded in the vehicle (I was open with the new dealer regarding every part of the work done to the truck). It will now be much harder for Burlington Chevy to earn my business in the future, no matter how I feel about the sales experience. We are now in a relationship driven economy, and at one point car dealerships were in the relationship business. Businesses need to recognize these change even before their own Customers do and capitalize on them. Unfortunately the industry is trying to hold onto their current models by fighting Tesla's direct sales model instead of realizes the changes that are impacting their ability to win in the future. They are not losing because of Tesla, but because of their own actions. Their Customers want a relationship, but they have to be willing to provide that. My experience with Burlington Chevrolet showed that to me. I am hopeful that my new relationship with Flemington Infiniti will lead to a long term, fruitful relationship.

The key to understanding the changes occurring is easy: think like a Customer and you will be able to see the change before it eats your business away. The fact is the Customer does not view the sales and the service experience separately. To the Customer, the whole package is their experience.