How I Almost Changed Car Dealers After 30 Years … and What You Can Learn From the Experience

For the first time in over 30 years, my wife and I left the dealership underwhelmed and unexcited about the prospects of finding the new vehicle we wanted.

Reflect on that statement for a moment. Do you realize how good your business must be for a customer to be able to say that?

If you have read my books or attended one of my sessions , you know the pain it creates for me to write that sentence. I have been a Sewell LexusDallas customer since 1989. My positive Sewell stories and their lessons for building a successful business could fill a multi-day workshop.

The average person, according to CNBC , buys an average of 9.4 new cars in their lifetime. I was on number 13 with Sewell Lexus when my long-time sales representative called to remind me that my lease would be up in 6 months. He suggested that I start looking for my next vehicle now due to lingering supply chain issues.

My expectation was that we would settle on a new vehicle and be out of the dealership in less than two hours. I have been driving a Lexus RX 350 F Sport for almost 10 years. I love the vehicle, and the only potential question would be whether to change the color. Two of the last three F Sports have been black. It was a pretty safe assumption where we would end up.

Almost 4 hours later, we drove away wondering if we would be moving to another Sewell dealership … or worse, away from Sewell all together. The prospect of missing out on the legendary Sewell service put us in a funk that stayed with us through the night.

What created this existential panic?

Lexus made two changes that we did not like. One was relatively minor—a change to the interior trim package.

The second change was a potential deal breaker. The panoramic sunroof that was available in our past three vehicles was no longer offered in the RX F Sport model we wanted. There were options, but none of them were appealing (and all of them are too lengthy to detail here).

Even worse, the vehicle changes meant that our sales associate had to make multiple trips to a remote warehouse to retrieve another vehicle for us to consider. That added an additional hour to what is normally a tight and seamless process.

A New Day Dawns

Our disappointment was noticeable when we left the dealership on Friday evening. We agreed to return on Saturday to consider one more option.

We considered cancelling the Saturday appoinment. It felt like a waste of time. I spent Friday night searching the internet for other vehicles to consider.

Unknown to us, our sales associate Bruce and his manager Melissa had put their heads together to find a solution.

When we arrived, Bruce acknowledged that he knew we were disappointed in our prior visit (extra points for noticing, right?). He showed us one more option that we all knew would not meet our expectations. He then asked if we were willing to be creative in our thinking.

Bruce and Melissa brainstormed and found two new vehicles that were left over from the previous model year. Both had a sticker price that was significantly higher than the options we had considered. The minor interior changes were still there. One of the interiors was so striking, however, that we barely noticed the change. Both had the panoramic sunroof that was important to us.

Sewell wanted to get vehicles out of their inventory, and they wanted us to be happy. They were willing to work with us to make both happen. All it required was for us to acknowledge that the cost of money due to higher interest rates would necessitate a bit more out of pocket than previously discussed.

A quick glance at the photo below confirms that we reached an agreement that works for everyone. We are now driving our fourteenth Sewell Lexus.

Lessons for Every Business

This might be the most important Sewell story I have shared. All of my previous examples revolve around delivering exceptional experiences that would make anyone go WOW! ?This one is about recovering from a less than stellar experience to create a positive outcome.

Here are three lessons anyone can apply to keep customers for life.

1.??Everyone has an off day at some point. What you do about it matters.

It is amazing to consider that I had never been frustrated by a Sewell experience in over 30 years. That is a testament to the Sewell culture of excellence.

Carl Sewell once told me that the decision to be the best was the most important one they had ever made in the company. That decision makes things more focused, profitable, and fun.

?There was a strong probability that we would have ended up at another Sewell dealership if this purchase had not worked out. The financial impact would have been minimal even if we ended up at a non-Sewell dealership (I just threw up in my mouth a little writing that last sentence).

That is not how the Best respond. Kudos to Bruce and Melissa for pursuing the best over the easiest. Kudos to the Sewell leadership team for creating the culture where being open, transparent, and creative in service to the customer is expected and accepted.

2.??The product matters.

I’ve heard speakers say that a superior buying and service will overcome a less-than-perfect product.

That is only true to a point.

It did not take long for me to determine that there were other potential options for a new SUV. A few of them were less expensive. My willingness to pay more than expected to get the product I want from Sewell was influenced by my long history. There are limits, however.

Asking me to accept too many undesirable compromises would have eventually led me to look elsewhere. The decision would have been difficult, but it could have happened.

The better way to think about this is that customers value the experience only if the product meets their needs.

Sewell was held hostage by product design changes over which it had no control. They responded by leveraging and exploiting the things that are under their control. That is a powerful lesson if you are distributing someone else’s product.

Product manufacturers must remember that their sales teams can only do so much. Every piece of customer feedback is crucial to meeting expectations. Judging from the customer reviews , I am not the only person who is disappointed with the latest RX.

I am immensely loyal to Sewell. They have 19 stores representing 21 brands. Lexus, the manufacturer, should not confuse loyalty to Sewell with being in love with their product. There are other choices. Our true competitors are as good (or better) than us.

3.??The acquisition cost of a fan can be quantified. The benefit of a fan is unlimited and exponential. Take the long view. You will be rewarded.

A Sewell executive described the company’s culture this way: The discipline to deliver what the customer expects every single time … and a little bit more.

The “little bit more” in this case was made possible by taking the long-term view on the value of a fan … not a customer, but a fan.

Here’s a rule of thumb: If your customers don’t love you so much that they are selling for you, there is work to be done.

I am driving my fourteenth Sewell Lexus. I am adding another Sewell story to my arsenal of business success examples. The outcome was not guaranteed. It came together because of trust and the company’s willingness to pursue the best over the easiest.

Let me know if you need a referral. I have a great guy, and he has a great manager and GM.

Randy Pennington is an award-winning author, speaker, and leading authority on helping organizations achieve positive results in a world of accelerating change. He is also a Sewell Automotive Companies customer for life. To bring Randy to your organization or event, visit www.penningtongroup.com , [email protected] , or call 972.980.9857.