What Would a Trustable Auto Company Look Like?
Don Peppers
Customer experience expert, keynote speaker, business author, Founder of Peppers & Rogers Group
"Trustability," as Martha Rogers and I have defined it, is proactive trustworthiness. A trustable business doesn’t make money from customer mistakes or oversights, and always helps customers protect their own interests. When a homebuilder reminds you that the 12-month warranty on your new house will be up soon, or when Microsoft advises an enterprise customer that it still has some unredeemed vouchers for free training – these are examples of trustability in action.
In a previous post I examined what a trustable telecom company might look like, but the question I'm considering in this post is: What would a trustable car company look like? If an auto company wanted to demonstrate trustability to its customers, what policies would it implement?
Here are a few suggestions:
- A trustable car manufacturer or dealer would email you or phone you 30 days before your warranty expires, just to remind you that you still have a month to bring the vehicle in for any repairs.
- A trustable car brand would probably maintain a much closer relationship between the dealer and the manufacturer. When a brand-name dealer's service doesn't live up to the car brand's advertised standard, it's a recipe for customer disappointment.
- A trustable dealership would figure out how to compensate sales people not just based on how much sheet metal moves off the lot, but how much customer satisfaction is actually generated. One idea might be to pay a "lifetime commission" on new car sales, so that when a salesperson sells a car to a customer new to the dealership, the dealer would tag that customer with the salesperson's name, and he or she would get some kind of commission every time the customer spent anything with the dealer any time in the future - for another car, for service, or anything. This would give the salesperson a vested interest in the customer's continued satisfaction and loyalty, and probably also help the dealer retain its most productive and valuable salespeople.
- Manufacturers and dealers might also consider helping customers make direct comparisons with competitive vehicles, either through comparative test drives right at the dealership (imagine a BMW dealer allowing a customer to test drive an Infiniti, as well), or perhaps through hosting objective online reviews by authenticated owners and drivers of multiple brands. (In 2002 GM actually experimented with this idea with its Auto Choice Advisor program.)
President at DPR Visions
8 年2014 Acura RLX, with advanced package, purchased 3/14 at Pleasanton Acura ? On going electrical, entertainment system, fit and finish, suspension, electronics, backup camera, accessory issues: ? 13 visits to dealer on car issues ? 18 days the car was at the dealers for repairs ? 4 immediate returns to the dealer due to repairs incorrect or not complete ? 4 sessions working with dealer service personnel to show them how to debug issues; DTS audio, USB file interface, battery cell failure, internal recirculating fan ? 2 wheels bent due to road damage ? 0 time I have had wheel damage due to road damage on other vehicles ? 1 factory wheel cost covered cost for 4 new wheels and tires in aftermarket ? >40 hours, amount of time spent dealing with car problems ? 1 safety issue, video recorded, which Acura says they will not fix ? 4 videos recorded to show problems to service personnel because their first response is customer did something wrong ? 14 weeks to get request to Acura customer service denied ? 12 times I tried contacting Acura customer service ? 3 times Acura customer service contacted me ? 1 time Acura customer service told dealer not to talk to me ? 10 emails to dealership and Acura management ? 0 responses to email ? 1 commute car purchased as I am worried RLX cannot stand up to commute and warranty is almost over Engine, LED headlamps, Sound quality are fantastic. Car has low resale value as my experience does not appear to be unique. So I have to chalk this up to a very expensive lesson. While the car is disappointing the response of the dealership and Acura/Honda customer service was more disappointing. Acura buyer beware. You are welcome to contact me and I can share the details of my experience and point you at my files and the videos of the problems I have had. Dave Pap Rocki, dpr_ads1 at Comcast dot net
(Retired) BDC Manager Addison Chevrolet Buick GMC on Erin Mills
11 年Deb G. Talk about "reality" based
Great topic! As a fan of anything that drives, flies, floats... The auto industry is one I follow closely. Vehicle ownership should be fun and easy, and carmakers have a great chance to make this happen and win big time in the process. Asking customers about their current and future needs to provide the best products and services should be simple through the likes of periodic surveys and enabling "crowdsourcing" for specific topics. Lifelong relationships can be built, and just take a little effort leveraging simple technologies available today. For example, periodic satisfaction surveys, questions about next purchases, if planning to stay with the brand or planning to switch... Am I trading in my car or starting a leasing? These are just the simplest steps, but not common unfortunately. Another key consideration is with vehicles maintenance which can impact value especially relevant in developing markets and how this can be sustained with good guidance and help from car manufacturers. It's not just the initial sale, this is the first step. Keeping a good customer for life should be the objective for manufacturers, leveraging new digital tools as well their dealership channels to keep the relationship alive. Keep the discussion going!
Digital Communication Strategist
11 年Thank you Dr. Don for the great insights. I love the idea of "lifetime comission", indeed the Car industry makes more money on after sales services than on selling the car itself, just like injekt ink printer manufacturers make more money on selling you ink, to extend that they are willing to give the printer for free. We are living in a service dominant era :)
Director, Area Agency on Agency at River Valley Regional Commission
11 年I hope the auto manufacturer's are reading this because you have some great ideas. I especially like the one about reminding you when your warranty is about to expire! But seriously shopping for a car is a very stressful experience because you don't 'trust' the dealership - it is a hostile negotiation. If there could be more trust in the relationship, there would be less stress and it would be a more pleasant experience. Then maybe car sales would go up.