Five Tips for Car Dealerships Looking to Survive the Recession

While some economic prognosticators are claiming that there are clear signs that the economic recession is near its end, these are probably the same sorts of people who believe that rainbows lead to a land filled with leprechauns and unicorns. The economy in this country is a cyclical beast that is prone to more mood swings than Courtney Love. But does that mean no business can survive a recession? Absolutely not. Businesses just have to figure out different ways to make money.

Prior to embarking on the fool's errand otherwise known as a writing career I worked as a service advisor at car dealerships. I had stints with Ford, Chrysler and Hyundai. When I was at Ford the company was a nightmarish basket case where not a day went by where they would announce some new recall regarding steering wheels falling off or some such nonsense (I am not making that up as any first year Ford Escape owner can tell you).

Working at Chrysler taught me that there is no way Fiat can do anything to make their quality any worse. And Hyundai? Shockingly, working there was an absolute treat. They never fought warranty claims, the cars rarely broke down and the cars didn't require much maintenance. The customers were extremely happy but as I worked on commission the downside was that I didn't make a whole lot of money.

Now when I compare Hyundai to Ford circa the new millennium? Working at Ford was like owning your own diamond mine. All you had to do to make a lot of money was be awake but as the Ford dealership I worked at was all Union a lot of my co-workers barely even managed that small feat. (Note: The Ford of nearly ten years ago and the Ford of today are entirely different beasts. Their quality is now up with Honda and Toyota and thanks to their new designs and technological breakthroughs I see a long and healthy future for the last independent American automaker. Today I would buy a Ford product-something I once vowed I would never do.)

So what am I saying here exactly? I have seen the dirty underbelly of the dealership system. I have seen what works and what doesn't and if any dealership wants to survive this recession they had better try actual customer service instead of trying to manipulate the survey system so it looks like they care about customer service. Here are some recommendations I would make to any dealership owner really looking to guarantee the survival of their business.

When New Car Sales are Down You Need to Depend on Your Service Department-At many car dealerships it is actually the service department that makes the majority of the profit. The new car sales department, while somewhat profitable, is there to provide a steady stream of customers for the service department. But in order for a service department to be able to provide steady profit the communication between the sales, service and parts staff must be very clear. I have found the more interaction there is between employees in these departments the quicker all work gets done and the more money is made.

For example, when I was a service advisor and a customer came in with a vehicle that was going to have more repair expenses than the actual value of the car I would often times call in the sales department to get that customer into a new car. It is this free flowing communication between the staff in different departments that helps make decisions like this easy for the customer. In my time as a service advisor I helped "sell" many new (and used) cars this way and many times when I had a good relationship with the salesman he would give me a cut of his commission.

Always Answer the Telephone-So simple yet so rarely done. All an employee has to do when a phone is ringing and they are with a customer is to pick up the phone and ask the person on the other end to hold. Nothing annoys customers more than when they leave a message and they never get a call back or don't get one until five hours have passed. It's not rocket science and if you are a service, parts or sales manager dock the pay of anyone who doesn't answer the phone. It's called multi-tasking and if an employee at a dealership can't handle that then they really shouldn't be working around customers.

No Matter How Busy Your Employees are Make Sure They Acknowledge Those Who are Waiting-When I first starting my job at the Ford dealership my mom told me that the worst thing I could do to customers was to ignore them while they were waiting for someone to talk to them. All she said people wanted was to be acknowledged. I took that advice to heart and viewed every customer as an individual worthy or the respect I give to my own mother. If I was on the phone or with a customer I would always look them in the eye and tell them I would be right with them. The result? I was always the top advisor in sales and customer satisfaction wherever I worked. My co-workers would always ask me what my secret was and when I told them they very rarely believed me. Laziness is a true epidemic at car dealerships.

Extend Service Department Hours For the Convenience of the Customer-I am not saying dealerships need to force every person at the dealership to work sixteen hours a day. The most successful Ford dealership I worked at was open from 7 am to Midnight and had two shifts of employees. This was beneficial not only to customers who could always fit service or a visit to the sales department into their schedule but it was also great for employees as they could customize their hours to their personal needs.

Instead of Cheating on Customer Service Surveys Try to Actually Provide Customer Service-This is a widespread practice and was the biggest problem I had with the dealership system from an ethical perspective. I realize an ethical car dealership is kind of a contradiction in terms in many cases but I always strived to not become a part of the cliché.

Every manufacturer sends out surveys to customers who have used dealership sales and service departments. For example when I worked at Ford and we were trying to become "Blue Oval Certified" (a designation for dealerships with the best customer service) we were told to ask customers to bring us their surveys in exchange for a free service or vehicle detailing. We were then told to fill them out ourselves with perfect scores. (Note: This was done at every car dealership I ever worked at not just Ford.)

When I had to ask customers to bring in these surveys I felt uncomfortably sleazy and I know it made the customer feel uneasy, as well. This is no way to make customers feel like their dealership is a "safe place" that they will always turn to for their new car purchasing and servicing needs. To this day I still feel ashamed that I once took part in the practice. Here's a thought-by providing the level of customer service outlined above and maybe, just maybe, a customer will give their car dealer perfect scores for a job well done.