Can you imagine the day when your customers can ask their Google Assistant to schedule their car for service? Or if their car is ready to be picked up from your service department? Well, that day is here for Brian Benstock, Vice President add General Manager of Paragon Honda who’s group has developed this exciting new technology.
Benstock tells CBT News how his career has been leading him to where he is now. Two years ago he aggressively sought out to double the sales for his group. In the process of trying to figure out how to do just that he took a look into some well-known brands such as Apple, Amazon, and Google and asked themselves what they had to do to be more like them? One common thread through all those companies was how they are all undoubtedly customer focus. Dealerships tend to think that they are customer-centric and focused but Brain felt that isn’t always the case and needed to disrupt that.
As many dealers are aware, the most frustrating pain point in dealerships is the service department. So that is where Brain and team focused their efforts. They discovered that it can take up to eight minutes for a customer to get a hold of an employee to schedule a service appointment. Brain new they had to find a way to expand their capacity without spending too much money.
It dawned on them that the perfect time to service a car is at night when the driver is no longer in or using it. So that’s where Brian and team started. Brain’s Honda dealership will come pick up your car after its daily use, bring it to the shop to get serviced, and then have it back to you all before morning. All of these arrangements are made through an app. Using voice technology, it takes under two minutes to schedule a pickup, drop off and service appointment. Also installed in this app is real-time tracking that allows you to know when the car will be picked up, dropped off, all so the consumer can plan accordingly and drive their own experience.
