Everyone has been there—you're waiting in the waiting room of a car dealership, and it's taking FOREVER. There's nothing to do but sit and read magazines that are older than your parents, listen to the same song on repeat for hours, watch the clock tick by… you know the drill.
The waiting game is a reality for automotive dealerships and their customers. You've probably seen situations where customers had to wait several hours or even days for their vehicles to be serviced. It's frustrating, but there are ways to make it more bearable. Here are five tips on how to improve car dealership wait times.
- Be flexible with your service appointment times and be willing to reschedule if needed.
- Have a consistent team of service advisors who can communicate with customers about their vehicles' status and what needs to be done next so they don't leave feeling confused about their vehicle's progress or why they're being asked to come back later for additional work.
- Use technology like Quickride which uses text alerts to notify customers of their shuttle rides. Customer can also a special link that allows them to book shuttle rides using their mobile phones, allowing customers to schedule service appointments online, and provide them with an estimate of how long the wait will be for their shuttle service.
- Use tools like customer surveys and satisfaction scores to understand what your customers are looking for so you can improve wait times, customer satisfaction and retention rates.
- Make sure your website is up-to-date with accurate information on inventory and pricing—this helps reduce confusion
The time spent in a dealership waiting for service may not be a comfortable experience for customers. What are the steps you can take to reduce the amount of time spent in your service departments? Try Quickride today and reduce the wait time at your dealership by up to 50%. Quickride is a dealer management app that allows customers to schedule service appointments from their phones and then come into the dealership at a time that works best for them. This system eliminates the need for customers to wait around all day waiting for their car's turn in the service department and improves customer satisfaction because they can get back to work or home quicker. Try it now FREE for 30 days.