Online Service Appointments

[puredealer]

Many websites have that infamous "service appointment" form on their sites. But how many are actually getting service appointments set up online? I'd like to hear about how some of you get appointments set, as well as how you follow up with set appointments.

We've moved ahead and now intergrate the NHTSA recall database with our sites so that customers can view recalls on their particular cars, and then book appointments right there on the spot. We've also tried out some incentives such as %off coupons for appointments booked on the site. In addition, we've put varying seasonal coupons in place to lure them back to the site.

What has worked for you? What hasn't worked so well?

Thanks,
Michael

------------------
www.puredealer.com

[wbkski]

Michael,

I've helped set-up an online appointment site at a Volvo/Jag dealership. They first tried taking the appointment that the customer dictated. That lasted about 3 days. Then they started asking for the phone number (in addition to the already collected email address) and began phoning the customer to let them know of the closest opportunity to provide them with an appointment. They went one step futher and offered free shuttle to/from work within a 10 mile radius. The results have been great! Their "request-to-kept" appointment ratio is 93%. That's not bad. If you need more info, call me at 801.792.6727.

Brian

[puredealer]

Those are some good ideas that I will speak to a few of my clients about if you don't mind

We are going to test out a new process with one of our clients (Kia/Isuzu dealer in New Jersey) where we are planning on offering an incentive for every service appointment made on the web site. We will tell the customer that they will get a coupon once they submit the appointment request. Once the request is submitted, they are brought automatically to the page with a printable coupon. This will be for a free car wash, discounted oil change, free tire pressure tester, etc.

I'll post to the group to let you know what type of increase this makes to their service business.

I think a combination of the recalls on the site, plus incentives for service appointments should incentivize customers even further. We'll see!

-Michael

------------------
www.puredealer.com

[Matt Parsons]

I'm curious, are you allowing customers to view your shop load online? Do customers put in specific complaints and then they are advised (electronically) as to what skills are available on what days at what times to address those issues? Or when you state on-line appointments does it require a service advisor to call or email the customer back with times that work?

[puredealer]

Matt,
We've found very few dealers who are willing and able to handle a system that Interacts fully with their DMS and service business. So currently, we are allowing customers to choose the days most convenient to them, and then the dealership is contacting to confirm the date.

Since most dealerships have not received many online service appointments as it currently stands, we did not want to put any additional burdens to prevent appointment-making in the customers hands.

We feel that integrating the NHTSA recall database is going to bring a much higher percentage of customers setting appointments, so at that point there may be a greater need to integrate the process. But for now, our clients are doing well with the current system.

Although some dealers may be ready for a more complex system, one must pay particular attention to whether they will utilize all these fancy functions in the long term, as well as determine whether a customer will do more work to make a service appointment online. Most customers use the web for convenience or to save time, avoid people contact, etc. So, to add additional work (or steps) to set up a simple appointment may be asking too much. These are just my thoughts of course, so I'd like to hear your experiences with such a system. In particular, would a customer be more inclined to choose their own date, or choose a date dictated by a service departments workload?

Thanks,
Michael


------------------
www.puredealer.com

[This message has been edited by puredealer (edited 09-04-2001).]

[Matt Parsons]

The reason I asked is that I totally agree with your assessment as to why customers would/do use the net for service work. They want the convenience of interacting when they are available (could be the middle of the night), they prefer avoiding having to interact with the advisor and/or wait in que to speak to someone at the dealership, and they enjoy the sense of 'self-control' in driving the process themselves (remember, internet savvy customers feel empowered by the use of this tool).

Several years ago we developed a prototype of a system that used the data in our Scheduling and Dispatch System (SDS) to present a very easy process for a customer to pick 'categories' of problems (i.e. skill sets) and the system displayed which hours of which days the shop could accept the job (or combination of jobs). Both dealers and consumers that reviewed this prototype were very positive about the capabilities. The one problem was that you had to implement and use a computerized shop scheduling system for it to work, and many dealers have had less than great experiences with these type of solutions in the past.

So, we are in a bit of a paradox in that you can't deliver the value of a true realtime internet scheduling system to consumers without collecting the data, and many dealers don't want or don't feel they need a full blown electronic shop scheduling system - thus they don't have the data to deliver.

This is the problem many dealers and customers are faced when trying to use the Internet as a delivery channel. The customer wants a different experience, and that experience is based off of the free-flow of data/information, yet dealers have always found that by possessing 'more' data/information than they consumer create or sustain their market advantage. Until we as an industry can get past this inconsistancy, the true value of the internet as a business tool cannot be realized.

This concept is no different than the dealer who states 100's of units in stock on their website, but won't list them along with pricing. The internet consumer doesn't want to have to call to get the details, they want full disclosure when the log on.

Matt

[puredealer]

Thanks Matt- the above is a good example of real-world experience that proves that more is not always better. My dealers and I receive a bombardement of solicitation of new tools and software of which we are often called on to review. It's important to always ask the questions "will I really use this long term, or is it something that we will all use and support"

It's very good that you've tested both types of systems so dealers now have more proof of what really works.

I recently asked a large provider of e-CRM products about which sections of their products are being underutilized. He had no idea since they never asked. This is where alot of developers go wrong. It reminds me of the quote "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink". The CRM guy did manage to show me all the hundreds of bells and whistles. How many of these bells were dealers using? Perhaps one or two for all he knows.

Please share any other findings you've had with service- this thread is starting to show some good promise.

-Michael

------------------
www.puredealer.com