3
SERVICE DEPARTMENT
PAIN POINTS
SOLVED
HOW FAULTY IT INFRASTRUCTURES ARE CAUSING AUTO
DEALERSHIPS TO :
1. Lose Revenue
2. Lose Customers
3. Lose Employee Buy-In
Featuring insights from industry experts!
Jeff Cowan, ProTalk
Michael Roppo, WithumSmith+Brown
Ujj Nath, myKaarma
Bill Wittenmyer, ELEAD1ONE
Chip King, CallRevu
3 SERVICE DEPARTMENT PAIN POINTS SOLVED
2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
pg. 4
Pain Point #1: Loss of Revenue
pg. 5
Pain Point #2: Loss of Customers
pg. 8
Pain Point #3: Loss of Employee Buy-In
pg. 12
Recommendations
Internet
pg. 13
WiFi
pg. 14
Network Switches
pg. 15
Call Flow
pg. 16
Conclusion
pg. 17
3 SERVICE DEPARTMENT PAIN POINTS SOLVED
3
INTRODUCTION
To stay competitive, service departments everywhere are implementing new
technologies that promise to boost shop efficiency, improve the customer experience
and increase profits.
Unfortunately, many dealers implement these technologies without first addressing
whether their information technology (IT) infrastructure can support the additional data
requirements.
In today's service department, massive amounts of bandwidth are required for:
•
•
•
•
•
Mobile tablet applications
Third-party, cloud-based service applications
Vehicle computer system updates
Employee and customer cell phones
Smart appliances
Most dealerships do not have adequate Internet and/or WiFi speeds to accommodate the
growing demand for data. Three common pain points that service departments
experience due to inadequate IT infrastructures include:
Loss of Revenue. Time is money. Slow networks have a direct and negative impact on
service department productivity.
Loss of Customers. If customer retention is important, providing a friendly, efficient
customer experience is necessary. Most applications designed to improve the customer
experience require bandwidth, and lots of it.
Loss of Employee Buy-In for New Technologies. An inadequate IT infrastructure causes
applications to run slowly, frustrating employees.
Don't get beat by the competition because technology is slowing you down! This eBook
provides specific recommendations on how to improve your IT infrastructure so it
supports today's data requirements.
3 SERVICE DEPARTMENT PAIN POINTS SOLVED
4
PAIN POINT 1 – LOSS OF REVENUE
To increase shop productivity, many service managers are turning to new and
sophisticated third-party applications. To be effective these applications must have a
reliable IT infrastructure. Unfortunately, this prerequisite is often overlooked.
Michael Roppo is the Director of Fixed Operations for WithumSmith+Brown, and an
experienced fixed ops trainer. "One of the biggest things I see in dealerships are
slowdowns and occasionally, intermittent network shutdowns," said Roppo. "These
problems are mainly caused by inadequate Internet speeds and WiFi access points."
Roppo notes that although many dealers realize IT is important, many don't realize the
extent of its impact. "Dealers often don't understand all the capabilities and sheer power
of IT and how it can be used to support their business and improve results across the
board," he said.
Bill Wittenmyer, a Partner with ELEAD1ONE, agrees.
"You walk into some dealerships and there are pieces of IT
equipment lying around like boat anchors," he said.
ELEAD1ONE is a leading developer of CRM, BDC and marketing
solutions for auto dealers. "If they have WiFi it's extremely
limited. Maybe it's in the guest lounge, but I don't see it too
often in the service lane. And many of the PCs the employees use
are antiquated," said Wittenmyer.
Today the majority of DMS systems, third-party
software vendors and manufacturers' application
platforms are cloud-based. This transfer of data
both to and from the cloud requires large amounts
of bandwidth.
“Some dealers
are still using
consumer
grade Internet,
believe it or
not…"
3 SERVICE DEPARTMENT PAIN POINTS SOLVED
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Ujj Nath is CEO of myKaarma, developer of a customer interaction
management solution for service departments. The biggest problem
Nath has observed at his clients' dealerships is slow Internet
connectivity. "We've had dealerships purchase our solution, then
threaten to cancel because they say it doesn't work properly," he said.
Upon investigation of these complaints, myKaarma
typically identifies inadequate Internet connectivity as
the primary problem. "Some dealers are still using
consumer grade Internet, believe it or not," said Nath.
"When you have a 20 MB connection with 50 devices
piggybacking on it, nothing's going to work."
Nath emphasizes how this can negatively impact revenue.
"Everything depends on the Internet now. Dealers cannot afford to
have it go down. Even credit card terminals today work off the Internet.
If those go down you can't accept any payments. If a dealership doesn't
have high-speed enterprise grade Internet, it's a major competitive
disadvantage in my mind."
Nath shares an example of how a solid IT infrastructure can positively
impact revenue. One of myKaarma's customers, a dealership in Florida,
experienced a power outage due to hurricane-force winds. The phone
system was down for two days as a result.
"Normally this would be a disaster for the service department, but
fortunately this dealership had very good Internet," said Nath. "They
could still text the customers. They communicated what was happening
and continued doing business as normal."
3 SERVICE DEPARTMENT PAIN POINTS SOLVED
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ELEAD1ONE also provides clients with minimum IT requirements before migration. "We had
a fairly large group of 80 stores transfer to us a few years ago," said Wittenmyer. "They had
to spend half a million dollars in upgrades because their system was so antiquated."
Roppo advocates dealership-wide education of the importance of IT infrastructure, so
everyone can help identify problems when they occur.
"I always say the financial statement is the too-late statement," he said. "Dealers need to be
more proactive in figuring out what's impeding the improvement of critical performance
indicators. In many cases it's the IT; in many cases it's lack of training for people and
processes, and sometimes it's both."
Roppo points out that on average, dealers use 18 percent of their IT support on a DMS.
"With all the new technology out there, an ongoing training initiative becomes very
important."
IS YOUR SERVICE DEPARTMENT READY?
In the next five years the practice of updating a car's software will grow at least tenfold, according to
IHS Automotive. Over-the-air software updates are used for maps, apps, infotainment, telematics and
electronic control units (ECU). Is your service department ready to accommodate a tenfold increase?
These updates are
typically performed
while the vehicle is in a
service bay. This
practice is inefficient.
Why use up valuable
time and space
performing updates in
a service bay?
Enabling WiFi access
on the lot allows
technicians to park
vehicles outside while
performing vehicle
system updates. This
frees up the service
bays, increasing shop
productivity.
3 SERVICE DEPARTMENT PAIN POINTS SOLVED
The average software
update can take from
30 to 60 minutes. The
time it takes to
perform an update is
directly dependent on
Internet speed and
WiFi bandwidth.
7
PAIN POINT 2 – LOSS OF CUSTOMERS
Everyone agrees: customer retention is critical for long-term revenue growth and
competitive advantage. What makes customers return to dealerships for service?
•
•
•
Competitive pricing (driven by shop efficiencies)
Liking and trusting the employees
Convenience, speed and transparency
People and process training can help with customer retention,
but to stay competitive dealers need to invest in new technologies.
It starts with the moment the customer tries to contact the service
department.
Disappearing Leads
CallRevu recently analyzed data from 960,066 calls into dealership service departments
and found the following:
•
•
•
•
23% of incoming calls never connected with an agent
45% of all attempted calls resulted in an appointment
74% of connected calls resulted in a price inquiry, inventory inquiry or appointment
18% of service calls are status checks on vehicles
That's 220,815 calls that never connected with a human being! If those callers had
connected, 74% of those calls may have resulted in additional revenue.
When dealers realize they are losing this many phone leads, they often blame it on people
or processes. Sometimes that is the cause, but calls that never connect with a human
being often have nothing to do with process, and everything to do with a phone systems'
call flow.
3 SERVICE DEPARTMENT PAIN POINTS SOLVED
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A call flow defines rules such as how many times a phone extension rings, where the
call gets routed if nobody answers, what happens to calls after hours and more.
Call flows are set up when the phone system is installed.
An inefficient call flow emerges over time due to the
following reasons:
•
•
•
•
Employee turnover, extensions change, call groups
changes
New managers create new call flows, create loops or
black holes
Lack of training for receptionists on call routing
No tracking or management of incoming calls; what
doesn't get measured doesn't get done
Chip King is Founder and CEO of CallRevu, a leading provider of call tracking and call
management tools for auto dealers. "Most customers would rather go to the dentist
than call a dealership," said King. "Press one for this, two for that, get transferred three
times, get placed on hold. The caller's journey in the service department dictates the
likelihood of buying from there again. Dealers that can change this experience will
easily gain customers from other dealerships."
King points to the 18 percent of inbound service calls that are status checks as one
area where there's room for improvement. "These calls should never have to happen.
Dealers need to have an outbound system, so every time a service ticket is closed the
customer is updated on the status of their car."
Connecting phone leads with staff that can help them is the first step to customer
retention. Once they're connected, IT can help service departments keep customers
with automation and the ability to communicate with customers via methods they
prefer.
3 SERVICE DEPARTMENT PAIN POINTS SOLVED
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Jeff Cowan is a nationally recognized trainer and founder of PRO TALK Automotive Service
Training. "More and more customers today prefer to text or email to get information. Most
dealers are aware of this but even if they purchase a solution that allows them to
communicate this way, they don't use it or it gets misused."
Cowan says the average dealer is five years behind where they need to be to meet customer
expectations. "This is definitely an area where IT can help fill the bill," he said.
The Service Lane Experience
The next opportunity for transforming the customer experience is in the service lane. Are
your customers still being greeted by an advisor using a clipboard?
Imagine that you are a loyal customer of your dealership.
You are greeted by an advisor who has no clue who you
are, so you are required to give your name and phone
number. No recognition or appreciation is shown for the
fact that you are a repeat customer. Then the advisor
spends 10 minutes of your valuable time jotting down
information. Then you have to wait for an estimate.
Dropping off your car takes 15 minutes to half an hour!
THIS LEVEL OF CUSTOMER SERVICE IS UNACCEPTABLE IF YOU WANT YOUR
DEALERSHIP TO STAY COMPETATIVE
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Mobile tablet applications and new service drive technologies speed up this process for the
consumer, while increasing transparency and trust.
"There are some great technologies that help to create a friendly, welcoming environment,"
said Cowan. "For instance, it's possible to scan a vehicle license plate as the car approaches,
so by the time a customer pulls into the service lane the advisor has that person's name
and history on their mobile tablet screen. Who doesn't like to be greeted by their name
with a friendly smile?"
Wittenmyer points out that service generates seven to 10 times more consumer
transactions per month than sales. "If dealers want to retain customers, they need to create
a retail experience that attracts the same customers who are used to ordering everything
online and texting to communicate," he said. "To stay competitive, dealers need to examine
their service lane processes and leverage both technology and customer data."
TECH TIPS FOR IMPROVING THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
•
Commit to automating as
many processes as possible
•
Mobile tablet adoption is no •
longer an option!
•
Do your homework
•
Pick the right technology for
your dealership
•
•
• Ensure you have the IT
backbone to support it
Mandate usage
Train if necessary
Demand accountability
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PAIN POINT 3 – LOSS OF EMPLOYEE BUY-IN
Has your dealership ever purchased a new technology, only to have it rejected by
employees? Unfortunately this is an all too common occurrence.
Mandating the technology and training can only go so far. If a service advisor encounters
spinning wheels on his mobile tablet while checking someone in, he's not going to use it.
Once you lose employee buy-in, it's tough to get it back.
"Within six months most of the technology that's brought
into the service side is not being used," said Jeff Cowan
with ProTalk. "Chrysler brought out a marvelous write-up
system for tablets but not all stores are using it. Same with
GM's multi-point inspection software. These programs are
proven to work, proven to increase upsells. But if people
don't like the technology, it's dead in the water."
Ujj Nath has attempted to solve the employee buy-in problem with a provisioning phase.
"After a contract is signed it takes four to six weeks to get up and running," said Nath.
"One of the things we do during that time is to ensure the dealer has adequate
connectivity, especially WiFi."
"There are many reasons why employees don't want to use new technologies," said
Cowan. He lists the following six reasons why employees don't buy in:
•
•
•
•
•
•
IT infrastructure is not adequate to support the application
Application design is too complicated
Application requires two to three vendors systems' to work together to be effective
Training is poor so people don't understand how to use it
Employees don't want to change
Employees are not held accountable when they don't use it
"Dealers need to address all of these potential roadblocks before they make a decision to
buy something," said Cowan. "These can all be overcome, but if you have two or three of
these reasons going on at the same time, you will lose employee buy-in and you've just
wasted a ton of money."
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RECOMMENDATIONS
✔ Supercharge productivity
✔ Improve the customer experience
✔ Ensure employee buy-in
The following IT standards are the minimum required recommendations for today's auto
dealership's service department. Each store's individual needs will vary based on square
footage, number of employees, number of devices and number of service bays.
INTERNET
Until recently, a Small Office/Home Office Internet connection may have been sufficient for
most dealerships. Not any more.
Today's dealership requires an enterprise level Internet connection. Typically this is
provided by fiber optics, which delivers data at speeds ten to 100 times faster than SOHO
Internet service.
Many dealers think fiber optics is too expensive, but thanks
to recent deregulation and increased competition, the cost
of fiber optics has dropped dramatically. In many areas a
carrier can bring fiber optics right into your server room
for under $1,000 per month.
Resiliency is also important. Dealers should consider having
two fiber optics connections from two separate service
providers; or at the minimum a fiber optics connection from
one provider and a T1 connection from another provider.
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WIRELESS (WiFi)
In order to understand how much wireless coverage your dealership needs, it's
important to understand how much you have now. These definitions will help you
determine where you are and how much you need to upgrade.
Level 1: Shop and Guest
Approximately 25 percent of dealerships are at this level. Typically this means there are
anywhere from one to six wireless nodes in the store. Perhaps there are two or three in
service, maybe one in sales, and maybe one in the parts department. This level is not
adequate if your dealership is using mobile tablet applications or cloud-based DMS and
other third-party applications.
Level 2: Data Throughout
Approximately 70 percent of dealerships are at this level. At this level wireless access is
available throughout the entire dealership. This level of coverage typically doesn't
extend to the lot, although there may be some access close to the building. Depending
on the size of the dealership, this type of coverage requires from six to 20 wireless
access nodes.
Level 3: Voice
This level is basically Level 2 with the addition of roaming voice capability for wireless
phones. However, most people now use mobile phones, so there is less demand for this
level of coverage. Only three percent of dealerships are at this level.
Level 4: Location Based
Not many dealerships are at this level yet, but this is where the
industry is headed. This level provides "Big Brother" capability,
or extreme high-density wireless coverage. If you're
considering any type of location-based software that tracks
customer and/or employee movements out on the lot and
through your store, this is the level of wireless you'll need.
This level provides coverage over the entire lot, all the way to
the perimeter. Location-based wireless requires a minimum
of 25 access nodes per store. At about $800 per access node,
this level of coverage doesn't come cheap. The wireless access nodes you purchase
today should last from three to five years.
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NETWORK SWITCHES
An estimated 40 percent of dealerships have upgraded their switches in the last several
years. If your dealership hasn't yet, it probably should. Many people blame slow
performance on Internet, WiFi or their PCs, when it's really their switches that are slowing
things down.
Historically dealerships have used switches with 100 MB of throughput per switch. Today's
data demands require switches with a minimum 1,000 MB of throughput per switch. A
one Gigabyte switch costs from $2,500 to $5,000 and can accommodate approximately 50
devices.
A typical dealership with 80 to 100 employees may have hundreds of connected devices.
Most dealerships will need from two or four Gigabyte switches to cover the entire store,
but the good news is they should last about a decade.
Before investing in
new wireless, hire an
IT vendor to conduct a
site survey of your
store. This will give
you a "heat map" that
shows where you have
the strongest coverage
and where you need
more.
Buy more wireless
nodes than you think
you need. The number
of 'connected devices'
has more than
doubled in the last
three years, and is
expected to more
than double again in
the next three years.
3 SERVICE DEPARTMENT PAIN POINTS SOLVED
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CALL FLOW
Twenty-three percent of inbound calls to the service department never get connected
with a person who can help them. How many of these people do you think will call
back?
Fortunately, fixing call flow is not that difficult.
Steps to take include:
1) Schedule a meeting that includes managers
from all departments to discuss the current
call flow. What does it look like? Do you have
a map? If not, create one so you can visually
see the holes.
2) Design a call flow that is synergistic with your
service processes. Don't let phone extensions ring
more than four times. Avoid sending callers into voice
mail. Create multi-line hunt groups to increase the chances of someone picking up.
If your dealership has a Unified Communications Platform (UCP), use a feature that will
ring both a desk phone and cell phone at the same time. Create a process for assigning
and re-assigning extensions when employees leave, as well as adding and deleting
extensions.
It's important that the people involved with creating the call flow are familiar with
dealership operations and processes. This is why managers must get involved.
3) Assign a keeper of the call flow. Someone has to be responsible for approving all
requested changes to the call flow. If a new manager wants calls to be routed a certain
way that does not fit in with the process, don't let it happen. Also, the keeper should
conduct an annual review to keep the call flow clean.
3 SERVICE DEPARTMENT PAIN POINTS SOLVED
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CONCLUSION
Service department profitability relies on automating processes and focusing on the
customer experience. As dealers seek new applications and technologies to help them,
it's important not to overlook IT requirements.
Your dealership's IT infrastructure is the backbone upon which your entire dealership
runs. Ignoring it can reduce productivity, decrease customer retention and lose employee
buy-in. Before investing in any new technology, be sure to ask the vendor what the IT
requirements are for the system to work at maximum efficiency.
You may also want to consult an experienced IT vendor to conduct an assessment of your
current infrastructure, to see if it's adequate for the applications you're currently running.
3 SERVICE DEPARTMENT PAIN POINTS SOLVED
17
It is Helion’s mission to be your IT provider of
choice by designing and maintaining scalable
technology systems that allow you to focus on
running your business.
heliontechnologies.com
The Helion Value
Dealership employees supported
Number of years managing Auto Dealer IT Operations
Auto Dealerships, Body Shops and Heavy Truck Dealers
under support
OEMs represented across our client base
Days a week we are open for support including evenings and holidays
Decades of expertise with manufacturer interfaces
such as; CDK – Dealer Daily – NetStar – ISPI – More!
Reliability: Less down time (More up time) keeps your entire team focused on selling and servicing vehicles.
Scalability: We will provide you the technology platform that is flexible to perform as you grow business
Productivity: We will provide increased productivity as there is a direct correlation between healthy technology systems
and organizational efficiency gains.
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Best Practices: We will implement best practices to provide uniform results through our knowledge and technology.
18 We
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