A short time ago, Vaden of Beaufort in South Carolina managed its service drive the “old-fashioned way,” according to Corporate Fixed Operations Director Dawn Newsome. Realizing that the service advisors made more eye contact with their clipboards than with customers, Dawn knew that the service department needed to make some improvements.
“The age-old way of doing business was that [the advisors] would have clipboards and paper in hand and they’d be looking down the whole time, not really making eye contact or communicating with the customer,” said Dawn. “[Xtime Engage] has helped Vaden of Beaufort take the customers’ vehicle, their VINs and their personal information and create a visit that is unique to them.”
With a need to enhance and streamline the walk-around process and help advisors engage with customers through every step of the service process, Vaden of Beaufort turned to Xtime to increase automotive customer retention. In addition to improving service lane efficiency, Engage helped the dealership create a more personalized experience for the customers while also educating them on their vehicles’ needs.
“Prior to our partnership with Xtime, our service drive struggled to engage customers, as well as educate customers, throughout the walk-around process,” said Dawn. “For us in the automotive industry, we walk into a dealership every day and it’s second nature to us to service a car. But sometimes the customers don’t readily know what is happening or what the next step is. [Engage] gave us a tool that would help the advisor engage the customers so they would know through each step what was happening.”
The managers at Vaden firmly believe that bringing technology to the service drive enables the dealership to compete in today’s customer-focused, on-demand marketplace. Vaden now utilizes tablets in the service drive, allowing advisors to better allocate their time with customers and immediately establish trust.
“[Engage] helps our advisors allocate their time with each customer because it is segmented into different areas: check-in, walk-around, inspection and review,” said Dawn. “Vaden of Beaufort has done an outstanding job with the utilization of the Xtime tablet.”
TANGIBLE, TIMELY RESULTS
Engage does more than assist advisors in streamlining service lane processes. Utilizing tablets in the service drive enhances the ownership experience by injecting transparency into the customer-advisor interaction. That transparency is established by tools that show customers’ recommended services, pricing, service history, recalls and other valuable information—leading to trust. When the vehicle owner and dealership team have built a foundation of trust their interactions are high quality and the vehicle owner has more confidence with dealership interactions or when educating themselves about managing their cars’ health. Further, tablet usage in the service drive allows advisors to spend more quality time with each customer, helping pave the way for a more ethical upsell process.
"Since we’ve incorporated [Engage] into our service lane, we’ve transitioned the write-up process to a more personalized and friendly environment. It helps with customer satisfaction because it builds credibility."
Dawn Newsome
Director of Fixed Operations, Vaden Automotive Group
The following metrics are indicative of just some of the ways in which Vaden’s partnership with Xtime has been so successful:
- Increased show rate of 52.5pp
- Percentage of online/mobile increased 219% from June 14’–July 15’
- Conversion rates are 20% for online, 15% for mobile channels
“I would say to anyone interested in [Engage] that it is going to help your team become more efficient in the service drive and to help them know what to do from step A to step Z,” said Dawn.
Xtime helps Vaden of Beaufort to:
• Enhance the ownership experience through transparency and trust. When the customers are confident in the accuracy of the information they are given by the advisors, brand loyalty increases.
• Streamline the service drive. Xtime helps dealers operate smoothly by giving service advisors the tools needed to educate customers, perform the walk-around and write-up, complete check-ins, maximize appointment time and more at the push of a button.
• Establish benchmarks for advisors. Xtime’s solutions allow dealers to set standards for advisors to determine if they are spending quality time with the customer.
• Educate the customers. Customers don’t always know what to expect at even the most routine service appointment, which is why Xtime helps advisors walk them through every aspect of a car’s health.
Another contributing factor to Vaden of Beaufort’s success with Engage is its integration with Xtime Schedule, which captures customer demand and books service appointments from online, mobile and in-vehicle channels. This ease of information allows Vaden of Beaufort to streamline its shop capacity and provide secure, consistent and accurate access to factory menus, recalls, declined services, pricing and more in order to engage with customers at a higher level.
“You have to bring technology into your service drive in order to compete with other dealers,” said Dawn. “Organization for dealers in today’s market is important in order to know what is going to happen at each step in the service process to help you be more informed and prepared.”