Episode 46
Pros and Cons of Greeting Clients at the Vehicle [E046]
Thank You To Our Partners, The Institute, AutoFlow, AutoLeap, Shop Dog Marketing, In-Bound
The idea for this episode came from an inquiry originating with one of my colleagues.
They had read an AI description of how a check-in process would work within a software platform, and he rightly reached out to me to check to see if the AI response was accurate.
It was not accurate - it was pure fiction.
It was worth probing why this was important, and this colleague was getting questions from shops more regularly about the ability to do a “walk out” or Curbside check-in or initial inspection when greeting customers at their vehicle.
If this is something you or your team have been considering - I’m going to encourage you to hear me out, and I’m going to leave you with some important questions you can use to discuss if this is a good idea for your shop… or perhaps, determine it isn’t.
Today’s WOTD is:
Stringent
adjective
- Strict, precise, and exacting.
“The process has some very stringent requirements.”
I’m going to refer to any form of vehicle side check-in process as “curb-side” check-in for this conversation - but the idea for this form of greeting the customer at their vehicle comes in many permutations, few of them involve an actual curb.
Many businesses feature some form of drive-up or drive-thru service. Restaurants being one of them, but in our conversation, I’ll focus on vehicle-centric businesses, which I feel are common, and show us plenty about what works and what doesn’t.
1.) Dealerships
2.) Car Washes
3.) Airport Car Rental Returns
(No, I am not going to mention quick oil change lanes … not because it isn’t potentially relevant… but because I have never used a quick lube… really!)
Most of the time I find myself having a conversation about curb-side checkins, one of my clients at Autoflow will have had a dealership experience of their own. (There are many reasons independent shop owners visit our dealership friends… but the majority of the time it’s when they are confronted with a vehicle recall.) It was a positive experience for them, and quite… nice!
The dealer process begins with pulling into a large, bright, clean, well lit multilane drive up queue.
It can be impressive. I’ve recently participated in one of these, and will explain more on my experience later.
Why is this so common, and why is it so impressive?
Think about the dealership service model. (Which by the way - is expanding, as sales become more challenging, look for dealers to compete more aggressively for service work in today's market)
Dealers thrive with a longstanding reputation of being the best place to bring a vehicle for training, tooling, and quality parts.
You have a new vehicle that needs service, you take it to the source (for you, the place you bought it.)
Your entry into the facility is as simple as pulling up to an automated door.
You enter, and it almost feels like your vehicle is on something of an assembly line.
The vehicle is scanned, and you are greeted. The advisor has a tablet in hand - they confirm a few things, and then they usher you into a gorgeous waiting area, where you are quite sure you can survive in comfort, with enough food and drink to last several days.
Next is the car washes:
My son has managed a local car-wash, and this is one of the types that offers memberships, and has a relatively complicated screen based check in system if you don’t have a membership.
Frequently, the staff are greeting customers and helping them through the screen prompts, and of course, at the tunnel you have the task of guiding people into the wash safely… boy do we hear stories about THAT!
Lastly, I’ll mention Airport Car Rental Returns.
Traveling a great deal in my present role, I’ve become quite familiar with the car rental scene, and in particular, returning the rentals. It’s one of the only parts of the process that is almost always completely smooth. Staff guide you to a spot, greet you, and ask how things went. As you collect your things, they scan the car back, they remind you not to take the key, and they confirm you are all set, and point you to the terminal at the airport.
OK - I’ve described three very different scenes.
Now let me ask you a question.
Which of those three scenes do you think will most consistently generate the best conversations? The dealer lane? The Car Wash? Or the Car Rental Return?
Let me tell you from my experience… it’s the Car Rental Return!!!
Before you disagree with me or say “Well Craig… that’s a CHECK OUT, not a CHECK IN…”
That..
Is part of my reason for building into this topic this way, and starting with that question.
Conversation is not important to all customers, but for me, it is an absolutely critical part of building rapport, getting to know the client, and making sure they feel great about coming back again.
Let me ask another question: What are most interactions like in the dealer lane?
For me, they are always rushed. When you are in a place that feels like an assembly line, the last thing people like me want to do… is hold it up. Maybe that’s me. And my wife. We walk FASTER when we are in a crosswalk and traffic is waiting. That’s our personality, (We both tend to be people pleasers who avoid conflict) But the truth is this - I do NOT want to make people upset by doing something wrong in a system I am not familiar with.
In the dealer pull in - I feel rushed.
But that is somewhat beside the point.
In this environment, what is our dear dealer advisor focused on?
The device in their hand and the prompts on the screen.
Any attempt on my part to engage in conversation is stop-start.
Next Question then: What are you hoping to improve by greeting people on the vehicle side?
Seriously. Another question.
Is it for improving your process, or is it for improving the guest experience?
Is your guest experience improved by you being present at their vehicle, tablet in hand?
Consider those a moment - but let's consider the Car Wash next.
My family shop enjoyed having a car wash two doors down the street.
They had people out there with a stack of cash for change, and a bar of soap to write on the window the level of wash you selected. They were great.
Today, tablets dominate the scene, and the interface from the new car-wash chain (which also bought up the car wash near our family shop) is a complicated one, which frequently entices you to join as a member.
My son working as a manager became very aware that the car wash prompts on the screen were too complicated, and he consistently became a lead salesman for the memberships because he learned to engage clients warmly and help them. He skillfully greets people in an affirming way - and succinctly guides them to any deals that benefited them, and by being affable earned tips regularly.. But he is something of an anomaly, as the checkin flow of a car-wash is designed for efficiency and moving as many cars through as tight as possible.
It’s a convenience business - not very conversational - and rarely relational.
So here - Tablets and Screens actually DO seem to slow the customers down - and WOW it gets frustrating when you have more people behind you.
A question: Is it safe for staff to be around a vehicle being operated by clients?
When you are on foot around vehicles operated by members of the general public - my friends… you MUST be on guard.
My sincere and strong advice if you are considering greeting people at their vehicles - train your team on a plethora of best practices to stay safe and verify vehicles are in park, off, or whatever. The general public is prone to grave error in operating vehicles when they are in an unfamiliar setting and doubly so if they feel anxious due to perceived pressures.
The stories of mishaps from the car-wash have been entertaining some days, but severely worrisome on others.
Let's tie this in with some observations that curb the effectiveness of curbside check-ins.
Most shops are not trained for relational interactions. And curbside check-in has a digital context that puts the focus on the vehicle, not the person. THIS HAPPENS AT THE COUNTER TOO!! Put a tablet in someone's hands, though, and it becomes more transactional, and screen prompts are often too stringent. If a client starts talking about symptoms, and the advisor is still on a prompt where they are looking to enter something like mileage, they are not listening, and most likely missing key details or requiring our customer to repeat themselves when they properly recognize our compromised attention.
The primary reason most shops are attracted to the curb-side is to reduce steps.
Since advisors are often asked to get proper vehicle plates and VINS- they need to be at the car anyway, so this combines tasks. Implemented poorly, this feels like a quantity focus - not quality focus.
3.) Environments are not always favorable to this. Remember, it is impressive in dealerships because of the place itself, not so much the process.
Most independent shops have not the budget or the land area to create large pull in bays that are have no lifts, and no productive capabilities. Thus you are typically outdoors if you are doing curb side - which half the year in Michigan is too cold, and the other half is hot and humid. Either extreme will leave you eager to carry your conversation in a more controlled environment.
Those are a lot of cons.
What about the pros?
My opinion is just that - my opinion. But I caution making major investments or changes aimed at the curbside without clearly identifying what your purpose is behind it.
I’ve tried many times in my career, way before technology ever offered purported solutions, to achieve a check-in process that was more personal and undocked from the counter. All my efforts resulted in more double entries, slower detail gathering, and less fluid conversations.
In conclusion, I want you to think about the Car Rental Return - and why I’ve seen more genuinely warm conversations (in short time frames) there.
1.) The transactional stuff is done already.
2.) Natural curiosity generates questions
They never even mind when I walk around the car documenting the condition for MY protection.
I usually feel really good walking away from the car…
Unless it’s to a shuttle bus that is needed to get me to the terminal.. Oh man, do I like the airports that have the rental facilities attached!
Something to add? Something you’re curious about? Something you’d like to talk about? - email me here: speakup@craigoneill.net. I’d love to hear if your shop has been successful with curb-side check-ins (or checkouts!) And tell me if you call it curb-side or something else, for that matter!
We appreciate hearing from you on anything that helps, or suggestions on topics you’d like to hear us discuss on the show that will help you on YOUR communication journey!
Contact Information
- Email Craig O'Neill: speakup@craigoneill.net
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