I was on my way to work last week when my car wouldn’t start, dead battery; I tried to jump it but it wouldn’t even budge—nothing not even a click. I call the dealer where I bought it (along with five other cars) and I finally get through to the service department and eventually to a service advisor. I tell him who I am and that I believe I have a dead battery and that I need to get it towed there to get it fixed. The advisor says “Ok…call a wrecker and get it down here.” I swear…that is what he said, no compassion, no empathy,  and no inquiring questions…just “call a wrecker.”
I said that I didn’t know who to call, so he rattles off a phone number in a hurry and tells me to have a good day. Well I was not having a good day and it was obvious that he didn’t want to help me, so called someone else—the local Firestone store. I had been there twice before, both times on Saturday afternoons when my dealer was closed and for the record: Both experiences were exceptional.
When I called Firestone, a guy named Jordan politely answered and after my story he said, “Oh, I am sorry you are having trouble. Are you in any immediate danger, on the side of the road anything like that? Did you try to jump it? Did it make a noise? Are the lights dim or bright? Don’t worry I will handle this for you. Let’s do this…give me your address and phone number and I will have a wrecker company come right over and get you and the car. They will call you in a few minutes for directions, if that’s ok…and we will get the car here, diagnose what’s wrong and get you a quote. We don’t stock the battery for your car so I will go ahead now and get one delivered, because it probably is just the battery and that way we can speed up the process.” Wow, Wow!
The wrecker calls, loads up the car, and I remembered having the battery replaced last year under warranty so I had him take it to the other dealership in town (not the one I called earlier) instead of Firestone. Long story short, I had to pay $235 for the battery at the dealership because it wasn’t under warranty because the other one was replaced under warranty, so this one isn’t…who can figure this out?
So here is the kicker: My phone rings and it is Jordan from Firestone. He wanted to make sure I was alright since the wrecker hadn’t made it there with my car yet and he had a battery delivered and ready to install. I felt so bad. I apologized. I should have called him…I guess I just wasn’t expecting anyone to really care or do what they really should do…but he did. He was prepared, accommodating, attentive, aggressive, and genuinely concerned. How many of your customers have felt that way? How many wont go back because their (your) service advisor didn’t care or even act like he cared? Today you need every customer you can get. Talk to your advisors about situations like this and remind them that the phone is a helpline…not a referral service.
Randy Johnson is president of Car People Marketing, a leading provider of customer retention and service marketing systems for auto dealers. He can be reached at 866-227-7337 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .