This month we welcome back Andrew McMillan, Principal at Engaging Service, who shares an anecdote that conveys how a simple and attentive service culture results in word-of-mouth business opportunities.
I've bought a new car since my last series of articles and the experience of doing so demonstrated all that can be good and bad about the sector along with an outcome I wasn't expecting. When I say new car, I mean new to me. I always pay cash for my cars and while the prospect of a brand new car is appealing, paying cash makes the initial year's depreciation all too visible, so I usually buy 12-18 months old. The car was for my wife to replace her Honda CRV. The replacement was to be an Audi Q3, a BMW X3 or a VW Tiguan and we would have been happy with any of those. The challenge was the specification which had to be Sport, diesel, automatic, sat nav and a sunroof - not an easy used car to find.
After a couple of months waiting we found one advertised in a franchised dealer. I phoned to make sure it was still available and arranged to travel the 40 miles to see it that afternoon. When we arrived there was no sign of the car so we walked into the showroom past three salesmen who sat at unoccupied at desks. None of them made any attempt to greet us. Eventually, I asked one about the car and was told 'it's in our service department so not available to view'. Not a great start but he offered to take us on a test drive in the demo which was the same but without leather upholstery, sat nav and sunroof.
The test drive was conducted well. When we got back to the showroom I said we would be happy to buy the car we had come to see subject to a visual inspection and asked for an exchange price on the Honda. We were told a price couldn't be given at that time since the manager was away, but we would be phoned with a price and to confirm the original car was ready for inspection the next day. Two days later and we hadn't heard, so I phoned to be told they still didn't have an exchange price available and the car we wanted had been sold all along - that's why it was in the service department. The salesman made no apology for this and tried to sell the demo model.
A month later and we saw another car while driving past a showroom just as the dealer was closing. They showed us the car but didn't offer a test drive as they were locking up. I would have thought a 20 minute delay for a potential sale of £25,000 would have been worth it. We arranged to drive the car the following Saturday at 11am. When we arrived we were taken to the car which wouldn't start. The battery was flat. So flat in fact that it wouldn't jump start and had to have a new battery fitted.
At 12.15pm we were asked to go back to the car and the salesman then discovered there was insufficient fuel in it for the test drive. The drive was pleasant enough and, against our better judgment after wasting much of our morning, we were still interested in the car. The salesman started his 'process' while his manager appraised our Honda. By 2pm his manager had still not come back to him with a price for our car so we left having wasted most of the day viewing an unprepared car and being forced through an inappropriate sales process.
Three months later and an Audi Q3 of the right specification was available in a car supermarket 60 miles away. Dreading the experience of a supermarket, but wanting the car, I phoned to see if it was still available. It was, and for a fully refundable £99 I could reserve it for 24 hours to make sure a 120 mile round trip wasn't wasted. As we entered, the car was parked in front of an immaculate customer reception area and Abbi, the salesperson I had been told would be dealing with us, was there and expecting our arrival.
The car was beautifully prepared and we went on the test drive which was conducted as well as those undertaken in the franchised dealers. We decided to buy the car and asked for a price on our own. We were warned the price might be low as they were a supermarket and that it wouldn't be negotiable - neither was the price of the Audi - all much more transparent and straightforward than the previous two encounters.
The price offered was no worse than the franchised dealers, but we decided to sell privately. We paid for the Audi and arranged to drive it home that afternoon which is when we encountered a problem - they didn't yet have the registration document as they had only just had the car in stock. Immediately, following a profuse apology, they offered to deliver the car for no additional charge in the next week.
We received two unprompted phone calls updating us on the delivery date and the car was delivered to our driveway, freshly valeted and with half a tank of diesel. Would I use them again if they had a car I wanted? Most certainly, it will be the first place I look. Would I recommend them to anyone looking for a used car? I have done so already on several occasions and know of at least one person who went on to buy from them.
So what? My point is that it isn't that difficult to impress a customer. However, two franchised dealers, charging what I would perceive to be premium prices, failed to deliver a premium service and for a £27,000 car, which is what I eventually spent, I expect some degree of interest, efficiency and to be treated as an individual - not that difficult, surely?•
Andrew McMillan
Organisations that spurn their most precious responsibility to create a remarkable customer experience will lose out to rivals who react proportionately to the high value they place on winning and keeping their customers. That's according to Andrew McMillan, Principal at Engaging Service, who specialises in customer experience and employee engagement. He is best known as the architect of John Lewis' customer-driven culture and now operates as a leading business consultant.