Rich Purinton
Service Manager
Hillsboro, Oregon
My dealership began using eScheduling because our customers demanded it. We operate in a region with a lot of technology companies and technically-oriented people. Intel is the top employer among our customer base. Many of my customers tell me, "don't try to reach me on the phone; just send me an e-mail."
I've looked at solutions that claim to handle appointments online, and eScheduling is the first one that really worked. We do everything through eScheduling now. I was worried that my service advisors and other staff wouldn't like it, but they really took to it. It wasn't hard to learn, it's extremely easy to use on an everyday basis, and anytime we've had the slightest problem the support has been right there for us. So it's been a great experience for us.
Our entire dealership uses it now. When a customer's part has arrived, the parts desk will tell the customer how they can schedule their service appointment online. If the customer isn't comfortable using eScheduling, then the person at the parts desk can use eScheduling to make the appointment. With eScheduling, we can make a first service appointment on the day the customer purchases the vehicle. When we get the owner to come back to us for that first service, then it's up to us in the service department to make a great first impression. Instead of a one-time purchase, we can win a lifetime customer.
One of the best features of the system is the automatic e-mail notification. The appointment confirmations and reminders are so good, one of my customers said, "I'd be embarrassed to not show up for my appointment."
I'm not obsessed with technology for its own sake. I was dragged into online scheduling by my customers. So I had a lot of initial concerns, such as how eScheduling could integrate with our ADP system. I was afraid I'd have to enter things into both systems. But once things are set up, it just works. Now we do almost everything through eScheduling. You can customize the system to make it as sophisticated as you want. Right now, I've set up 77 different service operations in the system, and my advisors created a list for the additional ops they want me to set up next.
The eScheduling service is a great value. Anything that makes my dealership easier to do business with is going to help my bottom line. When my customers see my dealership as the most convenient way to get professional service for their vehicles, they tell other people, and that word-of-mouth advertising is the best kind there is.
Customer Search Performance Improvements
