By Nathan Cooper, Product Marketing Manager
Last week we visited Group 1 Borehamwood to spend some time with their Aftersales Manager, Harry Gill.
Harry was kind enough to share his thoughts with us on some of the digital processes he has on site and also show us how they utilise their digital check in solution via Tjekvik in conjunction with REALtime Communications (RTC) aftersales solutions.
Walking into the showroom we were greeted by two Tjekvik terminals, hosted by the reception team. They welcomed customers as they came in and walked them through the check in process if they needed support on the terminal. Some customers had already checked in online so were at the terminal for a few seconds, others were checking in for the first time and the reception team help them through the process where needed.
Harry explained, “We like to deliver a blended approach for our customers. The mix of digital solutions and the personal touch of the reception team we feel works best for us. We receive some fantastic feedback from customers as we are offering them choice, which is perfect as our customer demographic goes from tech savvy to customers, to those that still want to hand the keys to a member of staff.”
As we stood in reception talking to Harry, a number of customers came in everyone used the terminals with ease before taking a seat and grabbing a complementary tea or coffee.
We sat and talk to Harry more about what happens next now the customer is checked in.
“During the check in process via the Tjekvik customers are presented with upsell items, this might be a service offer or similar promotion we are running. The terminal logs everything they have selected and the status of that job is updated straight away in RTC. As the connection to the RTC software is instant we can start to track that customer through the workshop. It means that our Service Advisors and Technician are in sync and know where the customer vehicle is in the process.
Once the Technician has completed the eVHC through RTC on the vehicle any required work is flagged in the system and the work is raised with the customer for authorisation. Similar to the check in process we like a blended approach. Some customers are happy to approve their work online after viewing the supporting media, others like to speak to the Service Advisor to find out more, especially if there is a big piece of work needed that is expensive.”
As we finished our coffee we talked about the evolving process and technology in aftersales teams and how dealers are keen to embrace the change as its making them more efficient and delivering better customer outcomes.
“Our CSI feedback is excellent” commented Harry, “but we are always looking to do more to support the customers, but from an operational perspective we are keen to find ways to increase profit as well. We have found the uplift in revenue from using Tjekvik as well as RTC covers the cost of the software and then some, meaning we are more efficient and profitable as a result of these solutions. It’s a great mix for us and we are looking forward to doing more with our partners in the future.”
