Car Dealers: What Should They Offer Consumers?
They claim to offer so much more than just being able to sell you a car, but how much more should car dealers really offer us? After-sales care regularly consists of a variety of service plans, additional parts, and extended warranties that will keep customers coming back for more and more – long-term incentives to keep us all happy.
But what should car dealers really offer us? What do we really need? Consider for a moment our latest national crisis: the weather. After the last arctic front made its icy presence felt once again these last winter months, one of the biggest things that has affected our driving has been the state of bad weather leaving our roads. A recent survey by The Guild of Experienced Motorists (GEM) found that more than half of the nation’s drivers have been in an accident or near misses after trying to avoid a pothole. More than half of motorists also admit that potholes have damaged their vehicle.
So what does a cocktail of car damage and potential insurance claims have to do with car dealers? Well, surely, if you want to offer us something practical in your after-sales services, wouldn’t something like a pothole detector kit be beneficial? Ok it’s ridiculous I know … but doesn’t that sound useful? If satellite navigation systems can tell us which roads to use and which to avoid on a busy morning, then they couldn’t.
Will it update to tell us where the latest hazards have been detected? It could even be called PotWatchTM! The least they can offer us is a nice free pair of gloves to keep us warm when we change that flat tire in the freezing cold!
To be fair, it is the responsibility of city councils for the condition of our roads, but I would like to see some of the people (i.e. businesses) who benefit financially from the auto industry take the lead when it comes to helping us U.S. road users, and not necessarily for additional income. Shouldn’t the “total customer satisfaction” that so many dealers claim to offer deliver benefits to customers that will help them return loyally time and time again? If so, surely not all parts of after-sales service should just be about making more money from us in the short term. Come on car dealers, think sideways! In the long run, it’s the little things that often make the difference. Little things like potholes, for example.
