News - June 19, 2009
Parts Counter Reference Guide
Each dealer should have received a copy of the latest Parts Counter Reference Guide. Please note that the accessories section only lists accessories thru 2008. For 2009 accessories, please refer to the current Features & Benefits Guide.
Radio Reference Guide
Included with the Parts Counter Reference Guide, is the "Radio Reference Guide". Currently the guide lists color illustrations, manufacturer, vehicle application, and part number information.
This document is also available for download under the P/N Reference Charts section of this site.
Customer Email addresses – Do you collect them?
You might wonder why we continue to ask you to collect email addresses. Email has become the easiest way for us to follow-up with our customers, and it’s a great way for you to remind your customers of appointments, market to them, etc. The question is, “Do you and your service advisors ask your customers for their email addresses each and every time?” It’s an important step in the process of filling out the RO and updating customer information.
So, do you and your advisors ask for email addresses? And if you ask for each email address, do customers give them to you? If the answer is “YES”, then great. Keep up the good work! If the answer is “NO”, there are a few things to think about.
Do you and your advisors do the following...
- Fill in the email field with anything just to identify that you’ve asked? If so, you should know … N/A, None, No email, etc. are just a waste of typing. Yes, the customer may not have an email now, but he/she may get one. The idea is to leave the field blank. If this field has information in it that is not an email address, it impacts a number of other areas outside of the dealership.
- Enter anything because you’re not sure what else to do? If so, keep in mind…The intention of the email address capture field is for email addresses only, not to identify whether the question was asked. None@none.com isn’t helpful. It’s best to leave it blank.
- Make up an email address because you plan to take the survey for the customer to increase your chances of qualifying for the Award programs? If so, cheaters beware…In the last two months, 5 dealers have been kicked out of the Award programs because they took the surveys for their customers. Please don’t think it stops at email invites. Postcards and Paper surveys are also monitored. Cheating is just a bad idea all the way around. In the end, not only will it impact you, but your entire dealership will be ineligible for the Award programs. It’s a quick way to make enemies.
Morale of the story, filling in the email address field is good - when it’s a valid email address. Filling it in with anything else only makes more confusion, more work and potentially gets more dealers kicked out of the Award programs. So, please continue to ask for email addresses during the RO process and fill it in if it’s valid. If not, leave it blank and try again next time.