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Farewell Column
It?s hard to believe that a year has passed since I wrote my first Wheels column as President of the Toronto Automobile Dealers? Association (TADA). Trying to write a fresh, engaging column every week has been more work than I imagined, but it has also been a stimulating and rewarding experience.
Over the past year, I have received hundreds of emails from readers in response to the columns. Some readers agreed with my positions, and others did not.
Based on the feedback I received, new-car dealerships are on the road to winning the public perception battles, but they still have more work to do in changing public attitudes about our industry.
Fueling the ?bad dealership? perception/stereotype has become a profitable business for many ?consumer advocacy groups?. These businesses (and they are businesses) exist solely to sell their services to the public by perpetuating negative images about new-car dealerships. Why would these modern?day ?Robin Hoods? harm their own businesses by admitting that the majority of new-car dealerships are good, honest enterprises that operate with integrity?
My role as President of the TADA is a volunteer position, and I would not be volunteering my time, nor representing dealers, if our industry is as bad as some people portray it to be.
It?s not only dealerships saying that we?re doing an outstanding job. Customers echo this sentiment as well: Customer Satisfaction Surveys, from all car manufacturers, consistently report ratings that top 90%. The automotive industry is getting the job done better than most other industries.
However, that?s not to say that our industry is without flaws. Some manufacturers and dealerships fail their customers; consequently, our industry suffers as a whole. So, when problems occur, vehicle owners should speak up, since the most successful manufacturers and new-car dealerships will bend over backwards to find solutions that are fair and equitable for their customers.
Today, dealership owners invest many millions of dollars in their businesses, and they realize that every customer interaction affords them an opportunity for their dealership to succeed or fail. Increasingly, modern dealerships are focusing on improving customer retention and loyalty. Dealerships are better off spending $100 to save a customer, than spending thousands in advertising to try to find new customers.
It takes years to build a good reputation, and a very short time to develop a bad one. The customer is not always right, but the customer is always the customer, and as such, he/she deserves to be looked after.
At times, a new customer will arrive in ?damaged condition?, exhibiting a very aggressive and antagonistic attitude due to a bad experience at another dealership. Dealers, too, have had bad experiences with some customers, but none of this should ?poison the waters? for fresh opportunities with a new dealership or a new customer.
Dealerships that will grow and prosper are the ones that attempt to build ?customers for life? relationships. When you consider that the average consumer will buy more than 10 vehicles in his/her lifetime, the word-of-mouth opportunities for ?repeat? and ?referral? business are tremendous.
Have my columns had an impact upon readers? I?d like to think that some of my ideas have challenged readers to re-think their perceptions about new-car dealerships and about the automotive industry. The automotive dealership of today is a far cry from the dealership of the 60s and 70s.
Next week, Paul Stern will take over the reigns as Dealers? Choice columnist in Wheels. Paul is the new President of TADA and a 25-year veteran in the retail automotive industry.
I want to extend a special thank you to my brother (and co-owner), Paul, and to my wife, Carolyn, for their invaluable suggestions and insights in helping me to produce these weekly columns. Their assistance has been deeply appreciated. (To view any of the columns, visit www.tada.ca.)
In closing, I wish to extend the most important, final thank you. In 1968, a 42 year-old father took his 16 year-old son to work at his Toyota dealership and introduced this son to an exciting industry. For the next 35 years, he worked extremely hard in teaching his son everything he knew ? thanks Dad.
Ken Shaw Jr. is President of the Toronto Automobile Dealers Association and is a new-car dealer in Toronto. E-mail comments to president@tada.ca
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