ELECTRONICALLY REPRINTED FROM JULY 1, 2013
fixed operations
Car chip speeds up store’s service process
When customer arrives, records appear on adviser’s tablet
Arlena Sawyers
asawyers@crain.com
t Audi Coral Springs, minutes
count. That’s why its service
department has technology
that recognizes when a customer’s vehicle arrives in its
service lanes.
The Coral Springs, Fla., dealership is
one of a growing number that equips
every new vehicle and some used vehicles it sells with Radio Frequency Identification tags, known as RFID.
When a customer is at the dealership, the vehicle owner’s name and
service records are sent wirelessly to
the service adviser’s tablet. The salesperson who sold the vehicle is notified
by e-mail or text.
The customer’s name also appears on
flat screen monitors in the service department with a personalized greeting.
When the RFID tag, embedded with a
tiny antenna and a microchip, comes
within proximity of other larger antennas throughout the service department, service information about the
vehicle is sent automatically from the
store’s dealership management system
to employees’ computers, tablets and
smartphones.
Bret Macy, the store’s general manager, says the system cuts about six minutes off of each customer’s repair order
time.
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Those minutes add up when a customer is waiting; they multiply into
hours considering the service department handles about 60 vehicles per day.
The tags help the dealership deliver
more personalized and efficient service, Macy says.
“All dealers are trying to speed up the
service process and make it more efficient for the customer because in return we get better CSI scores,” says Macy, who has been using the technology
in his service department for about a
year.
“Say the customer comes in for a
5,000-mile service — that’s typically 45
minutes to an hour. With the system
you can cut five to seven minutes off
because the car is recognized and we
know it’s here for a 5,000-mile service.
Privacy questions
Cresto’s tags are flat, about 4 inches
long and adhere to rearview mirrors.
They contain no personal information,
he says.
“The association is with vehicle VIN
number; there is no privacy issue,” he
adds.
MyDealerLot prices vary based on
the level of service and equipment.
Cresto says there is a one-time cost that
starts at $15,000 to cover the RFID readers and antennas, integration with
DMS and integration with software for
loaner car management applications
and sales analytics.
The price also covers equipment installation and training.
Subscriptions start at $999 a month,
and RFID tags are “well under $1” each,
Cresto says.
Last month, Lexus endorsed MyDealerLot for its dealers.
At Audi of Coral Springs, a tag on the customer’s rearview mirror is
detected when the vehicle arrives. A welcome message is displayed on
a screen in the service area and service records are instantly available.
❝
“All dealers are
trying to speed up
the service process
and make it more
efficient for the
customer because
in return we get
better CSI scores.”
❝
Minutes add up
Those are the customers that typically
wait, so every minute counts.”
Macy says antennas are located at
service area and car wash entrances
and exits.
The tags respond only to antennas at
the dealership, Macy says. They are
placed on all vehicles when they arrive
at the dealership. All customers are told
about the tags during the delivery
process.
George Cresto, founder and CEO of
MyDealerLot, a suburban Atlanta company that installs RFID technology in
dealerships around the country, says
there are about 1.7 million vehicles on
the road that have his tags.
He says his system integrates with
dealership management system software and software that manages loaner
vehicles in some luxury dealerships.
Bret Macy, Audi Coral Springs
Salespeople can be sent customer arrival information that includes “basic
deal information stored in the DMS, including payment information and
lease-end timing,” said Jim Anderson,
Lexus dealer development and technical operations manager.
Handling loaners, too
Andy Benedict, fixed operations director at BMW of Minnetonka (Minn.),
says his service department has used
the technology for about 3½ years. He
says it helps the loaner car drop-off and
vehicle pickup go smoothly.
Antennas at the dealership entrance
identify a loaner vehicle when it enters
the dealership property and notifies the
dealership service adviser, porter and
cashier.
The heads-up gives them a head start
retrieving the vehicle and having paperwork ready. It also helps them to
loan out about 45 vehicles a day, up
from about 25 a day two years ago,
without adding staff to retrieve those
vehicles.
“We’re a big store, so we park all of
our vehicles inside in a parking garage,”
says Benedict.
“We can dispatch somebody to get
the car before the customer lets us
know they’re here to pick up their car.
So we get to cheat a little bit.”
Benedict says the technology has a
“Wow factor” for most customers, but
some have privacy concerns. At least
one tag was removed at the customer’s
request, he says.
“All it does is send us the customer’s
[vehicle identification number], and it’s
only a system within our store,” he says.
“The downtown traffic camera is not
going to get any information off your
car.”
Posted with permission from the July 1, 2013 issue of Automotive News ® Copyright 2013. All rights reserved.
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