Raising the Bar on Service
This Editorial appears in the April 20 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today.
A few more customers may be peeking into the showroom, but buying volume continues to limp along near 25-year lows, according to the latest report on Class 8 truck sales. Medium-class trucks are not even drawing many tire-kickers, apparently. Upticks in order numbers come along and pump a little air into salesmen’s hopes; the following week they flatline again. (Click here for related story.)
Whatever the antithesis of a silver lining is, that’s what served as a backdrop to the American Truck Dealers convention, held a few days ago in suburban Washington. Not surprisingly, dealers discussed techniques for surviving this rough patch, which means getting the most out of their usually reliable profit center: parts and service.
The health of truck sales, of course, is not likely to turn for the better until the truck-operating community springs back to life. But for many dealers, even the parts-and-service business is wilting. Obviously, a truck that isn’t hauling freight doesn’t need service. And some trucks still on the road are not being brought in as often as before, as owners and operators grow increasingly frugal with their dollars.
As an antidote, dealers were advised at their convention to raise their profiles with their customers and to redouble their efforts at overcoming negative perceptions about service quality and price.
Indeed, dealers were reminded that the battle of perceptions is constant. Any trouble a customer experiences over a repair estimate, completion schedule, warranty, final invoice or any other expectation reinforces stereotypes about dealers.
In short, strengthening customer relations is sound business.
Members of American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council recognized this truism when, in February, they approved formation of a committee — comprising truck dealers, independent maintenance shops and fleet managers — to develop recommended practices that would go to the heart of long-standing issues between service providers and truckers.
A consensus on best practices sounds like a good way to defuse the blame game. Finger-pointing, it turns out, is a two-way street. Dealers have their own grievances about customers, not the least of which is that they cling to unrealistic expectations and groundless misperceptions.
TMC wants to create industry standards for providing repair diagnosis within a specified time, determining warranty coverage and estimating and approving repairs.
Airing grievances and explaining realities during deliberations can’t help but clear the air. The ultimate goal, committee leaders said, is to raise the bar on service.
