He says he likes "the immediacy of the alert" and the details provided in the verbatim comments. "We've got some background" about the problem, Reilly says, "so we can start the conversation [with the customer] knowledgeably." He's also happy that the system is easy for consumers and the dealership to use.
When a complaint pops up, Reilly gets in touch with his service manager, Gerald Acevedo, who also gets the review, about remedying the problem. "He reaches out to the customer right away," Reilly says. "If it's an open concern, we'll take care of it. If it's closed, we'll do something extra for you."
If, say, service took longer than the customer felt it should, Acevedo can say, "You're right. We apologize," Reilly says. Acevedo will give the person his cell phone number and promise a free oil change the next time the vehicle needs it.
"Customers really appreciate that we're on top of it and that we care about them," Reilly says. Often, they are surprised to hear from the dealership so quickly. Sometimes, he says, they're so satisfied that they upgrade a one- or two-star rating to five stars.
Reilly says Hyundai's new streamlined traditional questionnaire is helpful, too. It provides valuable verbatim comments from customers, unlike the previous survey.
Reilly says both the quickie review and longer survey help him manage the business. In the case of a long wait for service, the solution may be "training our staff to be more realistic [about wait time estimates] and explain to the customer what's going on."
"Or maybe our online scheduling business is making too many appointments" sometimes, he says. That, too, can be fixed.
Over time, the longer survey can help him evaluate employees, Reilly says. "As the data populates, we can tell if this technician is doing a better job than another one. It's useful at the technician and adviser level."
