Service customers want, but mostly aren't getting, valet treatment

Numerous studies conclude that one of the most effective ways a dealership can boost service satisfaction and loyalty — while improving a shop's workflow — is to pick up service customers' vehicles from their homes or workplaces and return them once the job is completed. But a new survey suggests that fewer than one-third of customers are offered any kind of valet service.

Last month, DealerRater polled for Fixed Ops Journal more than 6,000 consumers who recently scheduled service visits at franchised new-vehicle dealerships. Asked whether the dealership had offered to pick up and drop off their cars or trucks, 32 percent said the store had done so, while 45 percent said there was no such offer and 23 percent said they didn't know or couldn't recall.

Luxury-brand dealerships were much more likely to provide valet service in some form (41 percent of customers reported a dealership offer) than dealerships selling mass-market brands (30 percent), according to the survey.

Definitions of valet service can vary widely among dealerships. Some dealerships charge a fee or impose tight distance restrictions and other conditions. Some stores provide loaner vehicles of comparable value to valet customers, while others do not.

According to the most recent Cox Automotive Service Industry Study, conducted last year, 36 percent of consumers are interested in valet service, while 28 percent of dealerships provide it in some fashion. But Cox Automotive Vice President Jim Roche notes that such service often is limited; he estimates that fewer than 10 percent of dealerships provide what he calls full "white glove" valet service to shop customers.