Dealership etiquette – What great service looks like

By Lawrence Minnie

With many of us rather going online to look for cars, instead of visiting showrooms to shop around, when we walk into a dealership it generally means that we are in the semi-final stages of the car-buying journey and ready to make a purchase.

This is a critical time for the dealership, and often, the way the customer is treated will decide whether a sale is made or not….so here’s what great service looks like:

You should always be greeted with a friendly smile

By default, you should be greeted with a welcoming attitude - a customer that strolls around the showroom unattended, will often leave never to return.

The salesman should treat you as if you’re the sale of the day

We all like to feel special, especially if we’re about to make a big purchase. A salesman who treats you with dignity and respect is doing things right. If they have good coffee, even better!

He shouldn’t be getting too technical…

Some salespersons try and confuse you with technobabble. He should be explaining the things that really matter to you, in a way that you can understand. If he doesn’t, ask him to explain in layman’s terms, instead of trying to sound clever.

The sales rep should be patient and helpful

The entire car-buying journey can be overwhelming, so if a salesperson is impatient and doesn’t sound keen to help or to explain certain details, you can rest assured that you will find another sales person at a different dealership, who would love to go into the finer details without getting annoyed.

He shouldn’t be too pushy

You know what your financial limits are – if he’s trying to force you into buying lots of extras, be firm and tell him that you are not interested. Yet again, there are many dealerships and many cars out there.

You should always be kept in the loop

This is probably the most critical part of dealership etiquette; keeping the customer informed. Whether it be the status of your finance application, to answering questions about the car you want to buy, an informed customer is a happy customer. if you have to nag the dealership for critical information, be sure to let the dealer principal know.