Understanding Your Customers Real Needs - The Range Rover Experience
Posted 4th May 2014 at 02:21 AM by markdawes
I have been driving Range Rovers for many years now and I love them, and I wanted to tell you about my recent experience with my local Range Rover dealership that has resulted in me spending another £50,000 with them on a new car because it will help you understand better the true value of good customer service.
About a month ago I left my home to travel up to the North of England. I was due to attend a meeting about 120 miles away and then continue my journey further north where I was staying overnight to deliver a course the next day.
As usual I left in good time, but en-route my car developed a fault.
I immediately pulled over and called the dealership I had bought the car from two years earlier and then managed to limp the car back to them. Luckily I wasn't too far away from them.
On arrival at the dealership I was welcomed back like a long lost family member. I explained my predicament to them and that I was conscious about time as I had a very important meeting to attend and then a further drive for an overnight stay for a course I was delivering the next day.
My concern is that I don't like letting people down and I have never had to cancel a course in over twenty years. That is part of my commitment to my clients.
The Service Manager Mark at Range Rover told me not to worry and grab a coffee and that he would sort everything out. He immediately dispatched a senior service engineer to look at my car and told me he would be back with a solution for me.
Less than fifteen minutes later he came back and said that the fault had been diagnosed and that they needed to get the part ordered for my car, as they didn't have in stock so my car would not be ready for another day.
Yet even before I could say anything Mark (the Service Manager) informed me that they had already arranged for one of their other cars to be ready for me to use and that because all of my details were on file they would arrange all of the paperwork so that I could get on my way as quickly as possible.
They had even parked the vehicle they had arranged for me next to my car so that all of my kit could be transferred without any hassle and they dispatched a member of staff to organise that too.
The net result was that within an hour of my car developing the fault I was on the road again and I was able to make the meeting and keep my commitment to the training the next day.
The point of this story is that Range Rover and their team had anticipated my predicament and had put contingency plans in place even before I arrived at the dealership.
This is because Range Rover doesn’t just sell, maintain or repair cars. They also help solve their customer’s problems because they understand their customer’s needs and value the customer relationship.
My problem wasn't that the car had developed a fault. Cars are basically mechanical devices and as such they will develop faults. That is their nature as nothing can go on forever without parts needing replacing.
My real problem was that I would miss a very important meeting and maybe and possibly a training course the following day, or that I would have to make my own arrangements for alternative methods of transport.
For me, I will continue to buy my cars from them not just because I like Range Rovers. I will continue to by my cars from them because I know that they value me as a lifetime customer and that I will be properly looked after.
Therefore, the moral of the story is, look after your prospects and customers by learning to understand their needs and by helping them solve their problems.
It's not just about helping people make money because most people do not go into business just to make money. That is the other myth, but if you subscribe to my blog I will be posting a post on that very issue soon.
Also, if you genuinely like what your reading in my blog posts please do leave me a comment as it would be great to get some feedback from you.
About a month ago I left my home to travel up to the North of England. I was due to attend a meeting about 120 miles away and then continue my journey further north where I was staying overnight to deliver a course the next day.
As usual I left in good time, but en-route my car developed a fault.
I immediately pulled over and called the dealership I had bought the car from two years earlier and then managed to limp the car back to them. Luckily I wasn't too far away from them.
On arrival at the dealership I was welcomed back like a long lost family member. I explained my predicament to them and that I was conscious about time as I had a very important meeting to attend and then a further drive for an overnight stay for a course I was delivering the next day.
My concern is that I don't like letting people down and I have never had to cancel a course in over twenty years. That is part of my commitment to my clients.
The Service Manager Mark at Range Rover told me not to worry and grab a coffee and that he would sort everything out. He immediately dispatched a senior service engineer to look at my car and told me he would be back with a solution for me.
Less than fifteen minutes later he came back and said that the fault had been diagnosed and that they needed to get the part ordered for my car, as they didn't have in stock so my car would not be ready for another day.
Yet even before I could say anything Mark (the Service Manager) informed me that they had already arranged for one of their other cars to be ready for me to use and that because all of my details were on file they would arrange all of the paperwork so that I could get on my way as quickly as possible.
They had even parked the vehicle they had arranged for me next to my car so that all of my kit could be transferred without any hassle and they dispatched a member of staff to organise that too.
The net result was that within an hour of my car developing the fault I was on the road again and I was able to make the meeting and keep my commitment to the training the next day.
The point of this story is that Range Rover and their team had anticipated my predicament and had put contingency plans in place even before I arrived at the dealership.
This is because Range Rover doesn’t just sell, maintain or repair cars. They also help solve their customer’s problems because they understand their customer’s needs and value the customer relationship.
My problem wasn't that the car had developed a fault. Cars are basically mechanical devices and as such they will develop faults. That is their nature as nothing can go on forever without parts needing replacing.
My real problem was that I would miss a very important meeting and maybe and possibly a training course the following day, or that I would have to make my own arrangements for alternative methods of transport.
For me, I will continue to buy my cars from them not just because I like Range Rovers. I will continue to by my cars from them because I know that they value me as a lifetime customer and that I will be properly looked after.
Therefore, the moral of the story is, look after your prospects and customers by learning to understand their needs and by helping them solve their problems.
It's not just about helping people make money because most people do not go into business just to make money. That is the other myth, but if you subscribe to my blog I will be posting a post on that very issue soon.
Also, if you genuinely like what your reading in my blog posts please do leave me a comment as it would be great to get some feedback from you.
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