Seeing a Problem and Finding the Solution
Based in Tennessee, Andrews Cadillac is a family-owned dealership that has been serving the community since the early 1970s. Known for their commitment to customer-centered service and building long-term relationships, Andrews Cadillac continually seeks ways to enhance both operational efficiency and customer experience.
Andrews Cadillac knew they needed to find better reporting, wrangle third party software, and provide a better customer experience. By switching to a single-system, they have streamlined their processes and are now able to devote time and attention to every customer.
Transforming Fixed Operations
Having worked in their service department for over 18 years, Service Manager Katie Carter wanted to make sure they had the most efficient processes in place. With their previous processes, advisors and technicians were wasting a lot of time walking and they didn't have efficient communication.
“We tried implementing Xtime, but it wasn’t meeting our needs. I did not have a pulse on what was happening in my service drive. I had to run long reports at the end of the month and try to decipher what was going on. I would send advisors a report of declined services to follow up on, but it wasn’t happening. I knew we needed a better way,” said Carter.
Carter also noted that with Advanced Service, she has more robust reporting. "I can track anything, such as close ratios for report card or non-report card items, outstanding services, and more."
“It keeps everyone on the same page and it makes my job easier.”
Once they implemented Advanced Service, they saw immediate efficiency improvements. Their staff can send quotes to parts or advisors right from computers, cutting down on two hours of wasted time a day per person. Communication throughout departments is better and they are experiencing less manual effort.
They’ve seen incredible results since implementing Advanced Service:
-
Effective labor rate went from $75 to $85 in one year.
-
Hours per RO increased from 2.3 to 2.8.
-
Gross profit is up to $57,000, a 35% increase from the last year.
$100,000
service sales increase.
No More Missed Connections
Andrews Cadillac Company dealerships sell premium brands, so they wanted to focus on offering their customers a premium experience. One of the biggest pain points for them was their phone system. It was not efficient. They were using an Avaya phone system and because it was separate from their DMS and CRM, a lot of time was spent trying to get them to integrate. They had to pull CRM records into the phone system though a separate data connection and it was not a productive process.
Nelson Andrews, dealer principal at Andrews Cadillac and Land Rover Nashville, said once they switched to Reynolds Integrated Telephone System (RITS), it all connected and worked together seamlessly. He said, “This makes follow-up easier for our sales team and management loves it. It makes our receptionists’ job more efficient because the customer information populates as the calls come in.”
They also found an opportunity for training and education with RITS. The call recordings became a powerful tool for them. Andrews said that some of his sales staff take the initiative to listen to their own calls and are critical to what they can do better. He also likes the security the recordings bring him saying “It is also nice having the recordings in our back pocket if we need them for a customer dispute.”
“It’s like having email trails; we have the facts to handle the issue immediately.”
Checkout Without the Hassle
Customer experience is the main focus of the Andrews Cadillac dealerships. They want to do business in the way their customers want to do business. With their old processes, the way customers pad for service was inconvenient and they couldn’t pay online.
Controller, Carol Edwards, also expressed how credit card payments were a hassle in the accounting office. If they had a transposition error, they would have to call the customer and get their information again. An incorrect entry could take a long time to fix. Reconciliations were cumbersome and time-consuming.
“ReyPAY® has greatly improved our customer experience. It gives customers the option to pay online and makes the checkout process much quicker. We love having the ability to give our customers options to do business their way,” said Edwards. They can now save customers’ credit card numbers, so it is easier to ask to use the card on file. The payment process is easier and looks professional to customers.
For their employees, ReyPAY has made the accounting process more efficient. Everything comes in one package and they don’t spend time reconciling or checking for errors.
“We don’t worry about incorrect entries because the system automatically inputs the information. It has saved us 45 minutes a day and makes finishing our daily work much more efficient.”
