Lexus wants to emphasize its easy-to-use technology in its cars by hiring specialists to emphasize these features in their dealerships. What they’re doing is not unlike Apple and their famous Genius Bars.
“We’re focusing on improving the delivery process, so [dealers] are hiring for new positions aimed at improving customer satisfaction,” said Mark Templin, general manager of the Lexus division.
Lexus is looking to increase their sales departments by as much as 20 percent at their 230 U.S. dealers. They know they have to do a better job of helping their customers understand and fully utilize the intricacies of the proliferation of new interior technologies, from Bluetooth to digital-audio systems to the brand’s Enform telematics system to in-car internet connectivity; its customer-service lines got 13,000 calls last year about navigation, audio and other infotainment technologies, up from about 5,000 calls two years earlier.
Lexus dealers send personnel to Lexus College in California for a half week’s training in the brand’s new initiative, with a total of 2,400 dealership personnel expected to go through it by the end of June. Many will become full time “delivery” or “technology” specialists, an idea Lexus borrowed from Apple’s in-store Genius Bar as well as from a handful of its own dealers who had been using it.
“Technology issues are easier to explain at the dealership when you’re with a real live person as opposed to doing it over the phone,” said Salisbury. “That’s what’s really driving this.”
Source: Brand Channel
