This may be why you don't Outsource your Chat on off hours..

[Tallcool1]

I did a "trial" with a managed chat service awhile back. I ended up cancelling the service. In my opinion, I like an after hours managed chat service to answer basic and general questions. I believe that as soon as a customer tries to go deeper than the basics, the vendor needs to come right out and tell the customer that they are not actually in the dealership and they just don't know the answer...rather than trying to take that customer down a path that they really don't want to go down. Ask if they can get the customer's contact information. If the customer says no, inform them that if they initiate a chat between 8:00 am and 7:00 pm that they will get someone that is actually on the premises.

To answer the question, I would rather have no after hours chat than a bad customer experience.

My ideal situation is when the dealership staff leaves for the day, the chat icon on the website disappears...rather than says "offline".

 

[Jeff Kershner]

I 100% disagree with your statement Jeff and I agree with Joe and Yago.

@subi101, which statement are you 100% disagreeing with?

I keep reading where some are disagreeing with me but yet I haven't really voiced a strong opinion on anything. Other than saying if this was the chat company that I hired for my dealership, and too many of the outsourced chat session chats went down like this example, I would discontinue their service.

Please, clarify what you disagree with me on so can have a healthy conversation around it.

 

[kevinfrye]

Not sure if I missed this, but was this an outsourced automotive chat provider? If it was, I would be doubly disappointed in the chat script I read. And if this case was typical of the chat experience, then I would rather not have outsourced chat for after hours.

We have chat will often provide great leads, with more information than any other lead we typically get. Put someone behind a keyboard and all of the information you ask them for in person or on the phone suddenly pours out into that chat. When you train your folks to read that chat transcript closely, they can often start piecing most of the deal together, and more important, they have all of the information they need to provide a personalized response.

We tested managing chat ourselves. I am certain that there are folks that do incredibly well at this, but in today's environment where car sales reps are already overwhelmed with everything they are supposed to be an expert at, asking them to be great at chat is one more item on the list. We found in most cases that our sales reps handling chat was NOT good. In this case, I say "pick and choose your battles". Paying a managed chat service can be a great investment to ensure a great chat experience while managing your expenses (as opposed to paying folks in-house to do it).

I agree that there is not a large percentage of people that utilize chat, BUT, chat is one more mode of communication that you can provide to accommodate those shoppers that prefer chatting rather than the phone.

 

[yagoparamo]

@subi101, which statement are you 100% disagreeing with?

I keep reading where some are disagreeing with me but yet I haven't really voiced a strong opinion on anything. Other than saying if this was the chat company that I hired for my dealership, and too many of the outsourced chat session chats went down like this example, I would discontinue their service.

Please, clarify what you disagree with me on so can have a healthy conversation around it.

JK,

Perhaps we misunderstood the intent of you post.

It looked to me like "don't work, fire the vendor" and my point was in many of the digital related services dealers are getting nowadays the dealer needs to work on it and adapt it to the needs of that particular dealer. We are no longer selling "plug and play" canned radio commercials.

I also scream fault to the pricing culture stablished in the automotive industry (and surprised no one else jumped on this). When it comes to a service, the vendor adapts to the request of the client.
You want to pay $1,500/month for chat? We will hire people in the U.S. You want to pay $800/month? we will hire people in South Africa. You want to pay $399/month? We will hire convicts in India and pay their government (fictional figures to illustrate a point).
There is a broken system in this industry where dealers argue prices for the sake or arguing and I strongly believe chat (and websites) has been on the of the programs that took one of the worst beatings.

 

[Alex Snyder]

...the notion that chat leads are a wonderful thing IF handled well.

"IF handled well" is the operative phrase. Subi, can you elaborate on how you handled chat well?

 

[Jeff Kershner]

JK,

Perhaps we misunderstood the intent of your post.

It looked to me like "don't work, fire the vendor" and my point was in many of the digital related services dealers are getting nowadays the dealer needs to work on it and adapt it to the needs of that particular dealer. We are no longer selling "plug and play" canned radio commercials.

I thought my intent was clear, as I even summarized it within a few questions at the end.

"This particular outsourced chat example VS No chat during off hours? Which one would you rather have?
Do you think a chat like this has any influence on the consumer?"

Not trying to come off like a bully, just asking that we all take the time read what others are writing before commenting back. We've all become "headline readers". We read the headline/title, skim the the rest and then comment. We have some great conversation here but sometimes they tend to go down the rabbit whole when we don't read.

 

[subi101]

Jeff, it seems that maybe I misunderstood but I took "And this may be why you DO NOT outsource your off hour website chat" as a stance on why dealers shouldn't outsource after hours chat. Again, I say that this isn't my ideal situation and that you can find partners who do it really well OR do after hours chat realllly well with the right in-house team, culture, and training, but to conclude that after hour chats or outsourcing chat are bad ideas completely... I think is unfair. I disagree with that notion because I have tested and tried and found partnerships that worked and chat companies that work within the structure of the dealerships I was working with. We've concluded as a group that not every dealership structure works for the other and that humans err... so I assume we're only debating specifically after hours chat through a vendor?

Does every single service now need partnering on the dealership side... yes. I agree with Yago that the insane pricing structures we've created make many things difficult. However, in this industry we take service from the vendor to a whole new level. Have you worked with salesforce or chat providers outside of automotive or any services outside of automotive? Every company that I've ever worked before and after joining the Automotive industry has taken partnership and work on my end to get it where I need to be... especially with customer service. I'm starting to rant so I'll stop there to see your responses, but why are the rules so different in automotive. I haven't heard a single real reason why it should be. If I want something in the right tone, voice, or way for my company... I demand it, work with them, and monitor to make sure it sticks. That's me anyways...

Alex, I believe that handling chat well doesn't come down to scripting, but moreso...
1. Training the individuals on customer service first and foremost
2. Providing them with scripts that give them every if/then scenario we as dealers are faced with (and when there is a new scenario... have the whisper feature to get a manager more apt to answer get in there, then create a new if/then scenario to add to the list)
3. Teaching them how to use scripts loosely instead of in a robotic manner
4. Most importantly, coaching them on the VOICE of the dealership and engraining in them the culture you are trying to promote. Simple things like mission statements, service values (like the ritz carlton), and providing each person a contact to reference on the floor if needed all help make chat a great way to drop the walls before they get there, increase appointments and show ratios, and sell cars.
I don't know if that answers your question?

 

[subi101]

I thought my intent was clear, as I even summarized it within a few questions at the end.

"This particular outsourced chat example VS No chat during off hours? Which one would you rather have?
Do you think a chat like this has any influence on the consumer?"

Not trying to come off like a bully, just asking that we all take the time read what others are writing before commenting back. We've all become "headline readers". We read the headline/title, skim the the rest and then comment. We have some great conversation here but sometimes they tend to go down the rabbit whole when we don't read.

That is true. I did go through and read your response and from my point of view it seemed like you were taking a stance. I see you were asking a question, but at the same time your question almost seemed rhetorical in that your position was against after hour chats because of your experience. I apologize if I misunderstood. And so I ask, what is your position?

 

[Jeff Kershner]

That is true. I did go through and read your response and from my point of view it seemed like you were taking a stance. I see you were asking a question, but at the same time your question almost seemed rhetorical in that your position was against after hour chats because of your experience. I apologize if I misunderstood. And so I ask, what is your position?

It's on page one - http://forum.dealerrefresh.com/thre...ource-your-chat-on-off-hours.4233/#post-36471



I've been defending out-sourced chat for years now. I've written several blogs in its defense and why most dealers should not be chatting in house. Maybe I assume that most of the community members know where I stand on this topic. I forget we have new followers or some that only scan and not read.

 

[Jeff Kershner]

Summarize some of the thoughts and conversation around the original questions and intent of this thread.

1. If you are going to outsource your chat during off hours, take the time to review transcrips and even shop a dealer using their service. You could be really nice and let the dealership know that you're doing this.

2. If you're already signed up with a chat service, and they are wasting your chat sessions during off hours, be sure to mystery shop yourself and randomly review chat transcripts.

I had it set up where I would get a transcript of each chat session by email within minutes after the chat was completed. This could potentially slaughter your inbox if you're a big organization but for most dealerships it's very manageable.

3. Most agree that you're better off without chat vs allowing a potential client to have a bad chat experience - such as the example I shared.

The influence a bad chat experience has on a potential customer is one that's not good for business. You have one shot! And it's yours to loose. That shity chat experience the customer recieved when you're dealership website could have potentially blown a deal.