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Customer Interaction App Enables Lexus of Jacksonville to Keep Service Department Running During Massive Power Outage

LONG BEACH, , CALIFORNIA, USA, January 9, 2017 /EINPresswire.com/ -- myKaarma, the cloud based conversational commerce software that’s revolutionizing the auto service industry, today announced that Lexus of Jacksonville has been able to keep its service department up and running despite losing power and phones by maintaining two way interaction with customers and allowing them to view and pay for service recommendations via the myKaarma platform.

According to Khai Ferguson, service manager at Lexus of Jacksonville, a direct lightning strike close to the building caused the dealership to lose power for several hours. The computers had battery backup for a couple of hours but there was no power. The phone system was tied into the power so it was down, the dealership only had partial Internet use and no access to customer files. The phones were not fully operational for two whole days, but this did not affect operations in the service department.

“We would have had to shut things down were it not for myKaarma. It’s a lifesaver. We had another lightning strike and power outage today and it enabled us to text updates and service recommendations to our customers, get approvals and even have them pay through the platform. I had one elderly customer who really needed her vehicle done. She had called in, was unable to reach us and was very concerned. I was able to reach her via text, send recommendations and she was able to review and pay for them online through the myKaarma app,” Ferguson said.

Approximately two years ago Lexus of Jacksonville was using email and phone calls to reach their service customers with updates and to get approval for recommendations. Service advisors were frustrated by the amount of time it took to get recommendations approved and customer calls tended to go straight to voicemail, leaving the customer less than satisfied with the service experience. The dealership was looking for a way to improve customer interaction and came across myKaarma.

“Email and voicemail are nowhere near as effective as text. Customers are bombarded with emails and they tend to go straight to spam. Now a text message pops up and the customer can quickly respond. Even elderly people use text these days as their grandkids tend to teach them. Our authorization time has reduced from something like two hours to a matter of minutes. That is a huge time saving and increase in productivity for our dealership. Our customers love it, as do our service advisors. If I tried to take this away from them I think there would literally be a riot,” Ferguson commented.

Lexus of Jacksonville has 25 service bays, 23 techs, 8 service advisors and writes approximately 80 ROs per day. With myKaarma the service advisors can text or call the customer from their smartphones or tablets with one recognizable service department number, or email the customer through the platform via their desktop computer. All communication is logged within the platform for future reference.

When a service advisor is on break and the customer needs to get in contact, “follow-me” technology sends the message to the service advisor’s smartphone, allowing them to reply even when not at their desk, while capturing the message in the cloud. Or the service advisor can delegate the message to another service advisor to handle. Instead of struggling to connect through phone tag, the advisor can update and get authorization from the customer in minutes.
When the customer’s vehicle is done a payment request is sent to that customer through the app with a cash repair invoice, allowing the customer to verify repairs and pay on their smartphone tablet, or PC, without logging into a website.

“A good forty percent of our customers now pay online directly through the app,” Ferguson said. “This truly is technology in action -- imagine how much time that saves, how much more productive our personnel can be and how much more satisfied our customers are as a result.”

Ferguson also likes the accountability that the platform provides. All calls are recorded and searchable so that the service manager can review and help any advisor that has a problem or a dispute with a customer over recommendations. The service manager can also check in on any text interactions between advisors and customers to ensure that everything is going smoothly.

“Our authorization disputes have reduced by more than fifty percent, productivity has improved by more than fifty percent and we have seen a substantial increase in our CSI as a result of this technology. It truly has enhanced the retail experience for our service customers,” Ferguson stated.

For more information, or to schedule a product demonstration, stop by booth # 5501 at NADA 100 in New Orleans, LA, Jan 27-29, 2017, or visit www.mykaarma.com

About myKaarma:

myKaarma is a conversational commerce software company for automotive dealerships that focuses on enhancing the retail service department experience. myKaarma's platform gives dealers the ability to offer their customers 21st Century technology through digital conversations and smart payment systems.

SARA CALLAHAN
Carter West Public Relations
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