Ford Dealer Asking For EV Input

[EricAtKearnyMesaFord]

Hey All!

My name is Eric and I am a manager at a dealership in Southern California. If any of you have cross-shopped the Bronco, you may know me from the Bronco6G forums.
https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/thre...or-socal-buyers-kearny-mesa-ford.3115/page-95

I believe the experience we're currently offering EV buyers is so-so at best, likely below customer expectations if I'm being critical. We're above average when compared to other dealerships but I still see so much room to improve. So my hope is that I can get some input from you all, the MachE buyers and enthusiasts, as to how dealers should better serve today's EV buyers.

My 2-point question is this: Other than being competitively priced and having the right inventory, is there an experience that a dealer could provide which would make you travel beyond your closest dealer to purchase / service an EV? And part two to that is, how could that dealership communicate to you that they offer that experience?

I'm in the process of ground-up building a dedicated EV team, and I'd greatly value any input you could share! Whether it's about your experience when you bought your MachE, what you're experiencing as a current shopper, or even just your hypothetical ideal dealership interaction. I'm here to listen! I'm also glad to share the steps we're taking internally already for anybody who is curious.

Thanks for your time!

Eric Bunch

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[AtomicInternet]

Personally I think high visibility charging stations is the easiest way to advertise you're supportive of EVs. Not to mention getting those chargers listed in all the charging area directories. If I see a dealer has several chargers I can use, I'll be stopping by pretty regularly.

 

[VegasWeezy]

Hey All!

My name is Eric and I am a manager at a dealership in Southern California. If any of you have cross-shopped the Bronco, you may know me from the Bronco6G forums.
https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/thre...or-socal-buyers-kearny-mesa-ford.3115/page-95

I believe the experience we're currently offering EV buyers is so-so at best, likely below customer expectations if I'm being critical. We're above average when compared to other dealerships but I still see so much room to improve. So my hope is that I can get some input from you all, the MachE buyers and enthusiasts, as to how dealers should better serve today's EV buyers.

My 2-point question is this: Other than being competitively priced and having the right inventory, is there an experience that a dealer could provide which would make you travel beyond your closest dealer to purchase / service an EV? And part two to that is, how could that dealership communicate to you that they offer that experience?

I'm in the process of ground-up building a dedicated EV team, and I'd greatly value any input you could share! Whether it's about your experience when you bought your MachE, what you're experiencing as a current shopper, or even just your hypothetical ideal dealership interaction. I'm here to listen! I'm also glad to share the steps we're taking internally already for anybody who is curious.

Thanks for your time!

Eric Bunch

One thing that I think could set you apart is being the most knowledgeable, or at least trying to be as helpful and knowledgeable about EVs as possible. I think you're already taking the first step here by reaching out to current owners.

Regularly monitoring forums like this one, listening to the random problems and questions that pop up, researching them and understanding how to fix or answer those problems and questions.

Being knowledgeable about over the air updates, what the latest releases are, and being willing to get vehicles updated upon request could be an advantage. It seems most dealerships aren't interested in helping current owners out with this type of thing.

Being knowledgeable and honest about these types of things and more makes it more likely that current owners would want to use your service department or purchase their next vehicle through you. It will also help you sell to those that have not made the switch between ICE and EV. If they're interested but apprehensive, your dealership's knowledge and honesty about the benefits, anxieties and potential pitfalls will be reassuring to prospective buyers.

 

[JoeDimwit]

A dedicated EV staff is a HUGE step in the right direction. when I purchased the Smurfmobile I knew way more about it than anyone in the dealership.

Having EV certified service techs, and possibly even dedicated service advisors is the thing that will make ev customers want to bring you their vehicles for service. On that note, the one thing that could pull me away from my dealership now would be the ability to get a “like for like” loaner when I’m in for warranty work. ie have an EV loaner or two if possible.

 

[ChasingCoral]

Knowledge can be a very powerful product. You can develop a reputation as an EV leader if you train your salespeople so that they are truly knowledgeable about Ford's EV offerings, how they work, and how your customers can best use them. When we bought our first EV, we reached out directly to a Nissan dealer with a salesman who had a reputation for being an EV expert. That set the dealership apart from all the others in the Washington, DC area.

When I bought my Mach E, and again when I bought my Lightning, it was clear that I knew far more about the products than the salesman with whom we were working.

The same should definitely be applied to the service department. People want to take their EVs to a dealership that makes sure they are well-trained and well-equipped to work on them.

The idea of providing chargers is a great one. You have a somewhat captive audience if you offer free charging. I don't need to tell you the value of getting a prospective customer through the door.

 

[Logal727]

Build an EV team that doesn’t treat EVs like foreign concepts and know everything about them. Require people spend time on the forum (pay them for it) to learn about the quirks and info from the insiders. We need more knowledgeable Ford EV techs!

 

[HuntingPudel]

Eric, I did go to a dealer that wasn’t one of the two closest because the closest one is the dealership group Who Shall Not Be Named (truly evil) and the next closest is just kind of slimy. I went with a dealer who has a presence on this forum and promised no games. That’s what I got in a time when a lot of dealers were dropping ADM onto ordered cars and insane ADM onto stock. ??

Aside from that, as many have said, a knowledgeable EV staff. People who are passionate about the EVs. Beyond the sales department, we need a more than bare-bones service staff. And if I am being honest, the manufacturers need to step up as well. If they want to sell these cars, they need to pony up and provide pre-sales support to the dealer network. ??

 

[Blue highway]

You need to know more about the car than I do... It's been mentioned, in the thread above, but please hire some EV enthusiasts as sales people, techs, and service manager... Do not try to retrain ICE techs.... please.

Be the go-to dealer for EV service... That essentially means a change in the service business model.

Most of the problems EV owners have are related to software and charging.

You will need to have EV techs that are trained and competent here. As a business model change, you will need to figure out a way to economically push software to cars well beyond OTAs at something much less than your typical shop rate.

 

[EricAtKearnyMesaFord]

Awesome feedback so far guys!

@AtomicInternet Totally right about having extra chargers. Are you an advocate for 24hr access or just normal business hours okay? We just installed a new bank right up front. Now we just need our power company to supply us with more juice!

@JoeDimwit Having 5-10 MachE service loaners has been a recent conversation. Good to see reinforcement of that being a big value add for people.

@VegasWeezy @ChasingCoral This is definitely what I expected to hear the most. The base level of training that Ford provides salespeople just isn't enough. Right now we're taking all salespeople on test drives to teach them how to better demonstrate BlueCruise in a real-world setting.

 

[Blue highway]

Awesome feedback so far guys!

@AtomicInternet Totally right about having extra chargers. Are you an advocate for 24hr access or just normal business hours okay? We just installed a new bank right up front. Now we just need our power company to supply us with more juice!



Please do not put chargers behind the locked fence... They need to be available 24x7

 

[EricAtKearnyMesaFord]

@Blue highway @Logal727 When it comes to knowing the EV product, how much would you want your salesperson to know about the competition? Is it enough for them to be MachE Masters, or do they need to know the context of what the other brands are doing? Also 10/4 about the chargers being public at all times.

A couple of people are mentioning a new Service Experience. Understood about revised rates for software updates. We're currently working on remote pickup and delivery options, and I'm curious what else y'all would expect or want from an EV-Centric service department?

Thanks again for your time and input ?

 

[Sillybibbles]

Absolutely, and it's really simple: Just say your price. I detest the stupid games of fee this, fee that... Online ads that advertise a $40K car, then you get in to see tax, tags, subscription to keep air in tires, dealer fee, plate fee, county fee, delivery fee, sticker fee, and 18 must-have add-ons. People HATE it. I know it's a business model, but we really HATE it.

I delayed buying a car for 2 years because every time I went to buy a car as seen online, it had no relation to real costs. Just advertise real costs online, and make it clear that what you see is what you pay. I would drive further for that!

 

[Logal727]

@Blue highway @Logal727 When it comes to knowing the EV product, how much would you want your salesperson to know about the competition? Is it enough for them to be MachE Masters, or do they need to know the context of what the other brands are doing? Also 10/4 about the chargers being public at all times.

A couple of people are mentioning a new Service Experience. Understood about revised rates for software updates. We're currently working on remote pickup and delivery options, and I'm curious what else y'all would expect or want from an EV-Centric service department?

Thanks again for your time and input ?

Sales should know as much about the cars as someone who has owned one for a while, it’s good to know the differences about the competition, but I think most people new to EVs would appreciate knowledgeable sales person about the product they are selling most of all.

 

[Sillybibbles]

Also would be helpful to better understand the subscriptions. Not one person could accurately tell me what did and didn't require subscriptions, nor how much they cost. I'm sure it changes over time, but have a clearer way to see that available for reps to review.

Once I purchased it became clear, but I couldn't find it online and when I did find correct costs, the rep told me obviously wrong contradictions.

 

[thekat03]

I live in central Maine and opted to drive over an hour away, past at least 2 other Ford dealers, because they ignored our email inquiries about the Mach-E last year, and the dealership I went with sent staff with an F-150 Lightning and an e-Transit to a local community-run Drive Electric Week event. Connecting with the local EV community events and being knowledgable about your products will help a lot. Being able to say how many EV certified techs in the service department as well as typical wait times for EV service like warranty repairs would also be helpful.

Good luck!

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