Ford Dealer Asking For EV Input

[Bikespace]

I'll buy my car from whoever has the lowest price, period. 90% of the pre-selection is done online. Make sure your website is up to date and easy to use.

I'll get service at the dealer that has a dedicated EV tech, a battery lift, and will buy in to the next level of Ford EV certification, including DCFC. You need to be able to reproduce a problem and test the fix.

I honestly don't care about a loaner vehicle. That gets cooked into the price, and I have other cars that I'd rather drive than anything you'll loan me.

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[Bikespace]

I like the idea paying employees to spend time on forums. I think they will like it. ?

A real car enthusiast will do this for free. I've met a few that happen to also sell cars. It's pretty rare, though. Perhaps 25% of the sales staff.

So prove me wrong, and become an EV enthusiast! MMEs are stupid fun, and I'm surprised they aren't selling better right now.

 

[canuck1975]

I had a great experience buying my MME from Mohawk Ford in Hamilton, Ontario. What really helped was that my sales rep was just as enthusiastic about selling the MME to me as I was buying it. It was his passion that really set the entire experience and his patience with my harassing him for months for updates which really pushed him over the edge.

That's what pushes things over the edge for me, really, is that the sales rep knew the car, was passionate about selling it, and just as excited as me when it finally came in. It's all about the people!

 

[GatorJ_MME]

I'm basically echoing what others have said at this point, but I'll do it anyway:

1. The buying experience / communication needs to be honest with no games
   1. Your main competition is Tesla - the experience needs to be just as easy
      1. I don't care that you are a dealer and not actually Ford
      2. Make your process as easy and painless for the buyer as possible
   2. No hidden / last minute add-ons
      1. When I bought my car, the dealer (after having been in communication with them for almost 7 months) informed me that they *had* to install the paint & interior protection packages and window tinting.
         1. Took me getting in contact with higher-ups for them to agree that they didn't *have* to do this
2. Dedicated service advisors / more than 1 tech
   1. Don't ask me if I need an oil change, especially in person or with an automated email
   2. As more EVs are sold, you need more techs available
3. Your team needs to be aware of the latest tax credits
   1. I recently had to educate the General Manager of my local dealership about forms the dealership is required to provide to the IRS & buyer at the time of sale
      1. He was basing his knowledge on last year's tax situation
      2. Things change too quickly, you need keep up to date
4. Having your sales team listen to things like the Inside EVs podcast will at least help them stay up to date on what's going in the industry
   1. Will help them speak more intelligently when customers come in and ask questions about the competition

 

[rkmoray]

I had an appointment to get all the software updates installed. My appt. was for 7:30 AM, and when I brought inn the car, they9 said it would be ready around 4 because they were "so busy". I would like dealers to work like professional offices (as much as possible). When my appt is at 7:30 and it takes 30 min. to fix my car, I would expect top have it around 8:30 (buffer time). That is why I never brought in my previous cars for a tire change. If the place told me 4pm, I know it will be done by 5:00.

 

[HuntingPudel]

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I honestly don't care about a loaner vehicle. That gets cooked into the price, and I have other cars that I'd rather drive than anything you'll loan me.

While I have other cars that are a ton of fun, that’s what they’re for. If my HVBJB blows up and the COPIS-ordered part takes forever to get there, I don’t necessarily want to be forced into driving around in a 9mpg vehicle. The option of a loaner that you can refuse is a very good thing. ??

 

[MellowJohnny]

Red Stallion said it best - eat your own dog food. Make the Mach-E your daily driver, road trip it, see what we all experience. The easiest way to understand what it’s like to own a BEV is obviously to “own” one, in your case hopefully the dealership lets you take one for extended periods.

And try to get all the dealership staff “on board” - my Ford dealer is great, but the lady who checks in cars in the Service Dept. Is clearly anti-BEV. I was in with my ICE and she had a very long, conspiracy theory-esque conversation with me about BEVs. Not helpful.

Good luck! I certainly applaud the effort.

 

[tomterky]

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!


Think of the 24 hour access this way...are you able to find a gas station 24/7/365?

If you want to be above and beyond for the general public, actually, anyone with an EV, keep them open, accessible, and functioning 24/7/365. Even look for a possible Tesla charger for your location without a dongle being required. Every person that charges at your location is a possible customer because they will be at your location charging for at least 30 minutes. Use that time to really share what Ford EV's have to offer. Have a comparison to the other EV's...use a video board or something that is easily changeable. Have the Mach E's, Lightning, EV Transits, parked near the chargers for better visibility. A non-Ford driver could then easily find them. Spruce up the show area around them outside. Have some LED lights or something around them at night to really make them stick out. For the power, get a solar canopy installed. I'm sure there's some government credits or rebates in there somewhere for solar. Show that a Lightning could connect to a home during a power outtage. Have the LED lights be on motion sensors so when someone pulls into the charging spot at night, the entire area lights up and shows off your electric vehicles. That'd also help with security. Number one rule with chargers, KEEP THEM FUNCTIONING!

Like others have said, put a billboard up. Everyone notices "FREE CHARGING" (use of solar canopy). Get it recognized on Google Maps, Ford maps, Plugshare, anywhere that's available to direct people to your chargers.

I agree with training service techs. When pulling into Quick Lane or the Service Lane, have a specific podium for EV drivers to go to. Make it flashy and extravagant and an experience. Electrify it. Have more than one service tech be able to work this station if someone calls out sick or has a day off. Don't have it just shut down.

Have your sales people educated not only in your offering but compare them to the others. They're going to tell me it's such and such, but why is it better compared to what company x is offering. People can read everything on the internet, but some of today's buyers still want the face-to-face interaction and be told what and why and how.

Good Luck!

 

[RickMachE]

@EricAtKearnyMesaFord, I'm not going to go point by point through your note, but since you asked:

1) You should spend time reading this forum, and various FB groups. See what complaints people have about dealerships both buying and servicing EVs. Wealth of knowledge there.

2) Have enough fully certified EV mechanics, and the proper equipment, to service the vehicles. Have staff - including service writers - up to speed on EVs so they don't show their ignorance, and make customers uncomfortable that you have a clue what you're doing. See note below.

3) Anyone customer-facing needs to have a clue, or state up front they don't, and refer the customer to someone that does.

4) Have your staff stay on top of FDRS and other Ford systems. We do in this forum thanks to several members posting SSMs, TSBs, etc. When your customer knows of an issue, and your service department does not, that's a bad sign.

It's great that you actually are trying. Good stuff.

I bought two Mach-Es from a local dealership that has had my business since 2018. Never got the opportunity to order a Lightning from them until Nov 2023, and prices had gone up. Found demo vehicles around the country this Spring. They said "if you buy elsewhere, we won't service it because we only have 1 fully certified EV mechanic, and customers come first". I bought out of state, drove it home, and switched dealerships. They've now lost me as a customer for the future, which they may not notice, but they may notice when my referral business goes elsewhere... I listened to the "we don't have enough EV mechanics for 2 years". "Classes are few and full"... Bye..

 

[Almondtree]

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.

Eric, so glad to hear you have installed a bank of chargers. We go to San Diego every few months and have a really hard time finding charging stations, particularly Electrify America. Next time we go to SD I'll touch base with you to see if your chargers are up and ready.

 

[VegasWeezy]

2) Have enough fully certified EV mechanics, and the proper equipment, to service the vehicles. Have staff - including service writers - up to speed on EVs so they don't show their ignorance, and make customers uncomfortable that you have a clue what you're doing. See note below.

3) Anyone customer-facing needs to have a clue, or state up front they don't, and refer the customer to someone that does.

Very important point here. I took my MME in for its one year/10,000 mile maintenance. Everything went smoothly and the staff was nice and professional. However, when dropping off the vehicle, the service guys made comments that made it pretty clear they didn't fully get EVs or weren't fully on board with them. Then at pickup, the service writer made sure to hand me a service pamphlet and emphasized the importance of sticking to the maintenance schedule. The problem.... the service pamphlet was entirely dedicated to the traditional ICE vehicle maintenance.

This made me question if this was the right dealership to be taking my vehicle to.

 

[EricAtKearnyMesaFord]

Wow I'm stoked that you are all providing such thorough feedback! I'm in a few meetings this morning but I will read through all of your responses after and will let y'all know what I think. I have a feeling that this thread is going to become a playbook for any new EV salesperson.

Cheers! ?

 

[keithnteri]

I purchased my Mach E in late June. I just received a congratulatory post card from the dealership to invite me to my first Oil Change. Wonder how that is going to go when I take it in and tell them to check the brakes, rotate the tires and "Change the oil". LOL

Cue the Benny Hill music while I film them changing the oil in my Mach E.

 

[ctenidae]

Don't ever fall back on the "We're a Dealer, not Ford" line. Ford shipped a car with a price tag on it. Anything different is your fault. Claiming you're just a dealer smells like looking for excuses to screw people.

Make sure your salespeople are comfortable saying "I don't know" instead of making up some stupid, uninformed answer to an EV question. De-automate them so they don't try to sell oil changes.

Remind them that Ford's vaunted service departments are not a selling point in an EV. If I have to bring the car in to Ford for service, it's because Ford screwed it up. Ford service for regular maintenance on an ICE's 4,000 moving parts is great. There shouldn't be much of anything on an EV that requires that service department. Making me happy to have a great service department means I'm scared I'm going to need it.

I, and most people, hate the car buying experience. I know going in there are people who will actively try to get me to buy things I don't want or need, even after I tell them I don't want or need it. I know going in it's going to take forever. I know going in the smoke and mirrors are in play. I know going in that it's going to mostly suck.

All of the things that make "no haggle pricing" an attractive marketing play make buying a car a terrible experience. I recognize you're a business, and you deserve to make a profit, and your people deserve to get paid for their work. If your business model doesn't allow that to happen without add-ons, upcharges and interminable waits, that's a problem.

The fact that you're here asking the questions is awesome. The fact you need to is telling.

 

[KevinS]

There's been a lot of great advice given.

I would also add be willing to be involved in the EV community, and even consider holding an event on-premises where past customers can meet up and prospective customers can learn more about them. Sometimes EV owners can be the best advocates for future purchases.

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