Famous unknowns: how to choose the right car dealer

According to the analytical agency Avtostat, there are more than four thousand dealers in Russia. Instead of the familiar BMW, Nissan and Skoda brands, new names are appearing. Experts recommend choosing a car dealership carefully and warn of the risks a car buyer may now face. How to choose the right seller and why "Auto.ru" began to count the level of customer service - in the material "Izvestia".

Officials and non-officials

In conditions when the majority of dealers offer Chinese brands with still unfamiliar names, it becomes more difficult to choose a dealership center.

Experts and market players list several criteria for choosing a reliable dealership center. First of all, it is "word of mouth". For example, someone you know bought a car in a car dealership and liked it. It is also important to rely on the concept of "official dealer" - usually their list is presented on the Russian website of the car manufacturer.

Purchasing a car from a "neo-official" is potentially as risky as buying it by hand. "Neoficials often do not have any obligations to buyers and almost never give a warranty.

At the same time, experts note that there are different types of neo-financiers. There are quite large companies on the market with a good level of service and the right approach, which have made a name for themselves on the alternative import of Chinese electric cars and hybrids, as well as cars of brands that have left the Russian market. What is important is the name of the company and how long it has been on the market.

What diplomas say

- In a company with a big name, there may be failures, but you come into an established structure. Another option is when you already know that there has always been a Mercedes or Volkswagen car dealership at that location. The brand is gone, but they still sell these cars, give a warranty, and somehow transport spare parts themselves. From the same series - when the same management, the same team works in the dealership, but the signage changes. VW left, they started selling Geely and Chery. But the owner is the same and it's not a passing yard. I would not go to buy and service a car in a dealership center, which I do not know or have not heard good things about it, - says Maxim Kadakov, editor-in-chief of the magazine "Za Rulem".

At the same time, auto expert Peter Bakanov believes that diplomas on the wall of the dealership center do not mean anything.

David Pavlov, the head of the department for the sale of used cars of Major Auto company, recommends to be guided by the number of cars in the dealer's warehouse.

- If you find a company with ten cars in the warehouse, most likely, you are dealing with a very small company, and the guarantee that it will remain on the market in a month when you have some problem is very conditional. If a dealer has a thousand or more cars on the site, it is very unlikely that in a month it will not work, - said David Pavlov.

Find on the map

It is possible to choose a dealer by reviews on large geoservices and classifides.

- As a rule, these sites do not allow spam and fake reviews, and by reading the ratings of the site and the best reviews, customers can form their own opinion about the service. Google maps used to be a good source as well, but is now unsupported and unmoderated due to the company's withdrawal from Russia, and it's not worth looking there. Reviews in other sites are likely to be bought or spun," notes Oleg Kuznetsov, Deputy General Director for Digital Transformation of Avtodom and Avtospetscenter Group of Companies.

New index

A relatively new tool is the Customer Service Index (CSI) from Avto.ru.

At the beginning of December it was made more visible. Classifieds users see the CCI in the cards of car ads. Previously, the indicator could be found only on the dealers' page in the corresponding section on the site.

ICS is an independent rating, which Auto.ru calculates independently. The index value can be seen in the tab on the page of all verified dealership centers that have a sufficient number of reviews to form an assessment.

The index is made up of reviews of real customers who have applied to a particular dealership. The customer receives a push notification where they can leave their feedback about their experience with the dealership. In addition, Classified's dedicated call center regularly polls dealership customers about their experience with the dealership. This approach to collecting feedback - through push notifications and calls - provides an effective and objective assessment of the dealerships' performance, Avto.ru believes.

Customers answer how comfortable it was for them to communicate with the salon manager over the phone, whether they were satisfied with the consultation. They are asked to evaluate the level of service in the car dealership and the likelihood that they will come to the dealership again and recommend it to their friends.

The feedback collection algorithm will collect more data on a dealership if the center has negative feedback. This allows it to either confirm the trend or balance the score with positive reviews - statistically, people share positive reviews less often than negative reviews.

It is impossible to fake

The mechanics of ICS calculation is built in such a way that it is impossible to fake or distort the results, the company promises. Extraneous influence is excluded. It is possible to increase the index - its maximum value is five - only by improving the quality of customer service.

This innovation greatly simplifies the process of choosing a dealer and helps to save time, according to Avto.ru. Users can immediately focus on offers from sellers who have already received a high assessment of the quality of service.

- It's a useful story when a large online resource starts to care not only about posting a car with photos, but also to some extent help the buyer to understand the large number of sellers that are on the market. Often a buyer, especially of a used car, doesn't really understand who is a dealer, who is not a dealer, what kind of company is out there, how it works, whether it can be trusted. The module exists relatively recently, of course, it will undergo various changes, and I think it will become more visual and understandable over time," says David Pavlov.

Why customer service is important

Although many experts say that the main criteria for choosing a dealer are the lowest price and the loan rate, dealer research says that customers take into account ratings and ratings when choosing a salon.

- For example, a rating of 4.5 or higher is perceived as an indicator of high quality and attracts customers. A rating below 4.0, on the other hand, creates wariness. Therefore, popular ratings with a large sample, assessments on geoservices - this is a tool worth paying attention to, - said the director of GC "TransTechService" Daniil Zubarev.

Dealerships note the growing role of customer service. With the transformation of the market and increase in the share of Chinese brands, first of all, the quality of consultation on the brand and model and completeness of the information provided came to the forefront.

- The level of service came to used cars later than to new cars. It was not considered important - you buy a car cheaper as it is. Recently, the situation has changed. The major market players provide the same level of service as when you buy a new car. You get all the same conditions, all the same additional options: financing, lending, insurance, leasing, equipment installation, registration. Often managers are the same that sell new cars," says David Pavlov.

He also noted that a number of dealers provide such an option as a warranty on a used car. This is a lifetime guarantee of legal purity. In case of any problems, the buyer comes to the dealer, returns the car and receives either money or another car.

- As for technical condition warranties, there are those too. The warranty coverage may be less, but it is there. The warranty can be bought additionally, it is an option, - said the expert.

Importance of feedback

To assess the level of service dealers use their own surveys, which are measured by the methods of satisfaction (CSI) and loyalty (NPS).

- We get feedback from about 75% of customers. Based on the feedback, we categorize complaints by type and work with those customers who are dissatisfied with their interaction with our company or would like to improve the customer experience. All managers are involved in the process, and every complaint or dissatisfaction reaches the company's management," says Andrey Kamensky, Marketing Director of Avilon AG.

Oleg Kuznetsov, Deputy General Director for Digital Transformation of Avtodom and Avtospetscenter Group of Companies, said that the company has special reports showing both the dynamics of evaluations by months and a tag cloud of the most frequent words of customers in negative conversations.

- To improve customer service, we develop digital services so that customers can receive services and information promptly and in a convenient format, we regularly train our employees to provide consultations professionally and empathically, we expand our offer taking into account customer needs, - said Daniil Zubarev. Naturally, the results of these surveys are for internal use.

NPS answers only one question: whether the buyer is ready to recommend the dealership to his friends and acquaintances, IKS in turn is a more profound tool, believe in "Auto.ru". And besides the obvious benefit for buyers, it is quite capable of motivating dealers to improve service indicators.