A thick volume could be written on improvements dealerships need to do to get a higher customer satisfaction score. Let’s take time to analyze one segment, and that is the Finance Office. The F&I office has been shredded in CSI scores for over 30 years. This office is a high stressed environment. The F&I office consistently maintains higher than average burnout for the employee. Customers have learned to fear this environment. Shows such as 60 Minutes and Primetime with their hidden cameras show what can happen to poor unsuspecting individuals. There is not another place in the dealership where so much money can be made (or lost) in so little time. These are the cold hard facts. Is this the way this department has to be? NO!

The finance office does not need to be a “grind.” This should not be a place customers fear to tread. F&I managers do not need to face the burnout and stress associated being in this office. How is this to be accomplished? For starters, we need to run our F&I office with the highest integrity available. We can use a weapon in the office that will make us more money than any other item available.

The menu selling system has been proven to increase both revenues and CSI. In order to increase our future business we cannot underestimate how important CSI is. Our customer’s perception of us should be a top priority. Begin each closing in the F&I office with a personal greeting, then review the numbers and finally let the customer choose their own options. This process has been tried and proven for over a decade.

Have you ever received a phone call at your home in the evenings where you can tell that the person on the other end of the line is reading a script? I have, and this really annoys me. I feel like I am getting “sold” something. This is the issue we don’t want our customers to fee l… like they are getting sold something. If we use the secret weapon we spoke about in the above depiction then the customer will be empowered. They will be able to choose. The customer will not be afraid of us. We will actually become their friend. And whom do people like to buy from? You got it, their friends.

I can’t help but think that if we take the time to realize the importance of our CSI, especially in the F&I office, then we will be making a lot of two things: friends and money. Who knows, maybe Hollywood will someday portray us in the car business as the straight-shooting, friendly salespeople that the vast majority of us are. In the meantime, good luck and good selling!