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The idea for this episode came from an inquiry originating with one of my colleagues.

They had read an AI description of how a check-in process would work within a software platform, and he rightly reached out to me to check to see if the AI response was accurate.

It was not accurate - it was pure fiction.

It was worth probing why this was important, and this colleague was getting questions from shops more regularly about the ability to do a “walk out” or Curbside check-in or initial inspection when greeting customers at their vehicle.

If this is something you or your team have been considering - I’m going to encourage you to hear me out, and I’m going to leave you with some important questions you can use to discuss if this is a good idea for your shop… or perhaps, determine it isn’t.

Today’s WOTD is:

Stringent

adjective

• Strict, precise, and exacting.

“The process has some very stringent requirements.”

I’m going to refer to any form of vehicle side check-in process as “curb-side” check-in for this conversation - but the idea for this form of greeting the customer at their vehicle comes in many permutations, few of them involve an actual curb.

Many businesses feature some form of drive-up or drive-thru service. Restaurants being one of them, but in our conversation, I’ll focus on vehicle-centric businesses, which I feel are common, and show us plenty about what works and what doesn’t.

1.) Dealerships

2.) Car Washes

3.) Airport Car Rental Returns

(No, I am not going to mention quick oil change lanes … not because it isn’t potentially relevant… but because I have never used a quick lube… really!)

Most of the time I find myself having a conversation about curb-side checkins, one of my clients at Autoflow will have had a dealership experience of their own. (There are many reasons independent shop owners visit our dealership friends… but the majority of the time it’s when they are confronted with a vehicle recall.) It was a positive experience for them, and quite… nice!

The dealer process begins with pulling into a large, bright, clean, well lit multilane drive up queue.

It can be impressive. I’ve recently participated in one of these, and will explain more on my experience later.

Why is this so common, and why is it so impressive?

Think about the dealership service model. (Which by the way - is expanding, as sales become more challenging, look for dealers to compete more aggressively for service work in today's market)

Dealers thrive with a longstanding reputation of being the best place to bring a vehicle for training, tooling, and quality parts.

You have a new vehicle that needs service, you take it to the source (for you, the place you bought it.)

Your entry into the facility is as simple as pulling up to an automated door.

You enter, and it almost feels like your vehicle is on something of an assembly line.

The vehicle is scanned, and you are greeted. The advisor has a tablet in hand - they confirm a few things, and then they usher you into a gorgeous waiting area, where you are quite sure you can survive in comfort, with enough food and drink to last several days.

Next is the car washes:

My son has managed a local car-wash, and this is one of the types that offers memberships, and has a relatively complicated screen based check in system if you don’t have a membership.

Frequently, the staff are greeting customers and helping them through the screen prompts, and of course, at the tunnel you