I don’t think there’s a business alive today that doesn’t say it has great customer service.  Everybody says it, but only a handful deliver in service in a way that makes you remember it.

I had one of those experiences recently at Coggin Nissan at the Avenues in Jacksonville.  I was cold-calling on the Service side of the car business to see if they’d be interested in doing a joint promotion.  The idea is that if Coggin Nissan sees a car seat that needs repair or a steering wheel that needs to be rejuvenated, then Coggin tells the customer about our Hepler Bros. business.  If the customer uses our leather repair or vinyl repair service, we’ll buy the customer an oil change at Coggin Nissan.  A nice win/win for everyone.

I met Jai Beasley, a Service Manager at Coggin Nissan, and he thought it was a terrific idea, so I had some postcards made up for his service reps to give to customers.

It was during the conversation that I noticed the fabulous waiting area they have for their customers.  Anyone who’s had car repairs done lately knows it can be a less-than-exciting experience.  Well, the Coggin Nissan fellows have changed that.  They have a 20-seat theater (with really nice seats) that shows Hi-Def movies.  The day I was there, “Up” was showing.

They have free popcorn and free Starbucks coffee.  They have lots of vending machines with everything from soda to sandwiches to ice cream for sale.  They even have a microwave oven to heat up the sandwiches.  On top of that, they’ve painted murals on the wall to give the eating area the feel of an outdoor café.  The whole place reminds you nothing of a waiting room.

Great job!  Clearly, you understand your customers’ needs.  The rest of us hope to follow in your footsteps.

Filed under: cars by Carey Hepler Sunday, June 6th, 2010