Classic Audi of Orlando delivers the little extras of #cx

#949 in the Purple Goldfish Project was submitted via comment by Jordan Belcher:

Classic Audi of Orlando

In Jordan’s words:

I have a bit of a natural distrust for dealerships, so to say I was apprehensive about taking my car to Classic Audi of Orlando for some repairs would be an understatement. But that was before I knew that these guys know how to convert a non-believer.

I called in advance to ensure they would be able to see my car (my local mechanic was slammed, hence why I arrived at the dealership in the first place). The woman on the other end of the phone told me that they too were a bit busy, but that they would be able to look at the car today. With that, she asked me when I would be arriving and I told her that I would be there in about 30 minutes.

When I arrived, a “service consultant” was waiting for me. Let me play that back – he wasn’t just waiting for the next person to drive up, he was waiting for ME. He addressed me by name and had my car’s file on hand. He asked me to pop the trunk and – within seconds – gave me a brief description of what the issue was, how long it would take to fix and what the approximate cost would be. Next he told me that they could take the car immediately (under-promise, over-deliver much?) and that I wouldn’t need to wait – a “courtesy rental” had already been reserved for me. All I needed to do was go sign some documents and I could drive out immediately and get back to work. Whoa.

Needless to say, at this point, I was pretty amazed. When I walked inside, the rental associate told me that I would be receiving a 2011 model of my same car at no cost for as long as the repairs took. Pretty awesome.

To wrap things up, the dealership called later that day to tell me my car was ready, but unfortunately I couldn’t pick up the car until the next day. They told me “keep the courtesy car as long as you need, your car will be ready when you are” – did I mention the rental was FREE? For as long as I want?!

I came to pick up my car the next morning and could tell right away that it had been cleaned. Nice touch. The service consultant gave me the bill for the repairs, but also indicated that some add’l work had been done that I didn’t request – a routine $45K mile service. He noted that “the service was done at no charge since you are a customer of ours”. WOW.

I’ll definitely be back.

Here’s a 2 minute video showcasing the little extras from Classic Audi:

Marketing Lagniappe Takeaway: Be ready (anticipate arrival), be transparent (show the repairs), be proactive (reserve the loaner), be flexible (extra day with loaner) and be unexpected (provide the 45K service as lagniappe). All of these little extras make a big difference. Classic Audi not only won a customer, they created an evangelist.

Today’s Lagniappe (a little extra [Kenny G] thrown in for good measure) – This isn’t your old man’s automobile. In fact, Audi tells a tale from luxury prison to prove the point. Pay attention at the end and don’t be hoodwinked:

How do you stand out in the sea of sameness like Classic Audi of Orlando? How do you win repeat customers and influence word of mouth? Are you Giving Little Unexpected Extras?

What’s Your Purple Goldfish?

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