Online Payments Speed Traffic Through Auto Dealers’ Service Lanes

The last step in getting a vehicle serviced at a dealership — paying — can be an inconvenient one. If the shop is busy, the customer may face a long wait in line. If it isn’t, there may not be a dedicated cashier, so the customer may have to find someone who can help.

And when customers have become accustomed to buy online, pick up in store convenience, this is no longer the experience they expect.

“Paying for it is no longer part of the transaction; the transaction is just coming in, receiving everything and going,” Matt Rodeghero, chief product officer at Affinitiv, told PYMNTS. “That’s how consumers have started to think about it, so that traditional experience of having a cashier is not a modern experience.”

Streamlining the Workflow

To tackle that challenge, a growing number of automotive dealerships are offering their customers the opportunity to pay online before returning to pick up their vehicles.

Affinitiv offers that ability and streamlines many other parts of the service lane experience with software solutions. On June 14, it announced that it is now a certified service lane technology partner for Kia Motors America dealerships. It already supports 5,500 dealerships of many major automakers.

Enabling customers to pay online streamlines workflows for the dealerships as well, Rodeghero said.

“Now the adviser who’s the person that’s interacting with the customer can handle that transaction and do that with the consumer before they even show up,” Rodeghero said. “So, it’s one less thing to do when the customer arrives, and it’s easier for their workflow.”

Providing a Better Experience

The Affinitiv platform accepts any type of credit card — which is by far the most common form of payment dealerships’ service departments receive, Rodeghero said. The company is looking at adding Google Wallet, Apple Pay and other types of digital payments.

When the work has been completed, the service adviser can finalize the total and text or email the customer a link to the invoice and a secure payment portal. A center console shows dealership staff all the transactions that have been sent to consumers.

“The consumer could just review it at their convenience when they’re at home or on their way to the dealership and have it already paid for when they arrive,” Rodeghero said. “So it provides a much better experience for both sides of that transaction.”

Meeting Consumers’ Changing Expectations

Beyond payments, automakers and dealerships are using software to streamline and improve other parts of the service lane experience as well.

For example, appointment scheduling is being offered online, authorizations are done digitally on a tablet when the customer drops off the vehicle, any concerns found by a technician when inspecting the vehicle are shared with the customer via online video showing the problem, and the customer can approve or decline the additional work with the click on a button on their phone.

“It’s about making it convenient for the consumer and meeting them where they expect you to be as a dealership,” Rodeghero said. “Consumers’ expectations are changing, and we want to continue to move forward and meet them in a way that they want to interact with businesses.”