Disney Institute Case Study

Best Chevrolet's customer satisfaction accelerated above 90% to lead in customer retention.

The Issue

When Scott Shulman took over his father’s Best Chevrolet dealership, he had ideas on how he wanted to run the business, but no system in place to do so. The business was constantly reacting to problems, “putting out fires.” Thus:

• The employees were not happy and neither were the customers. As a result, both customer and employee retention were poor.
• The team as a whole did not work proactively and were not able to anticipate their customers’ needs.
• Best Chevrolet needed to improve their company culture if they wanted to improve customer satisfaction.

The Result

Best Chevrolet’s improvements have been dramatic:

• Customers who still have their cars serviced at Best Chevrolet 5 years after purchase jumped to 64% (industry average is 39.7%).
• Customer Satisfaction Index scores rose to above 90% (industry average is 80.6%).
• The fixed absorption rate—a measurement of service, parts and collision evenue—climbed to 92% (nearly twice the national average).
• Employee retention is steady. Almost 25% of their employees have been with Best Chevrolet for over 20 years.
• GM was so impressed by the results that they featured Best Chevrolet at their national conventions.

The Disney Institute Approach

After participating in a Disney Institute session on Employee Engagement at a General Motors national meeting, Scott, his general manager and service manager followed up with a Disney Institute professional development course called Quality Service. This multi-day course in Orlando, Florida took the dealership team through Disney’s methodology on customer service with exercises, field experiences and curriculum that immersed them in a different way of thinking—including:

• Details are critical to a good customer experience.
• The importance of designing exceptional service and a common purpose.
• The concept of “customer touch points” and what is considered a successful transaction.
• Prioritizing standards of quality in a hierarchy Best Chevrolet would be responsible for determining.

The theme park location allowed them to see things in action—the way Disney Cast Members operated. They saw that Disney planned everything with its Guests in mind, including things that might not seem important, like the design and spacing of trash cans.

Lessons Learned

Best Chevrolet changed the way they did things based on Disney insights, including the following:

1. Best Chevrolet retrained their sales team to focus on pleasing the customer and stopped using pressure techniques to sell cars.
2. The sales staff turned their dealership into a welcoming place—an opportunity to exceed customer expectations—after realizing many people dreaded the car-buying experience.
3. Management adopted a new mission statement: Make People Happy, which applies to both customers and employees.
4. Recruitment criteria changed. Their goal was to “hire for nice” based on the understanding that you can train duties, but you can’t train personalities.
5. Employees were empowered to make decisions without having to ask someone above. This was an easy way to directly boost customer satisfaction.
6. Rebuilding a culture is an ongoing process and Best Chevrolet continues to send employees to Disney Institute each year. Says Scott, "Everyone who goes, comes back excited with new ideas, inspiring others with their enthusiasm. We have found that it’s the best way to keep our culture alive."