ALBANY, NY (October 21, 2013) – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems (www.automate.com) announced today that Scott Volkswagen, the largest Volkswagen dealership in New England, has saved more than half a million dollars since switching to Auto/Mate’s dealership management system (DMS) in 2006. Scott Volkswagen’s employees enjoy Auto/Mate’s premier customer service while using the DMS system to streamline processes within their dealership; most recently the F&I desking process and the special orders parts process in their fixed ops department.
 
The East Providence, RI based dealership focuses on creating an exceptional experience for its own customers, and has received the Volkswagen Gold Pin award from VW headquarters in Germany for outstanding performance in sales and customer satisfaction, as well as Volkswagen’s prestigious “Customer First Club” award for customer satisfaction. Scott Volkswagen’s large showroom is decorated with murals and features a collection of vintage Volkswagens from the 1950s and 1960s. “We strive to re-create that fun time in history with that peace and love sort of vibe, and really want to create a destination for our customers,” said Brad Scott, General Manager of Scott Volkswagen.
 
Seven years ago, Scott decided to switch from his legacy DMS provider when his dealership was on the receiving end of a poor customer experience. “We found a lot of highly unethical charges on our bill and when we asked about them, the company became threatening towards us. It was a terrible experience,” he said.
 
Scott heard about Auto/Mate from another dealer and eventually chose Auto/Mate’s DMS because of the value of the system and reputation of the company. “The cost savings and the customer service were the most significant reasons for the switch,” he said. “Since 2006 we have saved more than $75,000 per year, which adds up to over half a million dollars. I had also been told and it has been proven to me the customer service is excellent.”
 
When Scott decided to switch DMS systems, some employees were resistant to the change. “They grumbled a bit, but within two weeks they had pretty much adapted to the new system and agreed it was the right decision,” said Scott. “Auto/Mate’s DMS is much more intuitive and simpler to work with.”
 
He also credits the adaptation to Auto/Mate’s renowned technical support. “Everyone on the phone at Auto/Mate is friendly and extremely helpful,” said Scott. “They get us answers to questions we have the same day, and if one person doesn’t know the answer they’ll go out of their way to find someone who does.”
 
To maintain his own dealership’s high levels of customer satisfaction, Scott consistently reviews processes to see where there is room for improvement. “Technology plays an increasingly important role in our processes, because it allows us to inspect what we expect and focus on areas of improvement as opposed to collecting data,” he said.
 
This includes using Auto/Mate’s DMS to streamline processes. In fixed ops, Scott was aware of inefficiencies in their special orders parts process. When employees in the parts department ordered a special part for a customer’s vehicle, they hand-wrote the RO number on a slip of paper and gave it to the service advisor. When the part came in, sometimes the parts department wouldn’t call, or the service advisor forgot to include it on the RO when the customer came in to get their vehicle serviced.
 
“We contacted Auto/Mate and they told us about their special parts feature,” said Scott. “Now when parts orders a part, it generates an electronic order and attaches itself to the customer file.” With the hand-written system, Scott estimates that ten to fifteen percent of special orders were not getting billed out appropriately, but since implementing the system through the DMS, that percentage has dropped to virtually zero percent.
 
Scott is also in the process of implementing a desking solution through Auto/Mate’s Desk/Mate, and will soon be generating sales worksheets from the system. “It should save a lot of time as far as pre-loading customer information, and it will create a more streamlined and professional look for the customer,” he said.
 
Scott’s father had a saying: “Well done is better than well said.” Scott’s focus on customer satisfaction and implementing technology solutions to support that focus helps him streamline processes while ontinuing to add to Scott Volkswagen’s bottom line.
 

About Auto/Mate

Auto/Mate Dealership Systems is a leading provider of dealership management system (DMS) software to retail automotive dealerships. Its Automotive Management Productivity Suite (AMPS) is a user-friendly, feature-rich DMS in use by more than 900 auto dealers nationwide. In 2013 Auto/Mate received the “Highest Rated” DMS award in the fourth annual Driving Sales Dealer Satisfaction Awards.
 
Auto/Mate’s employees have more than 800 years of combined experience working in auto dealerships – the foundation of its “Designed by Car People For Car People” slogan. For more information, visit www.automate.com, follow us on Twitter @AutoMateDMS and subscribe to our blog at https://automate.com/blog/.