[Wade]

My dealership has started issuing personal invitations to customers who have recently purchased new Acuras to attend hour long workshops to go into detail about the resources available at the dealership as well as answer customer questions about driving the new cars. They are also prepared to provide hands-on instruction. In the case of my workshop we had three different customers attend. I drive a TLX, one customer drives an RLX, and one an RDX. The service manager had matched our vehicle VINs to models they had at the dealership and had a representative vehicle of each sitting in the service bay to use as demonstrators. I don't know if other Acura dealerships are doing this or not but this seems to be a great way to cultivate customer relations. :laugh:

I asked the service manager about the green LED in the Acuralink module and she didn't have a definitive explanation for it either but surmised that it probably indicated connectivity. She said she would try and get definitive information from Acuralink.

 

[mr.smith]

SO other than asking this question about the green light, did you actually learn much from the workshop? Was it worth it for you given what you knew before you went in?

 

[Wade]

Was it worth it to attend? Yes, if for no other reason than it shows that my dealership is very into customer relations rather than just pushing new Acuras out the door. The workshop was organized by the service manager who is in her third year in that position and previously was a service advisor. While Hubler Acura has always taken care of me when I have taken a car in for service this went above and beyond to foster customer relationships.

Did I learn much more about the car after I attended, no. The workshop was based on customers asking questions and the others in attendance were much like me in that they had been playing with their cars in the driveway and were experimenting with different settings. Besides the question on the green LED I also was concerned about being able to keep the driver's seat from automatically going back when the engine is turned off. I like the default because it makes it easier for me to get in and out of the car. But, I was concerned that if I have a passenger behind me they could be hurt by the seat if they did not exit the car before I shut the engine off. The sales representative who attended the workshop (not my salesman) indicated that he had never been asked that question and didn't know. He then left the meeting only to come back a couple of minutes later and lead me out to the demo TLX to show me how to find the settings in "Driver Settings" and change it.

From a fiscal standpoint in might have been a waste of time for me to make a 100 mile round trip for this but from a peace of mind standpoint it was priceless. Besides, it was another excuse to take a ride in my TLX.

 

[typeess]

Never heard of this happening before. More brands should do this if they're not already. A well informed customer helps them too, speeds up the process and even creates an understanding customer, and maybe even happier customers at the end of it all.

 

[Wade]

I don't know if this is something that Acura suggested or my service manager came up with but as I told her in an e-mail this morning I now have two reasons for being a return customer - my salesman (four Acuras so far) and her.

 

[HAx5]

Do you think the dealer team was actially learning from us customers, and no the other way around? Just a thought...

 

[dazednconfuzed]

Clinic's like this have been common for 20 years. We used to do monthly clinics when I was still with Honda and draw 50 people every month.

 

[MTD]

Hyundai does them too. They are much more focused on the maintenance and service aspect though. I actually learned a lot about my Genesis by going to one.


A car like the TLX has so many tech features that Id be surprised if any of the salespeople could answer most questions. That's why forums like this are great. The sharing of info educates us all.

 

[MikeinEDH]

Great idea. More should do this since I think it's an excellent way to continue the relationship between dealer and client. I've had 3 followup phone calls from my salesman. A nice touch but not nearly as positive as what Wade attended.