Getting customers to and from dealerships efficiently matters when thousands of customers are coming in and out of Chapman dealerships for car maintenance and scheduled service appointments each month.

For years, Chapman dealerships provided free shuttles or loaner vehicles to move customers from A to B. However, long wait times for shuttle vans and multiple stops along shuttle routes led to customer complaints and inefficient use of time.

Not only were shuttles slow, they were also expensive to operate. Some dealerships employed dedicated full-time drivers, while others relied on parking lot attendants to drive shuttles, which kept these employees away from their day-to-day responsibilities and limited their time to train for other high-priority roles.

“With one driver gone for three hours during that particular day, I've got limited service for other customers. Switching to Lyft was a matter of enhancing our level of service,” shares Mike Ellis, Service Director at Chapman Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram Scottsdale.

To make employees more efficient and to stay true to its customer-first mission, Chapman Automotive Group saw an opportunity to improve how it moved its customers to and from dealerships by offering on-demand Lyft rides.

Service departments were already using Xtime Schedule to book service department appointments for customers. Xtime Rideshare powered by Lyft enables service advisors to easily arrange safe, reliable rides to and from the dealership in just a few clicks.

“You just pull up the appointment card, click ‘rideshare,’ put where they need to go, and submit the request,” shares Scott Haddock, Service Director of Honda Tucson. “Requesting a Lyft courtesy ride in Xtime is easy.”

Customers then receive a confirmation text from Lyft with instructions and details about the ride.

Almost immediately, service advisors found that the Xtime and Lyft integration saves customers time. Customers can drop their cars off before work and be confident that they will reach their next appointment on time.

It’s like having “an unlimited number of shuttle drivers at all different times of the day,” shares Bob Rose, the Service Director of Scottsdale Ford Chapman Dealership.

Mike Ellis adds, “I have the ability to put eight people in eight cars to take them exactly where they need to go now.”

Not only can Chapman employees prioritize their customers’ time better, but they can organize their own day-to-day schedules more efficiently. Former shuttle drivers were cross trained to perform quick-lane work. Instead of driving, staff can now change oil and check tire pressure.

“We’ve increased throughput and expanded our service tremendously,” Bob Rose of Chapman Ford explains. His dealership experienced a 53% increase in net profit despite a 5% drop in traffic due to COVID-19.

At Chapman Honda, Scott Haddock’s team became so efficient that it can now process the majority of express business, such as oil changes or tire rotations, in 45 minutes or less. He estimates that his dealership has reduced a customer bottleneck by up to 35%, meaning that employees can service more cars each month by getting customers in and out of the dealership faster. Consequently, Chapman Honda was one of 30 dealerships out of 660 that won the prestigious Honda Express Elite Award last year.

"There are times where I'll have 20-25 cars in my service line. That's where the convenience of Lyft comes in,” shares Scott Haddock. "Order a Lyft and the customer’s gone within minutes. No stress to the customer or my advisor.”

Chapman Automotive Group looks forward to continuing to implement convenient and cost saving technologies that improve customer satisfaction. According to Mike Ellis, “the customer comes first. Without a customer, we have no reason to be. When a product like Lyft assists us in offering ‘the remarkable experience’ —that’s the way it should be.”