Most dealership owners spend a lot of time reviewing financials, walking the showroom, and holding managers accountable. But there’s one diagnostic tool that costs nothing, takes 10 minutes, and delivers brutal honesty almost immediately:
Call your own store.
Not as the owner.
Not as “Hey, this is Brian.”
But as a customer.
Because the fastest way to understand how hard it is to do business with your company… is to try.
When you dial your store, ask yourself:
Customers don’t start their buying journey in your showroom.
They start it right here, on the phone.
If the first 15 seconds feel inconvenient, confusing, or cold, most customers won’t push through. They’ll just hang up and call the next dealership.
Now ask a simple question:
“I’m looking for a part / need service / want pricing information.”
Pay attention to what happens next.
Customers don’t call dealerships because it’s fun. They call because they need help. If your team sounds annoyed by that fact, the customer feels it instantly.
Few things expose internal dysfunction faster than phone transfers.
Every transfer is a trust test.
Every dropped call is a lost opportunity.
If it’s frustrating for you as the owner, imagine how it feels for a first-time customer who doesn’t care about your internal staffing challenges.
Before hanging up, ask yourself one final question:
Did anyone try to earn my business?
Many dealerships answer phones like information desks, not sales and service gateways. The call ends… and so does the opportunity.
Let’s be honest—most owners don’t shop their own stores because they’re afraid of what they’ll hear.
But avoiding the truth doesn’t protect your brand.
It slowly erodes it.
Your phone process is either:
There is no middle ground.
Shopping your own store isn’t about catching people doing things wrong.
It’s about understanding the customer experience you’re actually delivering—not the one you think you are.
The strongest dealerships:
Because the hardest sale you’ll ever make…
might be convincing a customer to stay on the line.
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