Scrapping of VAT increase, widely welcomed
The National Treasury’s announcement on the scrapping of the proposed increase in Value-Added Tax (VAT) has been widely welcomed.
- Industry News
- 24 April 2025
Quite often the telephone is the first touch point a client will have with any business. I find it so fascinating that, so few businesses actually monitor this aspect of their business.
Dealerships are generally pretty good compared to most other businesses. However, there still seem to be some areas that could be improved upon:
Time to answer incoming calls - calls should be answered promptly. Many businesses now have “smart answering” systems, but if you don’t, you must ensure that you have a standard that is understood by everyone concerned. This standard needs to apply to transferred calls as well.
Answering script - calls should be answered according to a “script” that it appropriate for your dealership. Telephonists should speak clearly and slowly. With the number of official languages and accents in South Africa, it is really important that the client understands what your telephonist is saying. Answering transferred calls also needs to be in accordance with your requirements. Quite often the telephonist is well trained, but the rest of the staff deal with calls willy-nilly.
Transferring calls – most systems have a ring time setting for transferred calls in that they can only ring for a certain time before they revert to the switchboard. I would set this to 5-10 rings at most. Additionally, the telephonist should always ask clients if they want to hold rather than automatically just transfer them again without asking.
Basic telephone activity should be monitored and measured. Some of the many elements to measure and track:
Dealerfloor (dealerfloor.co.za) and I will be publishing regular articles on dealership efficiency. I am really looking forward to sharing ideas with you. Join the conversation by sending a WhatsApp to 082-776-1887 to be added to our group.
The National Treasury’s announcement on the scrapping of the proposed increase in Value-Added Tax (VAT) has been widely welcomed.
A Cape Town vehicle repairer, who has had a consumer’s vehicle for almost two years and failed to complete repairs to the vehicle by an agreed date, has been fined R100 000 by the National Consumer Tribunal and ordered to refund the vehicle’s owner the R77 000 he paid for the repairs.
Widespread rains over large parts of South Africa recently led to rivers breaking their banks and, in some cases, flooding streets and homes. The volume of water has raised concerns among agricultural economists over possible damage to crops.
Advertisement
Advertisement
You can't buy happiness but you can buy cars and that's kind of the same thing.
Unknown
Inefficiency in a dealership is often not that obvious and that is why it is difficult to identify and address.
In the face of a shifting premium automotive market, Audi South Africa is also currently re-aligning its retail operations according to the new reality where the premium vehicle sector has contracted to nearly a third of its size compared to a decade ago, with 2024 marking the lowest level yet.
The commercial vehicle industry has seen a complete shift in the market over the past year. Despite challenging market conditions, Daimler Truck Southern Africa (DTSA), along with its dealers and general distributors, successfully navigated the landscape to deliver great results, it says.