Auto Dealer Creates ‘Demilitarized Zone’ for Customers

Auto dealer Rinaldi Halim says he has created a demilitarized zone of sorts to eliminate potential antagonism in the car-buying process.

The dealer principal of Los Angeles Chrysler Dodge Ram Jeep will talk about that at the annual Automotive Customer Experience Summit on June 18-19 in Marina Del Rey, CA.

He is one of several speakers scheduled for that event and a companion conference, the Auto CX Analytics & AI Summit on June 19-20 at the same location, the Ritz-Carlton in Marina Del Rey. 

Halim says consumers don’t want to buy cars solely on dealers’ terms. Instead, they want to purchase based on their own research and terms they believe are fair. 

But with no established protocol to help consumers and car retailers find a neutral middle ground, the two parties can remain locked in a battle to get the best deal, something that can lead to confusion and mistrust, Halim says. 

Rinaldi Halim

The Automotive CX Summit aims to address both the technology required to digitize and automate CX business processes and the strategies required to leverage data, customer insights and cultural change. (Rinaldi Halim, left)

Other speakers at the first conference include Arianne Walker, Amazon Alexa Auto’s chief evangelist, and Anupam Malhotra, Audi of America’s director-connected vehicles and data.

Walker and Malhotra will share details about how they are collaborating on new vehicle-specific features designed to solve vehicle voice-recognition challenges.

Despite recent advances in cloud computing, machine learning and speech science, drivers consistently cite in-vehicle voice recognition among their top complaints.

Auto CX Analytics & AI Summit will focus on harnessing data – the lifeblood of the new business world – to create actionable insights and develop sustainable strategies for ever-increasing customer expectations.

Speakers include Garth Blumenthal, dealer principal of Mercedes-Benz Temecula (CA). He will explain how people, process and technology merge to provide a world-class guest experience that builds long-term relationships with customers.  He’ll also review his dealership’s floor and web traffic analysis and what metrics the store measures to create actionable insights.

Among other speakers at the second conference is Mike Spadafore, Ford’s manager-intelligent customer interactions product innovation.

He will discuss the operational issues that need to be resolved to obtain the institutional knowledge needed to achieve consistent success.

Thought Leadership Summits puts on both conferences. For more information on them and to register for either or both, click here.