Clock Starts Ticking in F&I Office

LAS VEGAS – Time doesn’t stand still in a car dealership’s finance and insurance office. It just can feel that way to some customers wondering why it’s taking so darn long.

“The last time I bought a car it took three hours in F&I – and I paid cash,” says Jenny Howell, a regional marketing manager for American Honda. “There must be ways to make it more efficient.”

There are, such as time-saving practices of taking care of preliminaries on the sales floor rather than in the F&I office and customizing product presentations to menu items that customers express the most interest in.

Otherwise, the toe-tapping waits are among reasons many consumers “brace themselves to go to dealerships,” Curt Viebranz, CEO of Korrelate, a digital marketing firm, says at the J.D. Power and Associates Internet Roundtable here. “It’s a huge hurdle to clear.”

Purchasing a vehicle is a complicated transaction, with a checklist that includes financing, trade-ins, purchase contracts and regulatory compliance.

So it is unreasonable for impatient customers to look for express-checkout lanes at dealerships. But car buyers who feel their time is wasted express frustration, often on customer-satisfaction surveys and social-media sites. 

Many younger buyers want a faster dealership experience, says Heather Haynes, a training manager for F&I service provider JM&A. “We have a whole generation that wants the process to adapt to them, not them to us.”

Today’s customers want straight information, Luis Garcia, a former F&I manager for AutoNation, the country’s largest dealership chain, and currently a training director for Safe-Guard Products International.

“If a customer knows the (loan) rate and asks you about it, and you hem and haw, they are going to see through that,” he says at a recent F&I Management and Technology Conference.

“The days of hiding answers are over,” Garcia says. “It is the 21^st century. Everyone has smartphones and the Internet. The information is out there.”

Using a menu that highlights and bundles F&I products and services helps move things along. “The best way to use a menu is to be flexible and adaptable to your customer,” Haynes says.

Some experts note that because the clock starts ticking in the F&I office, it makes sense for the finance manager to first go on the sales floor to meet the customer and ask “needs-analysis” questions on vehicle usage and expected length of ownership.

That speeds things up and allows the manager to personalize the sales presentation.

“The most effective finance managers do a phenomenal job of finding out customer needs and bonding with customers before they go into the F&I office,” says Joe Amendola, senior vice president at Resource Automotive, a training and warranty firm.

Garcia adds: “If a customer tells you he drives 10,000 miles (16,000 km) a year and trades in his car every two years, you probably aren’t going to sell him an extended-service contract. But someone who tells you he’s on the 401 freeway in Los Angeles for four hours a day might be interested in a wheel-protection plan.”

Personalized menus are great, but don’t overdo it or a time-conscious customer may end up irked, warns F&I trainer Ron Reahard. “Some F&I managers sit in their office trying to create the best customized menu while the customer is sitting outside waiting. Talk to the customer. Don’t play with your computer.”

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