Since joining CDK Global more than a year ago, CEO Brian Krzanich has emphasized a commitment to improving customer service.
This story by Lindsay Vanhulle originally appeared in Automotive News.
The dealership management system giant isn’t wavering on that pledge. CDK plans to spend more than $300 million over its next three fiscal years – into 2022 – on new technology and efforts to improve processes, Krzanich wrote to dealership customers in a letter dated Friday, Feb. 14, timed with the start of the NADA Show in Las Vegas.
At the show, the company planned to launch a new customer rewards program that aims to give dealers more consistency around pricing for CDK products. CDK also was expected to announce several initiatives related to its Fortellis open network development platform in Las Vegas.
The attention CDK is paying to increasing satisfaction with its customer service comes in response to dealerships’ frustration with it, something Krzanich said he has heard since he joined the company in November 2018.
In his letter, Krzanich wrote that CDK has hired 100 advocates and performance managers, with more expected to join in the future. CDK is working to ensure employees are available when dealerships have questions and to make billing more user-friendly.
That includes expanded service hours and reduced telephone wait times, he wrote. A simpler invoice is expected to be in use by the fall.
So far, CDK says the efforts are working.
On the company’s fiscal second-quarter earnings call this month, Krzanich cited two examples of unidentified dealership groups that signed up with CDK. A group with more than 10 locations dropped CDK a few quarters back, citing issues with contracts and customer support, he said, but came back this month and signed a five-year contract with CDK after the sales team told the group about improvements it’s making.
The second is a group with more than 40 locations, and Krzanich said he personally visited to see the first part of the group’s installation.
