It’s the little things that can make a big difference in business. For auto dealerships and service shops, providing your customers with a welcoming waiting area can help you stand out from the competition. Adding TV to your waiting areas can help reduce perceived wait times, keep customers entertained and drive more profits for your business. Learn how DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS® can help turn wait times into a better customer experience with our affordable TV packages.
Ready to get started with DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS? Explore our packages today!
Why Add TV Entertainment to Your Auto Waiting Room?
Whether you run a tire shop, a brake shop, an auto body shop, a quick lube or express service shop, a muffler shop or a dealership service center, you’ll have customers waiting while you service their vehicle. Adding TV entertainment to your auto waiting room can help fuel a better customer experience by creating a more welcoming environment.
A Salesforce study1 found that 52% of customers feel “anxious or uncomfortable” when visiting a dealer. And according to a survey by CDK Global, 53% of people said they were willing to wait on-site for their vehicle to be serviced, but 75% said that a comfortable waiting area was critical to customer satisfaction.
Adding entertainment can help put your customers at ease and make them feel more at home, especially while they wait to complete paperwork or for their car to be serviced. Providing entertainment can also help reduce perceived wait times.
Keep customers coming back by going the extra mile with your business’s waiting areas. Here are our top tips for car dealerships and service shops.
What Should Car Businesses Include in Their Waiting Rooms?
Here are simple ways to turn your waiting room into a customer-friendly space that builds loyalty:
- Provide plenty of seating: The average car service can take anywhere from 30 minutes to four hours. Be sure to provide your customers with plenty of seating so they can be comfortable as they wait.
- Offer Food & Beverages: Offering light refreshments, such as water, coffee, tea, or small snacks like chips or doughnuts, can go a long way in customer satisfaction.
- Complimentary Wi-Fi: With more people having the flexibility of being able to work remotely, Wi-Fi is a must for customers. Offering places to charge laptops or even quiet rooms where customers can take work calls can help you stand out from the competition.
- Entertainment: TV, magazines and a play area for people with kids can all help keep your customers happy and entertained while they wait.
What Type of TV Programming Should I Show at My Car Dealership or Service Shop?
Once you’ve decided to add TV to your waiting room, you may be wondering what type of programming to show at your tire shop, break shop, oil change, auto repair shop or dealership service center. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Local News & Weather: Showing local news, weather or morning shows can help keep your customers entertained and informed. It’s best to stay away from controversial or highly political news stations to avoid alienating customers.
- Sports: Keep sports fans entertained by showing all their favorite games. DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS offers top TV sports packages like NFL SUNDAY TICKET, MLB EXTRA INNINGS®, ESPN+ for Business and more.
- Auto Shows: Tune into stations like MotorTrend TV for car restoration shows, car competition shows and more.
- Family-Friendly Programming: Home renovation shows on HGTV, cooking shows on the Food Network and shows on the Travel Channel are great options that everyone can enjoy.
- International programming: From Spanish to Cantonese language programming, DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS can help make your waiting room more welcoming for all your customers. Check out our international packages.
Upgrade your Auto Waiting Room Ambiance
DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS doesn’t just offer TV. Businesses can also play music in their waiting rooms with Music Choice®. This additional add-on allows businesses to stream commercial-free music delivered via satellite. Car dealerships and service shops can also promote their business with advanced customized messaging. Consider whether your business could benefit by adding Music Choice for your customers.
Go the Extra Mile with DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS
Ready to rev up your waiting room experience? DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS offers a wide variety of affordable business TV packages to fit the needs of your auto dealership or service shop. We deliver the highest value and the best programming to help give your business a competitive edge. Call 888-303-9117 to get started today.
1. A study on the “State of the Connected Customer” conducted by Salesforce
