Calling car dealership just got easier
Firm offers advice to car sellers on improving phone customer service
Ever wonder who’s listening in when you place a call and get that familiar automated response “This call may be monitored for quality purposes”? It’s Timonium-based CallRevu. The company, founded in 2010, monitors and evaluates customer service calls for car dealerships, then uses the information to train employees on how to improve their call-handling techniques.
CEO Chip King, who worked in auto sales for more than 30 years, knows firsthand that they need all the help they can get.
“Most customers would rather go to the dentist and get drilled without Novocaine than call a car dealership,” King said.
King met his future business partner and came up with the idea for the company while working as a general manager at a Toyota dealership. He had fired an advertising agency after disappointing sales from a pricey advertising campaign. David Boice, who represented the advertising firm, suggested King should consider whether his customer service was part of the problem.
King started small, spending nights listening to customer service calls recorded earlier in the day, compiling findings in an Excel spreadsheet and sharing the information with the dealership the next day.
As more dealerships signed on, King decided to get back in touch with Boice and turn the venture into a company.
Over the past two years, CallRevu has grown its client base from 1,000 dealerships to 3,300 and added 75 employees to its Timonium office.
The company recently received a significant investment from San Francisco-based Serent Capital, which valued the company at $25 million.
The deal, which bought out Boice’s share of the company, will give CallRevu needed financing to take advantage of growing demand, as phone calls become a more critical touch point.
Calls used to come largely from people seeking basic information or casually inquiring about cars. Now, customers are increasingly browsing online first and calling only once they have a good idea of what they want.
What’s more, the stakes are higher for salesmen to be honest on the phone, since information about car value and cost is so readily available online, King said.
“Our goal is really to make your experience with your car dealer a better one,” King said, “starting with the phone.”