Any feedback would be appreciated....

Hi Guys,

I am a Leaf Specialist at a Nissan dealer and I have 17 upcoming Leaf orders to deliver. Not deliver but that's what we call it anyway. I have 17 Leafs arriving for their prospective owners.

I am just wondering if you have any suggestions for me so I can best take care of my new leaf customers.

I have been in sales with Nissan for 10 years and I am familiar with making things go smoothly by having paperwork ,cars ready, detailed, gased up!!! LOL!!! Just wanted to see if you were paying attention. No but really I take good care of my customers. I have sold over 1,600 cars out of this store with pleanty of repeat buyers.

If you have any positive feedback I would love to hear it.

Cheers!

Work with them to set up their cellphone connectivity, charging timer, and how to work the various Carwings functions.

Where are you?

Point them to some of the smart-phone apps like plug-share. That way they'll know there are more charging stations available than what the car shows on the navigation system.

Also point them to get cards from chargepoint and blink so if they pull up to such a station they'll be able to actually use it. It stinks pulling up to a station and realizing that you need a card and don't have one.

Let them know about other options for home charging besides Aerovironment. EVSEupgrade.com, for example. Make sure things like Carwings are working before delivering the car...my salesperson couldn't get carwings to work and I had to bring the car back a week later for 5 hours...not really convenient for me!

I commend your desire to provide great service.
First thing, assuming you have followed the posts here, please explain that the estimated range gauge is useless and anxiety provoking. Explain that they can estimate a true range by counting the # of bars and multiplying by 5-6 miles per bar depending on speed and style of driving as a rule of thumb.

Give them a copy of this chart posted here http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=4295
Range is one of the most misunderstood and stressful part of owning a Leaf. Explain how cold temp reduces range and that the AC does not affect range much but the heater does.

Otherwise, I agree with the above, setting up carwings/timers and the Nissan app, how to set up Chargepoint app and order rfid card.

That is a short list of what I wish I knew right out of the gate.

What's this? Five responses, and no one yet has said, "Point them to mynissanleaf.com!"

If they are already familiar with it, use a different tone with them, and consider refocusing your demo. They might know almost as much about the car as you do! (I had read the Owner's Manual from cover to cover, and found much of what the specialist had to say a boring waste of time.)

Ray

Number 1: Keep up with them as they go through the process of getting L2 charging installed in their garages. Just check in periodically to give them some feedback, so they don't feel like they're all on their own. Some folks know what they want and can talk fluently to AV and their subs, but some folks just can't put in the time and you don't want them to get the feeling that they're "being taken". Also let them know they can be flexible. I bought an AV evse on eBay for $730 and paid $300 to have it installed. Also, let them know about evse's online at Lowes, and the self-install evse from Leviton. Once they have a working evse at home for what they consider a fair and reasonable price, your job is done.

Number 2: Get them started identifying evse's at or around their areas of interest, like workplace, retail, etc. Just like people have a mental map of their area of the city, they'll develop a mental map of where handy evse's are. Also, show them how to use plugshare (http://www.plugshare.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false, since it's developing into a nice, up-to-date, manufacturer-agnostic evse maping app. If they have smart phones, so much the better, but it's also really useful on the web at home. Remember, Carwings only knows about Coulomb evse's and Nissan dealer evse's. Plugshare will greatly expand their universe of charging opportunities. Others may have their favorites, but I've found plugshare to be my favorite.

MrFish said:

I commend your desire to provide great service.
First thing, assuming you have followed the posts here, please explain that the estimated range gauge is useless and anxiety provoking. Explain that they can estimate a true range by counting the # of bars and multiplying by 5-6 miles per bar depending on speed and style of driving as a rule of thumb.

Click to expand...

I don't think I can agree on this statement. However, I do believe it is good to explain to people how the gauge works. I think many people would get into the car for the first time, see a number like 95 miles on the screen, jump out on the highway, then see it drop to 65. Many people might think that they've already used up 30 miles of range and that in another few minutes the car will be totally depleted. So I do think it is important that they understand how the thing works, and also know how to read the main battery gauge as well.

My suggestion is go above and beyond the usual delivery items at the dealership.

* If your state has EV incentives, print out the paperwork and give it to them.
* If your local utility has an EV rate, get info about it and give that to the customer.
* Tell them about the $7500 Federal Tax credit, if they bought the car.
* Whatever charge service provider is big in your area, get some fobs from that company and give those with the car (ChargePoint, Blink, etc.)
* Have your service department carry some of the popular LEAF accessories, and mention to your customers that these are "in stock". Mudguards, carpet mats, etc.
* Give each customer a small container of touch up paint in the color of their LEAF.
* Work with the Service department to figure out what the 6 month and annual services will cost and let the customers know when they buy. Offer "less severe" and
"more severe" options, not just the more expensive "more severe" services.
* Mention EVSEUpgrade.com if someone has questions about getting an EVSE and they are concerned about the price.
* Partner with a local electrical firm you can send customers to if they really need a garage-mounted 240v EVSE.

If you do some or most of these things, along with the usual delivery services and training on the features of the car, your customers will recognize that you went above and beyond and it will pay off with happy customers, great survey results, and future service business....

Randy

MrFish said:

I commend your desire to provide great service.
First thing, assuming you have followed the posts here, please explain that the estimated range gauge is useless and anxiety provoking. Explain that they can estimate a true range by counting the # of bars and multiplying by 5-6 miles per bar depending on speed and style of driving as a rule of thumb.

Give them a copy of this chart posted here http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=4295
Range is one of the most misunderstood and stressful part of owning a Leaf. Explain how cold temp reduces range and that the AC does not affect range much but the heater does.

Click to expand...

+100

I wish more salespeople would come on enthusiast boards and solicit feedback in order to try to provide great service and information.

As a Prius owner, I'm annoyed to hear so many stories of lack of Prius knowledge at dealers or to find that their salesperson didn't show them/tell them about some critical/semi-critical things. I'm equally annoyed to see some posts here and on Facebook of some new Leaf owners who don't know how the GOM works at all.

This would be my advice and I might be in the minority here: if their L2 is not ready ye, tell your customers not to get too hung up or too stressed out on getting the L2 installed before the delivery.

Ask them what their typical commute in a week, and if they have an ICE? If the answer is less than 50 miles on most days and Yes for the ICE, tell them they can get by on an L1 for now and worry about L2 a few weeks/months later. That was the only advice I received from mine and that eliminated my L2 anxiety.

Excellent advice, so far!

I recommend that you work with the owner and/or manager of your dealership and ensure that the outdoor EVSE(s) at your dealership are never ICEd and will be free 24 hours per day for ALL Nissan LEAF customers to use, regardless of where they purchased their car. I would even suggest allowing them to diconnect a dealer LEAF from the EVSE if no one is there and if they promise to replace the EVSE once done. Explain to your management that the charging infrastructure in your area is largely non-existent today and that this provides a little more comfort to your new customers. Also explain that extending this privilege to other LEAF owners will cost them almost nothing since the LEAF does not often venture far from home.

Along the same lines, I would negotiate reciprocal agreements with the other nearby Nissan dealers which are LEAF certified to allow customers to charge at the other dealerships. While it may not be obvious, the fact is that your customers will almost NEVER need to charge at your dealership, since they live nearby. They are MORE likely to need a charge at a neighboring dealership since that is likely farther from home and they would not be able to make the round trip without it.

Again, this is all about good will and the fact is that you likely will not see many customers use the service, but it is good to have the option. For instance, my dealership is not within walking distance of anything useful, so I cannot imagine charging for more than about 30 minutes in an emergency in order to get home. I have never charged there, FWIW.

You should ask your LEAF customers at the time of sale if they are willing to answer questions from future LEAF prospects since the technology is still new.

Finally, explain that you are still learning about EVs as well and that they should not hesitate to let you know if they have questions or concerns during or after the sale.

have to 2nd Randy's suggestion. critiquing my delivery; What my dealer did not know was ANY of the benefits of buying an EV including the most obvious of the obvious.

i had to tell them to remove the sales tax from my purchase order!! sorry, but no excuse for that. they gave me some lame excuse that the software automatically added that and it could not be removed "easily".

i told them "fine, get out of the way and let me see your computer!" well, they did not think that was a good idea either. so they talked with corporate and it took a few hours but finally got a correct order written up (it took over a week. i eventually ended up seeing 5 different versions and signed 3 of them before they got it right)

so if your state has special incentives, study up on them. get copies of paperwork or provide a worksheet with links, names, numbers for how to get those incentives along with how to get help if needed.

Make sure the Service department knows how to use the
Consult III-Plus, and fully check each LEAF before it is delivered.

Do not store the LEAFs at more than 80% charge, but arrange to charge it to 100% at the time of delivery, if the customer needs/wants a full charge. Verify what they need driving home, because they might not know.

If you cannot get the Capacity info using your Consult III+, buy two of our "SOC-Meters", one to check 100% capacity before delivery, and one to loan out (with a deposit?) to your customers. (grin: Yes, I have an interest in these Meters.)

P.S. I hope to have a self-contained "Log to USB Flash Drive" 2-Channel (EV-CAN and CAR-CAN) version available soon. Development is going well.

If the LEAF buyer is not trading in a vehicle, you might want to ask if he/she needs a ride to/from the dealership when picking up the LEAF.

Others have mentioned the inaccuracy of the GOM (I'm sorry, Nissan calls it the DTE meter), but I would also like to suggest that you tell the new LEAF driver not to panic if he/she gets a low battery warning when almost home. The LEAF will go several miles after the LBW so if they are within 5 miles of home (or other charging location), there is no need for concern.

Gerry

If they're leasing (they also get the $7500 taken off), and they have the FICO score to receive the lowest MF/finance rate, please give it to them instead of raising it like some other sales people have.

TonyWilliams said:

Where are you?

Click to expand...

It shows he's in Bloomington, MN.