It appears at least one brand is recognizing the importance of a well-informed owner, with Nissan choosing to offer a so-called Second Delivery for its all-electric Ariya. Interestingly, a dig into the program reveals that dealers can farm the duties out to a third party called Doppler Automotive.
The concept of a Second Delivery is nothing new; in fact, when this writer was slinging new Fords about two decades ago, the same idea was being floated at the dealer level way back then as a way to improve customer satisfaction and – bluntly – get them back into the showroom. It was shelved because the dealer principal felt his sales staff were better utilized selling new cars instead of explaining ones which had already gone out the door.
Nissan’s program addresses the thorny issue of taking sales staff off the floor by giving dealers the option to hire, at Nissan corporate expense, a third party to perform this task. A company called Doppler Automotive seems to have been tapped to walk customers through the complexities of their new Nissan a second time, with the tab for such being picked up by corporate which pays Doppler directly. There is an option for using “dealership staff as Tech Experts to complete the Second Delivery”.
Why would dealers do any of this? To line their own pockets, of course. A quick perusal of the program’s legalese confirms that participating dealers will be eligible for certain incentive payments if they participate the program. However, it reads like the dealer will only get those credits if dealer staff do the Second Delivery, not Doppler. The plot thickens.
The dealer could also stand to improve its fortunes by taking care of customers in this manner and getting better scores on after-sales surveys. Looking farther into the future, analyst companies like J.D. Power love to make lists about the likes of ‘initial quality’ which, these days, counts a confusing infotainment system alongside a shattered transmission. If customers are better informed about how their cars work, perhaps it would increase those scores as well.
For now, only the all-electric Ariya gets this program, which has apparently been in place for about a year.
[Image: Nissan]
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