Driving Efficiency: Stillwell Motor Group Enhances Payment Processes and Customer Satisfaction

Background

Stillwell Motor Group (SMG) is a successful and highly respected privately-owned automotive group who have multiple dealership brands across Melbourne, including Volvo, BMW, Mini, Motorrad, Ducati and MG. They had challenges in their payment and reconciliation processes that were impacting customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.

Challenges

The process for taking payments was time-consuming, inconvenient and in some cases created PCI-DSS compliance challenges. 

From a car sales perspective, deposits are taken via payment terminals and the receipts need to be manually reconciled by the finance team. If the receipts are lost or order numbers aren’t written on the receipt, it makes reconciliation very difficult. This causes delays and frustrations for the customer at the point of collecting their new car.

On the car servicing side, there is the ‘5 o’clock rush’ - when everyone arrives at the same time to collect their car. This creates queues at the payment terminals, again causing delays and frustrations for customers.

Solution

We worked with the SMG team to set up the Glider platform to integrate seamlessly with existing processes. Glider’s agent assisted payments enables SMG to easily and quickly create digital payment requests (fully branded as each dealership), that can be shared with customers via SMS or email. Each employee has their own login, enabling oversight of their teams and ensuring stronger security and accountability.

Results

Improved Employee and Customer Experience

Glider’s solution has made it easy for employees across the dealerships to create and send customer payment requests via SMS and email. Customers are able to pay securely with their preferred payment method and at a time that suits them.

For the sales teams an added benefit has been that they are able to close deals more quickly as they can send the deposit payment request from wherever and at whatever time needed, rather than waiting until they are in the office with access to a payment terminal.

In the case of car servicing, the teams are now able to send payment requests, with a copy of the tax invoice, during the day. Customers can pay at their convenience and with their preferred payment method. When the customer arrives to pick up their car the team can simply hand over the keys - no queuing to pay, no delays.

Security and Compliance

The shift from taking card details over the phone to Glider’s secure payment requests means the company no longer handles any sensitive payment information over the phone. Enabling SMG to descope employees and their phone system from PCI-DSS audits and reducing risks associated with data breaches.

Increased Efficiency and Accuracy

The introduction of Glider has drastically reduced manual errors. With daily reconciliation and clear tracking, it is easy to identify who sent each payment request and follow up promptly if there are any issues or questions. The reconciliation process is greatly simplified, with the Finance Team receiving daily reports which can be quickly verified and imported into their accounting package. In addition, refunds are now far simpler and more secure. With Glider, the team can process refunds directly back to the original payment method and limited to the original payment amount.

Conclusion

By improving transparency and accountability on transactions, and automating payment reconciliation, Glider has transformed a previously cumbersome process into a streamlined and reliable one. Ultimately delivering easier, faster and happier experiences for SMG’s customers and employees.