Miller Auto Center Finds Nextel Phones Improve Customer Service

"The time we save with Nextel phones enables us to sell more cars and respond better to customers. Miller Auto Center employees have come to rely on Nextel's Direct Connect® feature." --Dan Dunn, General Manager

Buying or leasing a car can turn out to be a long, overwhelming process filled with numerous decisions: Sports utility vehicle or sedan? Four-wheel or front-wheel drive? Single or dual airbags? The job of the salesperson, besides -- of course -- selling cars, is making the car buying process as painless as possible for customers, says Dan Dunn, General Manager of Miller Auto Center in St. Cloud.

With two car lots covering 15 acres, Miller Auto Center is home of the largest used car lot in the Midwest. Spanning so much territory, however, created communication challenges between salespeople and managers, especially when they relied on an outdated paging system and an inadequate number of phone lines. For example, a salesperson would have to cross the entire lot to get a quote on a trade-in car or find out the availability of colors for a specific model. "The car-buying process can be challenging enough for customers," Dunn said. "We didn't want to add an extra 20 minutes to an already lengthy process."

Dunn realized that if he gave his staff the right communication tools, trips across the lot would become unnecessary and his salespeople would have more time to spend with customers - making them more productive. After researching various communication systems, Dunn chose Nextel.

Nextel phones combine cellular communication with a unique two-way digital radio and a pager in one system. The two-way radio built into the Nextel handset. Just by pushing a button on the side of a Nextel phone, Miller Auto users are able to connect instantly to their coworkers to get information on car prices or color availability. There is no dial tone, no ringing, and the connection is immediate.

"Communication is so much easier now that we have our Nextel phones," says Dunn. "They have made us more efficient - there is no question about it! Prior to buying our 55 units, trying to connect with coworkers wasted a lot of time. Now all we have to do is press a button and we have instant contact. The time we save with Nextel phones enables us to sell more cars and respond better to customers. Miller Auto Center employees have come to rely on Nextel's Direct Connect feature."

"Using Nextel just makes good business sense," Dunn concluded.