07 April 2015

Test drives sell cars. They are the bedrock of the auto retailer’s craft: handled well, they rank among the most effective ways for sales pros to spend time. However, as this tale from this week’s news coverage bears evidence, they can also carry considerable risk.

We can’t say what contributed to events here, or who (if anyone) was at fault. This case does, however, point to the dangers that are present, especially if the vehicle is powerful. And any salesman or woman who’s been in the game a while will have at least one story of a test drive they’d cut short because a customer took too many chances on the road.

But while most managers allow to their staff to judge who they trust behind the wheel, few companies, it seems, go so far as to issue a fully resolved, written policy for test-drive safety. Where such documents do exist they appear to concentrate on ensuring that the driver is insured and otherwise road-legal.

Are you and your staff, for instance, as vigilant as you should be for even a trace of alcohol on a customer’s breath? Do you also watch for dilated pupils and short attention span that might indicate that they have recently indulged in other not-so-legal pleasures? If not, maybe you should.

If I were selling cars for a living, I’d be darned sure to put my continued good health ahead of any potential bonus that a risky test-drive and ensuing sale might otherwise earn.

Yet I can fully understand how someone going through a lean spell of orders might throw caution to the wind and take out anyone and everyone. In such instances, a formal company policy might just be the decider in keeping such a team member safe.

Most customers are nice and the majority of test drives are routine, ending happily for all. That said, caution is always preferable to regret.

Ray Castle

Tags: Dealers, safety, test drives