On Friday, Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt Ltd has issued guideline for its dealers to follow while they negative sales and aftersales business post the lockdown. Calling it dealer operations restart guidelines, the company said the steps could assist in ensuring sustainable growth once business resumes.
The company said adherence to strict safety and hygiene practices is the only way to keep the disease at bay. ‘The recovery phase will require unprecedented levels of caution,’ it said in a note. The safety protocols focus on three areas facility and staff across dealership channels, sales, and after-sales operations. For the facility and staff at the dealerships, the manual suggests sanitizing customer touch-points, minimized use of air conditioners inside showrooms, regular thermal checking and formation of a covid-19 task force to address safety concerns and boost morale of employees.On the sales front, measures include avoiding exchange of physical documents as far as possible, and complete disinfection of the vehicle before product demonstration, among others. ‘Masks and gloves will be provided during test drives and the company representative will be directed to sit in the rear seat while the customer drives, adhering to the rule of social distancing,’ it said.
Dealership employees have to provide photo or video evidence of safety measures followed at the respective dealership if customers ask. On the after-sales front, Toyota said the executives will have to show temperature certificate to customer while picking up the vehicles from customer’s house, disinfecting hands before receiving the vehicle keys, drop-off the car only once the seats and steering wheel is disinfected, sharing invoices through emails and Toyota Connect app, digital payments, among other steps.
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