Could you soon see a BMW Genius at a BMW dealership near you soon? According to Adage, BMW is requiring stores to hire young , tech savvy employees to handle customer’s questions inside the showroom. Discover the new customer service program and how BMW is using technology to empower customers below.
The BMW Genius Everywhere Program already made its debut in a new store opened in Paris. This program is an initiative to interact and educate possible customers without the pressure of purchasing. Unlike the Apple’s Genius who handles already purchased devices with consumers, the first customer contact would be with the BMW Genius on the showroom floor to handle all insight prior to their purchase.
The “BMW Genius Everywhere” program is slated to go nationwide in about a year, with specially trained employees — many of them college students — patrolling dealerships with iPads in hand. The BMW “geniuses” will be available to inform shoppers about vehicles and features, but they will not sell cars.
The approach is similar to the Genius Bar program in every Apple outlet — product explainers and troubleshooters who answer questions and give free technical support. Last year, General Motors also took a page from the Genius Bar program by requiring Cadillac dealers to designate two employees as certified CUE specialists — one in sales, the other in service — as experts to walk customers through the system known as the Cadillac User Experience, or CUE.
BMW’s Genius program is part of an enlarged package of video and audio information at BMW of North America. It will include vehicle and feature explanations on the BMW USA website, on special iPad and iPhone applications and via the BMW Assist call button inside every vehicle. Information and feature explanations will be available on the website and special iPad and iPod applications and inside every vehicle likely by 2014. For more information visit DivasandDorks.com
