FEATURE STORY
By Jeff Sheets
Ethanol:
A customer service chAllenge
I
n 1990, who would have thought what the Clean Air Act
would bring to the outdoor power equipment industry?
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 pushed the envelope even
further by mandating that renewable fuel be included in
all gasoline. Since then, billions of dollars have been spent
by consumers to repair or replace outdoor power equipment,
and it has changed the industry forever. Ethanol is a double-
edged sword for an OPE dealership. It can be a great financial
boost to service departments because of its damaging effects
on equipment, but it can create a customer service nightmare
because customers question whether their equipment is
defective due to problems that can crop up in less than a year.
So, how do you effectively communicate the effects of ethanol
to your customers, and how do you avoid problems associated
with it in the sales process? How do you communicate to those
16 O U T D O O R P O W E R E Q U I P M E N T www.outdoorpower equipment.com
Ethanol is a double-edged sword for
an OPE dealership. It can be a great
financial boost to service departments
because of its damaging effects
on equipment, but it can create a
customer service nightmare.
Image
©istockphoto.com/ozgurcankaya
