Don’t Let Wi-Fi Kill Your Dealership

It’s one of those things that manufacturers put onto motor dealers as part of the dealer standards – of which, of course, bonuses depend upon.

The need to provide customers with free Wi-Fi is simple enough, right?

In theory, yes.

When this directive first came out, there were lots of pages of legislation in the EU regarding keeping browsing history for a certain length of time, having to insist on log-ins and bestowing the virtues of capturing customer details for marketing purposes.

Since those early days, most franchise dealers have installed guest Wi-Fi in their showrooms and duly advertised the fact to their customers. Great.

What’s not-so-great is the fact that some have not done it well. At worst it could cost them their business. At best, it can slow down the communications and make the technicians inefficient and cranky!

A recent Farncote survey of over 30 franchised dealerships showed that:

• 65% had no content filtering for guests

• 20% had no password authentication

• 7% had workshop Wi-Fi open to the public

What does this mean?

• Danger of copyright litigation and fines due to illegal downloads. Dealers have been fined for this before.

• Slow internet connection for the site if a guest is streaming and the Wi-Fi is on a shared connection. Complaints from staff, including technicians, of slow internet

• Open access for staff, allowing them to browse any content. Potentially offending someone enough for them to complain or introducing a virus. (Actually, staff should be using the company connectivity, not the public one - this should be monitored and controlled)

• Danger of introducing viruses and malware. Remember the NHS breach?

• Open access to site creates risk of data loss and Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) fines (GDPR). From May 2018 you could be fined.

The good news is that it’s relatively straightforward – and inexpensive – to rectify.

So, if you think you are part of the 65%, do something about it now before it’s too late.