State Gives OK for Sales By Appointment
State Gives OK for Sales By Appointment New Guidance Covers Dealers Statewide
NYSADA received positive information from Gov. Cuomo’s Administration about new guidance allowing dealers to show vehicles and meet with customers by appointment only. This announce- ment comes a week after the State’s Dealers Associations sent Governor Cuomo a plan to restart on-site sales amid the COVID-19 crisis.
Showroom access is still restricted to all walk-ins and dealership staff must direct a person to call the dealership to make an appointment if they want to view a vehicle and speak with a sales representative.
Dealers are recommended to continue negotiating sales transaction by phone or electronically, but with this new guidance, customers can meet with a sales representative about purchasing a vehicle at the dealership.
If a customer shows up for an appointment to see a vehicle, the dealer must be sure to follow social dis- tancing rules, including wearing a mask when interacting with the customer. Dealers should sanitize their vehicles before and after a customer enters one. And a dealer may never accompany a customer on a test- drive.
A full list of proper protocols a dealer needs to follow include:
Health and Safety Guidelines for Employees and Customers:
- Maintain social distancing protocols. If necessary, adjust workplace hours and shift design as necessary to reduce density in the workplace.
- Require all employees and customers to wear masks if in frequent contact with others.
- Implement strict cleaning and sanitation standards. Recommend hand sanitizer be made available throughout the dealership.
- Enact a continuous health screening process for individuals to enter the workplace.
Enhanced Sales Process:
- Test driving vehicles is permissible. Proper sanitization of the vehicle before and after the test drive is rec- ommended. Dealership employees should not accompany the customer on a test drive.
- It is recommended that there be a designated employee to monitor adherence to social distancing. Man- age showroom traffic to avoid high-density occurrences.
Staffing:
- With the enhanced selling process, dealers should only have essential staff necessary to facilitate sales.
Optional Recommendations:
- Signage in Customer Access Areas: Recommend dealers place health and proper hygiene reminders, along with social distancing reminders.
- Recommend vehicles only be accessed for test-drives upon request. Use of plastic steering wheel wraps and cover other commonly touched surfaces in vehicles during test drives. Dealers keep a control log of your sanitation activity/process.
- Dealers should consider scheduling “high-risk” customers for a specific day or time of day
- Enact a continuous health screening process for individuals to enter the workplace.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact NYSADA at 518.463.1148.
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