Martin Malboeuf, General Manager, Honda Ste-Rose
Honda Ste-Rose found themselves in a familiar automotive industry predicament: despite providing quality service, they struggled to generate positive online reviews. With a 3.8 rating and only 202 reviews on Google, they were significantly underperforming their potential. Traditional approaches, including employee bonus programs, had failed to create sustainable momentum.
The dealership faced the classic review paradox where unhappy customers were motivated to share their experiences online, while satisfied customers simply moved on without leaving feedback. More critically, the dealership lacked a systematic way to capture customer insights that could drive service improvements and staff development.
Key challenges included:
• Limited positive review generation despite good service quality
• Ineffective employee incentive programs
• No structured system for capturing real-time customer feedback
• Missed opportunities for staff training and development
• Inability to identify and address service weaknesses proactively
• Negative feedback appearing publicly without opportunity for resolution
The turning point for Honda Ste-Rose came when leadership changed their perspective
on reputation management. Rather than viewing it as an expense to manage their
online image, they recognized it as a strategic investment in two critical areas: team
development and customer satisfaction.
This shift in thinking transformed the entire approach. The system became not just
about collecting reviews, but about creating a continuous feedback loop that would:
• Provide staff with real-time learning opportunities
• Identify service weaknesses before they became patterns
• Give customers a meaningful channel to share their experiences
• Build a culture of continuous improvement
We implemented an automated feedback system designed to capture customer
impressions while experiences were still fresh. The system served multiple purposes:
protecting online reputation, providing staff development insights, and creating a direct
communication channel between customers and management.
Key components of the system:
Real-Time Feedback Capture: Automated outreach to customers immediately after
their service experience, ensuring feedback is based on fresh, accurate impressions
Intimate Communication Channel: Private feedback system allowing customers to
share honest impressions directly with the dealership rather than posting publicly
Staff Training Tool: Systematic feedback enabling managers to identify training
opportunities and recognize excellence
Service Quality Monitoring: Continuous insight into customer service strengths and
weaknesses across all touchpoints
Reputation Protection: Proactive identification and resolution of concerns before they
become negative online reviews
The transformation at Honda Ste-Rose was both quantitative and qualitative. The
dealership not only improved their online presence dramatically but also built a more
responsive, customer-focused organization.
Measurable Outcomes:
• Rating improved from 3.8 to 4.5 stars
• Review volume increased from 202 to over 1,000 reviews
• Nearly 5x increase in total customer feedback captured
• Significant reduction in negative public reviews
Operational Benefits:
• Continuous staff training insights from real customer experiences
• Early identification of service delivery weaknesses
• Enhanced customer satisfaction through proactive issue resolution
• Stronger customer relationships through meaningful two-way communication
Cultural Impact:
The system fundamentally changed how the dealership approached customer service.
Customers appreciated having a direct channel to share their experiences rather than
feeling compelled to post online. Staff members gained valuable insights into their
performance, creating opportunities for growth and development. Management could
now maintain their finger on the pulse of customer satisfaction in real-time, enabling
rapid response to emerging issues.
Martin Malboeuf, General Manager, Honda Ste-Rose
The Honda Ste-Rose case demonstrates that reputation management systems deliver
maximum value when viewed as multifaceted business tools rather than simple review
collection mechanisms.
1. Investment vs. Expense Mindset: Viewing reputation management as an
investment in team development and customer relationships rather than a defensive
expense fundamentally changes outcomes and organizational buy-in.
2. Real-Time Feedback Powers Growth: Capturing customer impressions while
experiences are fresh provides actionable insights that drive continuous improvement in
service delivery and staff performance.
3. Multiple Value Streams: The most effective systems serve multiple purposes
simultaneously: reputation protection, staff training, service quality monitoring, and
customer relationship building.
4. Private Channels Build Trust: Customers appreciate having a direct, private way to
share feedback, which strengthens relationships and prevents issues from escalating to
public complaints.
5. Systematic Approach Enables Scale: Automated systems ensure consistent
feedback collection and response regardless of staff turnover or management
availability, enabling sustained improvement over time.
Honda Ste-Rose’s journey from a 3.8 rating with 202 reviews to a 4.5 rating with over
1,000 reviews represents more than just numerical improvement.
By reframing reputation management as a strategic investment in team development and customer
relationships, the dealership created a system that simultaneously protects their online
image, develops their staff, and strengthens customer loyalty.
Their success demonstrates that when businesses create meaningful channels for customer
communication and use feedback as a learning tool rather than just a metric to manage,
they can achieve transformative results that extend far beyond their online ratings. The
key insight is that the most valuable reputation management systems are those that
serve the dual purpose of understanding customers better while helping teams grow
and improve continuously.
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