Method and system for automobile transactions6041310Abstract The invention relates to a method and system for facilitating a transaction between a customer and an automobile dealership. The system includes a kiosk including an input/display terminal and a terminal processor for formulating a multilevel customer query of automobile inventory. The query searches a storage device containing automobile data and images to return a selected inventory to the input/display device. The practice of the invention includes storing customer data, selected inventory information for later access by a marketing follow-up application and a financing and insurance application. Claims What is claimed is: Description A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
TABLE 1
______________________________________
Inventory Data
______________________________________
Model Year Stock Number
Make Vehicle Identification Number
Model Transmission
Body Style Engine
Color Location
Mileage Features
Price Vehicle Image
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The features information item refers to such things as type radio, cruise control, tilt steering wheel power windows and the power windows and the like which will vary from vehicle to vehicle. This listing is exemplary only and may be expanded to fit a particular vehicle type. The equipment selected for the data server and the terminal processor should be capable of displaying large image files quickly. Therefore, a preferred device for the terminal processor is a Pentium-based personal computer operating at a clock speed of at least 166 Mhz and having at least 32 Meg of Random Access Memory (RAM). Less capable equipment may be technically capable but may be so slow as to cause customer dissatisfaction with system performance. Desirably, the data server is a dual processor unit operating at a clock speed of 200 Mhz to create a network capable of 100 MPS. The selection of suitable computer equipment for the practice of the present invention is within the skill of one of ordinary skill in the art. The programming for the present invention can be accomplished with any one of the well-known computer languages. In a preferred embodiment, the Delphi language is used. The customer data is created and saved as customers are logged in and use the system. This data is comprised of basic information about each customer, such as, but not limited to, name, address and phone number. The check-in system 18 is a computerized system for capturing information concerning newly-acquired automobiles as they are brought into the dealership. These systems are well known in the automobile business and are available from a variety of vendors. As shown in more detail in FIG. 1A, this system may include a laptop computer for recording inventory data shown in Table 1 for each automobile. The information could include a digital image of the vehicle. Desirably, the images are recorded in the well-known JPEG file format although other images such as MPEG could be used. In order to speed the later processing of the images and to conserve storage device space, the images may be compressed for storage. A typical image file having a size of 1 megabyte could be compressed to about a third that size using well-known compression techniques. The newly-acquired automobiles must be cleaned and given a mechanical examination prior to being formally added to the dealership inventory in the system. Prior to that time, it is not desirable to make a vehicle available for customer queries generated by the present invention. The practice of the present invention includes providing an interface between the check-in system 18 and the storage device 12 so that periodically data relating to newly-acquired vehicles may be uploaded into the storage device 12. This data concerning the newly-acquired vehicles will not be available for customer query at terminal 10 until dealership management has priced the vehicle and declared it ready for sale. Terminal 10 accepts customer input and displays the results of system queries. The terminal 10 should include a monitor large enough to permit easy viewing and to accept input using a touch screen. An acceptable monitor is the Viewsonic 17GS. Touch screen technology is preferable for customer input over conventional keyboards because keyboards quickly show wear from heavy use. Additionally, it is believed that touch screens in the long term are more reliable than keyboards. Touch screens are also much more "user-friendly" and less intimidating for some customers. Touch screen technology is well known in the art and will not be explained in detail here. The terminal 10 is connected to a terminal 10a which contains all the executable files and some of the data files required to generate the displays on the terminal 10. The data server 11 acts as an interface between the kiosk processor 10a and the other components of the system. Turning now to FIG. 2, there is illustrated a kiosk 20 of the present invention. The kiosk is made up of four terminals 10 arranged in pairs as shown. Each terminal is provided with its own set of headphones 25 to allow private listening to the audio presentation which accompanies the various system displays. Printers 22 provide a hard copy of the results of system queries as discussed below. In a typical salesroom layout, as shown in FIG. 3, a number of kiosks 20 may be provided in the salesroom 23 in close proximity to the automobiles 24 offered for sale. Other kiosk and salesroom layouts may be created depending on customer volume, available space and economic considerations. Selection of a kiosk configuration is within the capability of one of ordinary skill in the art. The operation of the system will be described with reference to FIGS. 4-14. System operation begins with the assignment of a customer to a salesperson 40. This assignment need not be done formally but could be accomplished by matching up each customer entering the dealership with a salesperson. The salesperson escorts the customer to a kiosk where the terminal processor 10a has displayed a log in screen 50 as shown in FIG. 5. The salesperson then enters a unique password 52 that identifies him to the system so that the system creates a customer/salesperson link 41 (FIG. 4) that is maintained in system memory from that point forward. The log in process is illustrated by the flowchart in FIG. 5A and the logic steps in Table 2 below.
TABLE 2
______________________________________
Salesperson Log In
______________________________________
.circle-solid. Display log in screen. (51)
.circle-solid. Wait for salesperson to enter password and press OK.53
.circle-solid. Password is validated against current list of sales
representatives
(55, 57) If OK (59) proceed to next screen (60), otherwise force user
to re-enter correct password is received.
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The customer dons headphones 25 (FIG. 2) and may be greeted with a video presentation welcoming the customer to the dealership. In all cases, the system provides initial instructions on the use of the touch screen by playing the appropriate audio file contained in storage device 12. This presentation, along with all the remaining sound, image and video information provided to the customer, is generated in response to a request from the terminal processor for the video 14a, image 14b and sound files 14c via server 11. These files may comprise any one of the well-known formats to include AVI files for video, JPEG or MPEG files for images, and WAV files for audio/sound. The selection of a particular file format will vary depending on equipment availability and the preferences of the person of ordinary skill in the art assembling the system. The scope of the present invention includes using new, more efficient or capable file formats that will be developed for each of these type files. Next, the system displays registration screen 60. (See FIG. 6) In this preferred embodiment, a simulated keyboard 68 is provided to enter such customer information as name 62, address 64, and phone number 66. Additional information that could also be captured includes how the customer heard about the dealership and whether she is just browsing or seriously intends to purchase an automobile. Some or all of this information may be transferred via an interface to a follow-up marketing system 43 (FIG. 4). This system may use well-known commercially available contact management software such as GOLDMINE marketed by Goldmine Software Corporation. This software package may be configured to access the customer data to perform follow-up functions. Some additional uses of a follow-up system include generating mailing lists, notifying customers of newly arriving inventory meeting the customer's specific requirements, as well as notifying customers of upcoming sales events. The registration process could also incorporate registering the customer for ongoing promotional giveaways. The flow chart of FIG. 6A and Table 3 below describe the registration process logic steps in more detail.
TABLE 3
______________________________________
Registration Process
______________________________________
.circle-solid. Display registration screen. (60)
.circle-solid. Play registration audio instruction. (900)
.circle-solid. Input customer data. (61)
.circle-solid. If user presses finished button (65), validates that data
is complete (67)
before proceeding. If data is incomplete or missing, continues to loop
as necessary until data capture is complete.
.circle-solid. If start over button pressed, all entries are cleared.
(63)
.circle-solid. When finished and data passes validation, add data to
customer
database. (65)
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The audio instruction 900 for each screen will be tailored to that particular screen. The system next displays main menu 70, a preferred configuration of which is illustrated in FIG. 7. This menu 70 is the starting point for building a multilevel, primary customer query of the current dealership inventory for automobiles meeting the customer's needs and preferences. The customer may limit her query to American or foreign cars, vans, or trucks using keys 71a, 71b, 72a, 72, 73a and 73b. Alternatively, if the customer's interests dictate, the query may be limited to sports/utility vehicles using key 74. The selections provided on this menu may be customized for a particular dealer's inventory or modified to include specialty vehicles if carried. For the customer who has no strong preference at this point or who would like to see a large number of automobiles, the menu provides "All Cars," 71 "All Trucks,"72 and "All Vans" 73 options. A "Red Tag Specials" 75 selection carries the customer directly to promotional sales automobiles which could be of any type. This special selection could carry any catchy name designed pull a customer's attention quickly to these vehicles. The operation of the main menu 70 is described in more detail in the flow charts shown in FIGS. 7A, 7 B and in Table 4 below.
TABLE 4
______________________________________
Main Menu Screen
______________________________________
.circle-solid. Display main menu screen. (70)
.circle-solid. Play audio instruction. (900)
.circle-solid. If sales consultant help is selected, then contact
salesperson that logged
in customer. (100)
.circle-solid. Audio confirms each customer selection. (79a-79j)
.circle-solid. Otherwise, system uses the button pressed to start
building a query for
selecting vehicles out of the complete available-for-sale inventory.
(71-75)
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Again, as is the case with each of the system displays, the main menu, when first displayed, is accompanied by the playing of an audio instruction file to guide the customer through the query process. Another feature of each system screen display is the "Sales Consultant Help" 100 selection which, when touched, contacts the linked salesperson as described in more detail herein below. The customer query 46 step will now be further described with reference to building a typical customer query. However, it should be understood that many different routes through the hierarchical menu structure of the present invention are contemplated based on individual customer selections. In this example, the customer selects "All Cars" 71, which displays the car selection screen 80 shown in FIG. 8. The choices offered here include "All Models" 82, "Compact" 83, "Mid-size" 84, "Full Size" 85, "Convertible" 86 and "Wagon" 87. Desirably, images 200, 205 of typical vehicles are also included. However, these images are not a required element of the practice of the present invention. The flow charts shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate the logic steps associated with the car selection screen 80. Note that each choice made is audio confirmed 82a-87a as it is made. This screen and the screens that follow also incorporate a "Return to Main Menu" 110 selection to allow the customer to restart the query building process if desired. A somewhat different screen will be displayed at this point if some other selection has been made at the main menu. For example, if a foreign car manufacturer was selected and that manufacturer did not have a wagon in its line, then no wagon selection would be offered. In other words, each screen at this level is customized for the offerings of the particular category of vehicle selected above. The selection could be further customized for the type of vehicles carried by a particular dealership. If a dealership carries no foreign car lines, then there may be no foreign car selection available. The remaining steps in the query building process will be described in conjunction with the more condensed flow chart shown in FIG. 9A. After making a selection at the car selection screen 80, the customer is taken to transmission selection screen 90 shown in FIG. 9 where the customer will be prompted to make a transmission selection choice. If a particular transmission is not desired, the "All--Automatic or Manual" 92 selection is used. Otherwise, in this example, four popular configurations 94,96,98,99 are available. The choice of transmissions may be limited at this point based on the car line selected earlier n the process. For example, if a luxury car line having no manual transmission models is selected, no manual transmission options would be presented at this level. The audio prompt at this point may explain the benefits/features of each type of transmission/drivetrain configuration offered. The logic steps for the operation of the transmission selection screen are shown in Table 5 below.
TABLE 5
______________________________________
TRANSMISSION SELECTION SCREEN
______________________________________
.circle-solid. Display transmission selection screen.
.circle-solid. Play audio instruction.
.circle-solid. If return to last screen button pressed, then jump back
one screen.
.circle-solid. If return to main menu button pressed, then go back to
main menu
screen.
.circle-solid. If sales consultant help selected, then contact linked
salesperson that
logged in customer.
.circle-solid. Otherwise, use the button pressed to continue building the
query.
Audio confirms each selection.
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The next screen to be displayed is the vehicle year screen 115 shown in FIG. 10. Again, images 200, 205 of available inventory are displayed to maintain customer interest. In similar fashion to that described above, the customer makes the desired choices from available selections 130, 132,134,136. The logic steps associated with the vehicle year screen are shown in Table 6 below.
TABLE 6
______________________________________
YEAR SELECTION SCREEN
______________________________________
.circle-solid. Display year selection screen
.circle-solid. Play audio instructions
.circle-solid. If return to last screen button pressed, then jump back
one screen.
.circle-solid. If return to main menu button pressed, then go back to
main menu
screen.
.circle-solid. If sales consultant help selected, then contact linked
salesperson
that logged in customer.
.circle-solid. Play confirmation audio for each button pressed.
.circle-solid. Otherwise, use the button pressed to continue building the
query.
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The next selections are made on the price range screens 300, 400 (FIGS. 11, 11A) where the customer further narrows the query by indicating how much he would like to pay for the vehicle. The system is flexible in that it provides the customer the option to enter a desired purchase price 302, a desired monthly purchase payment 304, or a desired monthly lease payment 308. Some customers may not desire to limit their query by price at this point in the process. Accordingly, selection 301 displays the prices of all selected vehicles meeting the query limitations without regard to price. The customer may always use the "Return to Last Screen" 105 selection to step backwards through the process to limit the query by price after viewing a listing of all prices. Prices range screen 400 features keypad 405 used to enter the appropriate dollar amount 407. The logic steps associate with the price range screens are shown in Tables 7 and 8 below.
TABLE 7
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PRICE RANGE SELECTION SCREEN 1
(FIG. 11)
______________________________________
.circle-solid. Display price selection screen
.circle-solid. Play audio instructions.
.circle-solid. If return to last screen button pressed, then jump back
one screen.
.circle-solid. If return to main menu button pressed, then go back to
main menu
screen.
.circle-solid. If sales consultant help selected, contact linked
salesperson that logged
in customer.
.circle-solid. If user selects view prices of all selected vehicles,
display vehicles
meeting user criteria.
.circle-solid. If desired purchase price selected, then display price
range selection
screen.
.circle-solid. If desired monthly payment selected, then display price
range selection
screen.
.circle-solid. If desired leasing monthly payment selected, then display
price range
selection screen.
.circle-solid. Audio confirms each selection by customer.
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As each of these query elements are input by the customer, a query statement is generated by the terminal processor 10a. As will be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, a large number of permutations are possible for a query statement. After a complete query 140 is formulated, terminal processor 10a searches inventory data 13 in storage device 12 for a selected inventory meeting the customers primary query. 182 (See FIG. 12) If a match is found 182, the system then checks for a minimum number of items 184 returned. When both those conditions are met, the system displays the vehicle selection screen 120 of FIG. 12. The selected inventory feature of the present invention includes two novel aspects to increase customer satisfaction. First, if none of the dealership inventory matches the customer query exactly, terminal processor 10a automatically modifies the primary query to create a secondary query 186 so that at least one vehicle is displayed. This secondary query 186 can be created by deleting query elements such as transmission type or model year one at a time and conducting additional searches 188 of the database 12 between deletions. The progressively broader search will, at some point, return matching inventory items. An alternative method for broadening the query is to change the ranges for each search element. For instance, if cars within a certain price range have been selected, that price range will be expanded until inventory matches are made. The second aspect of the selected inventory feature concerns the number of items returned in response to a query. The scope of the present invention includes selecting a minimum number of inventory items to be displayed in response to any query. For instance, the system could show at least ten vehicles for every query. If only four vehicles in current inventory match query elements, then additional items that come close to meeting those elements are displayed. A supplementary display may be provided to inform the customer that, for example, only four items were found that matched the query but that an additional six items are being shown that are similar. This second aspect of the selected inventory concept may be implemented by using the elements of the customer query as the mid point of a range to be searched. For example, the search of inventory data 13 for the primary query could be conducted in all cases to locate vehicles having a purchase price within $1,000 of the exact dollar value entered by the customer. Alternatively, the search based on monthly payments (for purchase or lease) could be conducted using a range of $50 around the exact amount entered by the customer. Desirably these ranges are increased as the amount of the selected purchase price or the monthly payment increases. The practice of the present invention includes providing customers with comparative competitive makes of automobiles that, while not matching the customer query exactly, do come close to meeting customer preferences. For instance, if the customer has requested a selected inventory from a single auto maker, the query modification procedure discussed above would provide automobiles having similar characteristics from other lines in the dealership's inventory. Turning now to FIG. 12A, there is shown the selected inventory screen 120. (See step 47 in FIG. 4) As described above, the selected inventory is at least all vehicles that match the customer query exactly and could include additional similar vehicles. This screen displays basic information about each vehicle, which, in this non-limiting example, includes year, make, model, body type, color, engine, transmission, mileage and price. The customer may select individual vehicles for display of an image and more detailed information. If there are more vehicles to show than will fit on one screen, "Page Up" 125 and "Page Down" 126 keys are active on the screen. Desirably, the screen will also display the total number of screens available for viewing. The logic steps for the selected inventory screen are shown below in Table 9.
TABLE 9
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INVENTORY SELECTION SCREEN
______________________________________
.circle-solid. Display selected inventory.
.circle-solid. Play audio instructions.
.circle-solid. If return to last screen button pressed, then go back one
screen.
.circle-solid. If return to main menu button pressed, then go back to
main menu
screen.
.circle-solid. If there are multiple pages of vehicles for display, then
display and
make active page-up and page-down keys.
.circle-solid. If user touches the line where a vehicle is displayed,
then display
selected vehicle screen.
.circle-solid. Audio confirms each customer selection.
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The customer then touches the description of a particular vehicle to see more detailed information as shown in the Selected Vehicle Screen 130 in FIG. 13. This screen includes an image 160 of the vehicle along with either the purchase price or a monthly payment amount for a purchase/lease. (The screen in FIG. 13 shows a query based on purchase price.) These monthly payment amounts are estimates generated by the payment module 13 in response to data contained in the query statement formulated by the terminal processor 10a. An exact payment amount will be determined by the salesperson after he rejoins the customer. This screen displays a detailed list of features specific to the displayed vehicle. Highly desirable features may be highlighted with an asterisk, the use of a bold font or by some other suitable method. Drawing on the linked salesperson concept, this screen also prompts the customer to "Please ask your sales consultant for a test drive." 164 The system displays the name of the linked salesperson who logged the customer into the system initially. Thus, the customer's relationship with the salesperson is reinforced. The selected vehicle screen also gives the customer the option of printing a hard copy of the screen display. Logic steps for this screen are illustrated in Table 10 below.
TABLE 10
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SELECTED VEHICLE SCREEN
______________________________________
.circle-solid. Display selected vehicle screen
.circle-solid. Play audio instructions.
.circle-solid. If return to last screen button pressed, then jump back
one screen.
.circle-solid. If return to main menu button pressed, then go back to
main menu.
.circle-solid. If sales consultant help selected, then go to final
decision screen.
.circle-solid. If print selected, then print vehicle data/image. Upon
completion of
the print operation, the screen remains unchanged until the user
selects one of the other options.
.circle-solid. Audio confirms each customer selection.
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When the "Sales Consultant Help Key" 100 is selected from this screen, the final decision screen 140 is displayed. (See FIG. 14) The final decision screen permits the customer to either test drive the vehicle selected 142, obtain help from a sales consultant 100, return to the main menu 110, return to the selection screen, or obtain additional leasing information 146. If return to selection screen 144 is selected, the customer is taken back to the vehicle selection screen where the selected inventory is again displayed. Logic steps for the final decision screen are shown in Table 11 below.
TABLE 11
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FINAL DECISION SCREEN
______________________________________
.circle-solid. Display final decision screen
.circle-solid. Play audio instructions.
.circle-solid. If return to main menu selected, go back to main menu.
.circle-solid. If sales person help selected, contact linked salesperson
with customer
help message.
.circle-solid. If test drive button selected, contact linked salesperson
with test drive
message.
.circle-solid. If return to selection screen selected, go back to vehicle
selection
screen to display selected inventory.
.circle-solid. If additional leasing information selected, contact
salesperson with
additional leasing message.
.circle-solid. Audio confirms each customer selection.
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A novel feature of the system of the present invention is the contact established with the linked salesperson in response to the selection of keys 100-146. Terminal processor 10a initiates a command to communications device 15 via server 11 to contact the same salesperson 16 that logged the customer into the system at 40 in FIG. 4. The identity of that linked salesperson is maintained in memory in the terminal processor 10a and recalled for this step. This communication to the linked salesperson 16 may be accomplished in a number of ways. A preferred method is the use of a silent paging system. These systems are readily adaptable for use with computer systems and eliminate the use of noisy, ineffective overhead paging systems. A suitable system is marketed by Inter Page under the brand name ConneXions. This system will transmit numeric and alphanumeric messages to sales staff within a radius of up to one mile. The system features an interface with IBM compatible computers using Windows.RTM. paging software and the dealership's in-house telephone system. The ConneXions system's capability to send up to 50 preprogrammed messages permits a wide variety of customer help situations to be addressed. If the "Sales Consultant Help" 100 key is selected, the linked salesperson is notified that the customer needs help to operate the system. If the "Test Drive" 142 key is selected the linked salesperson receives a different message indicating that the customer wants to test drive a vehicle. A different message is sent to the linked salesperson if the "Additional Leasing Information" key 146 is selected. In each instance, the linked salesperson has very specific information about the customers desires when he returns to the kiosk. The practice of the present invention includes providing other linked salesperson messages as appropriate for a variety of sales situations. If no input is received from the customer in response to the final decision screen 140 after a specified time out period, the customer is automatically logged off 200 the system. (FIG. 4) An additional feature of the present invention is the provision of a management monitoring feature. As shown in FIG. 1, management monitor 800 is tied in to server 11 to allow management personnel to track salesperson performance. For example, the monitor 800 could track each command to the communications device 16 to contact a linked salesperson 18 so that management could ensure that each customer request for help is answered. Alternatively, the communications device 16 could contact a member of management in addition to contacting the linked salesperson in response to a customer request. The system of the present invention offers many advantages over the traditional methods for automobile transactions. First, the customer receives audio instruction for each step of the process and an audio confirmation of each selection made. This guidance makes the system "user-friendly" for those who may be put off by computer-assisted transaction systems. Another advantage lies in the fact that the customer will always see some amount of current inventory no matter what her query contains. Accordingly, the customer is less likely to feel that the dealership does not have any vehicles that meet her needs. The positive feelings thus engendered will promote sales and repeat business The dealership benefits from monitoring queries that find no matches or that fail to find a minimum number of matches as a feedback source for maintaining inventory. If a specific type of vehicle is frequently requested but not available, the dealership can adjust its wholesale purchases accordingly. Still another advantage of the system of the present invention stems from the ability to access the customer data and query results as the salesperson 18 and the customer close the transaction. To understand the advantages of the present invention, a typical automobile purchase must be described. In a typical prior art transaction, the customer and a non-linked salesperson gather in a small office where the salesperson completes paper contract forms by hand. Information concerning the selected vehicle is also hand entered, often with the assistance of notes scribbled by the salesperson on scraps of paper. The customer may have to wait while the salesperson walks out to the desired vehicle to collect information such as stock number or VIN information to complete this paperwork. This tedious process entails long waits while this paperwork is completed. In the practice of the present invention, the salesperson would access the customer data and query results maintained in storage device 12 using an interface to a commercially available financing and insurance ("F&I") application 500. These applications are well known in the automobile industry and readily available from many sources. A suitable application is the Computerized Automotive Technologies system 5V. The F&I package extracts customer data (name, address, phone number), selected inventory data (stock number, price, VIN, etc.), and selected query elements (monthly payment amount) via server 11 to complete contract forms and to determine exact monthly payment amounts reflective of any down payment and the customer's credit history. (As described earlier, the payment module 15 provides only an estimated payment amount.) Thus, the salesperson 18 has immediate access and the ability to display complete information concerning the selected vehicle and the customer. Moreover, all required forms may be computer generated after asking the customer to verify that the data provided at registration is correct. It should be understood that the present invention has been described with a full set of features for a preferred embodiment. However, the invention may be practiced successfully without using each of those features. By way of non-limiting example, the audio instruction/confirmation or minimum inventory features could be deleted depending on the desires and needs of a particular dealership. Moreover, the invention could be practiced successfully without the interface to the check-in system, the F&I application and the management monitor. One of the advantages of the present invention is the ability to tailor the features to a particular dealership. Although the present invention has been described with preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that modifications and variations may be utilized without departure from the spirit and scope of this invention, as those skilled in the art will readily understand. Such modifications and variations are considered to be within the purview and scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. The steps of the method disclosed for the present invention can be implemented by a computer programmer of ordinary skill in the art. A preferred embodiment of such an implementation is included herewith as Appendix A.
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