Looking back at 2025, plenty has changed—but one thing hasn’t: the ongoing challenge of service retention. Like other macro shifts, its impact is now impossible to ignore. When service retention drops below 70% at their “due for service” interval, a customer who has not returned is like a red light on the dealership’s dashboard. Fixed operations continually drive profitability, but poor retention directly hits the bottom line.
As the old saying goes, “it’s a good day to have a good day.” So, 2026 is a great year to turn the corner on service retention. But this shouldn’t be a one-year goal—service retention is a never-ending mission that is like the stock that keeps going up and to the right. Most dealerships instinctively jump straight to marketing when service retention slips. But what if the first move was improving customer experience instead? We want those extra opportunities, but we want to get the most from every marketing dollar with our best foot forward in customer experience.
Often, real progress won’t come as a result of adding more steps. It comes from removing the friction—making it easier for your customers to do business with you, eliminating the obstacles for your team, and replacing outdated tools with genuine, high-touch interactions. When your people have what they need to make every visit count, the numbers will move in the right direction.
Service Retention: Revenue You Can’t Afford to Lose
Every lost service visit should sting. Pain can be helpful-especially when we change for the better because of it. The best place to begin this process is by identifying what’s broken. Are customers not coming back because of their service experience? Which part of the experience: scheduling, intake, advisor, updates, follow-up? How do we know-do we survey this? Are our CSI follow-ups giving us usable intel-or are we checking the box? Is scheduling easy for them—or is it clunky? These questions will uncover the weak points, and fixing those is the key to lasting progress.
You will need automation, which today will include some sort of AI in this process. But, if automation alone could solve service retention, we’d already have it handled as an industry. Often a dealership will deploy automation tools, but the problem persists—suggesting the solution isn’t software alone. These tools are much like golf, the “club” will help-maybe give you a larger “sweet spot” to ball strike, but the “swing” is the process that is driving that club. Until you have the right swing, the club alone simply won’t be enough.
Some of the best automation systems in automotive rely on human escalation. Meaning: when the tool stops delivering, there is a person linked to that tool that can take the journey to its destination. Every successful AI system should have a built-in path to a person. Why? Because some customers simply want a human, while others are fine with automation—until they get stuck. Both require real people to step in at some point. And yes, there will be some customers that can and will go end-to-end with AI or some automated tool, it just won’t be ALL OF THEM. Dealers that automate “at all costs” will risk alienating customers—and landing in the penalty box of service defection.
True customer experience (CX) traction happens in the details—the small, human moments that determine whether a customer stays or drifts away. Automation can make things faster, but people make them meaningful.
The winning formula is both: let AI assist with scheduling, reminders, and forecasting; let your team handle the high-touch moments—greeting customers, scheduling for more complex needs, answering questions, and making them feel remembered. That balance shows up most clearly in how we schedule, communicate, and follow up.
Make Service Genuinely Convenient
Repair order counts might still look strong on the surface, but a closer look reveals something else. Customers are quietly taking work elsewhere. It’s not just about price; it’s about convenience. That’s why pickup and delivery are making a comeback. They save time, eliminate friction, and make servicing with your dealership effortless.
Other retention builders are worth your investment—loyalty programs, bundled maintenance plans, and proactive outreach. These create habits. They make your dealership the easy and natural choice.
Hybrid Scheduling: The Best of Both Worlds
2025 proved that neither AI nor people alone can carry service operations. Hybrid scheduling bridges the gap. Let AI manage routine reminders and routing, while your team focuses on upsells, problem-solving, and personalized conversations.
Experience Still Wins
Even in a hybrid model, customer experience matters most. Digital portals and proactive status updates are table stakes now. But the human element—the empathy, the listening, the time spent explaining value—is what makes the difference. Train advisors to anticipate needs, explain why maintenance matters, and communicate clearly. Every visit is a chance to turn a one-time customer into a lifetime advocate.
Growth Through People
Your people drive your growth. Ongoing training, strong onboarding, and meaningful incentives aren’t optional—they’re the foundation of a healthy service operation. Skilled, engaged employees deliver better experiences, which leads to stronger retention and higher profitability.
AI can make teams faster and smarter, but it can’t replace the relationships your people build. That’s the real competitive advantage in 2026.
Three Priorities for 2026
- Retention: Identify weak spots and shore them up.
- Customer Experience: Remove friction and make service easy to choose.
- People: Invest in training, accountability, and culture.
The service drive is where loyalty is earned, revenue is created, and your dealership proves it’s the best choice. Focus on the right processes, empower your people, and give customers fewer reasons to look elsewhere.
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John Traver is the Founder and CEO of Traver Connect, a leading provider of performance-driven training and development solutions for automotive dealerships. Visit