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How One Auto Dealership Boosted Customer Satisfaction and Sales with Better Connectivity | 1 Mercury Communications, LLC

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Connectivity Challenges Before the Upgrade

Premier Motors, a mid-sized multi-brand auto dealership based in Raleigh, NC, prided itself on offering top-tier customer service. Yet despite its commitment to excellence, the dealership faced mounting complaints about poor Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity inside its sales floors, service areas, and customer lounges.

Customers expecting seamless access to mobile information about vehicles often found themselves battling weak or unavailable Wi-Fi. Frustrations mounted when mobile-dependent tasks — like browsing car features, applying for financing online, or contacting family during a purchase — were interrupted. Even more critically, dealership sales teams frequently experienced slow load times when pulling up inventory, CRM tools, or financing apps on their tablets or smartphones. This delay directly impacted the speed and smoothness of customer interactions, putting potential sales at risk.

According to a 2023 CDK Global report, 66% of car buyers now rely on their smartphones during the dealership visit, expecting immediate online access to vehicle details, financing options, and trade-in calculators (source). Premier Motors’ outdated network infrastructure — including aging routers, spotty access points, and no cellular signal enhancement — simply couldn’t meet these modern expectations.

Industry data from Automotive News also showed that 84% of service center customers expect strong Wi-Fi while waiting (source), emphasizing the role connectivity now plays in both sales and service satisfaction.

Pain Points Identified:

  • Inconsistent or no Wi-Fi coverage in showrooms and waiting areas

  • Weak 4G/5G cellular reception inside steel-framed dealership buildings

  • Service staff unable to reliably access cloud-based work orders

  • Dropped video calls and slow mobile browsing for customers during critical buying moments

  • Decreased staff efficiency and delayed customer service responses

  • Risk of lost sales and lower CSI (Customer Satisfaction Index) scores

Premier Motors auto dealership recognized that reliable, seamless connectivity was no longer a luxury — it was essential to staying competitive and delivering the modern dealership experience customers demand.

Solution: A 4G/5G DAS and Managed Wi-Fi Network Overhaul

Seeking a transformative solution, Premier Motors engaged Mercury Communications, LLC, specialists in dealership connectivity solutions.

Mercury’s team conducted a full site survey, including cellular signal mapping, Wi-Fi heatmapping, and bandwidth demand projections for both current needs and future scalability (for connected car services, video conferencing, customer apps, etc.).

Mercury Communications deployed a two-fold solution to the auto dealership:

🔵 Passive DAS Cellular Boosters:

  • Mercury installed a distributed antenna system (DAS) leveraging WilsonPro and Nextivity CEL-FI equipment.

  • This system captured outdoor 4G/5G signals from all major carriers and distributed them evenly inside the dealership.

  • It provided full-bar coverage throughout sales floors, service bays, offices, and customer lounges.

  • Service writers using tablets, customers making mobile calls, and finance managers running online credit apps now had reliable high-speed cellular access.

🔵 Cloud-Managed Wi-Fi 6 Network:

  • Mercury upgraded the dealership’s Wi-Fi backbone to Wi-Fi 6 access points.

  • Strategic AP placement ensured seamless roaming with no signal drops when moving across zones (critical for mobile staff workflows).

  • Separate VLANs and SSIDs were created for:

    • Guest Wi-Fi (customer devices)

    • Internal sales and service staff

    • Secure back-office operations (DMS and finance apps)

  • Mercury also implemented a firewall with content filtering, security monitoring, and bandwidth prioritization (e.g., giving CRM applications higher priority than video streaming).

🔵 Managed Services:

  • Mercury provides 24/7 network monitoring, proactive issue resolution, quarterly optimization reports, and help desk support as part of their Managed Network Services package.

Deployment and Optimization

Mercury phased the installation to minimize disruption:

  • After-hours and weekend work for major cable pulls and switchovers

  • Testing of Wi-Fi and cellular signals with real-use devices (iPhones, Androids, tablets) before going live

  • Staff training on connecting to new secured networks and understanding new Wi-Fi segmentation

After final system commissioning, Mercury’s team conducted a live customer simulation test — where staff posing as customers roamed the facility browsing mobile inventory tools, streaming videos, and processing mock finance apps — to ensure top-notch user experience.

Results: Measurable Gains for Premier Motors

✅ Dramatically Higher Customer Satisfaction:

  • Post-installation CSI surveys showed a 23% increase in “facility experience” satisfaction.

  • Guests praised the “fast Wi-Fi” and “being able to FaceTime family” during purchase decisions.

✅ Increased Dealership Sales Efficiency:

  • Sales consultants closed deals 12–18 minutes faster on average due to instant access to online resources.

  • Finance managers reduced transaction times by using real-time mobile apps without freezing.

✅ Enhanced Staff Productivity:

  • Service writers could input diagnostics and work orders on tablets directly from the service bays without walking back to desktop stations.

✅ Better Marketing and Competitive Advantage:

  • Premier Motors now advertises “Complimentary Fast Wi-Fi and 5G Coverage” across their website and showroom signage, making it part of their brand image.

✅ Future-Ready Connectivity:

  • The infrastructure is now prepared to support connected car systems, over-the-air updates, remote diagnostics, and future IoT innovations tied to dealership operations.

As Premier Motors’ General Manager put it:

“Mercury Communications didn’t just fix our Wi-Fi. They future-proofed our customer experience.“

Find out how Mercury can help your auto dealership with better connectivity today.  Schedule a Consultation

Industry Reports:

Technology Background:

Customer Expectations and Auto Dealership Trends:

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