Volkswagen is piloting a new live chat feature for corporate customers in an effort to make booking a fleet test drive easier.

The live chat service is open seven days a week, allowing bookings from 9am until 10pm, Monday-Friday, 9am to 9pm on Saturdays and 10am to 9pm on Sundays. 

Prospective clients enter their name, email address and desired test drive vehicle into the chat box, and are then connected with an advisor who gathers the necessary details, including specifications of the desired vehicle, to organise a test drive.

Upon approval, the duration of the test drive is chosen to suit the driver, with the operator then checking availability of a vehicle from Volkswagen’s dedicated Corporate Test Drive Fleet.

After the dates are agreed with the customer, the demo is booked in, the car is delivered to the customer’s address and picked up from a location convenient to the customer.

The service opens at 09:00 Monday to Saturday, and 10:00 Sunday, closing 22:00 during the week, and 21:00 on weekends, with the pilot running until its evaluation after mid-March. Customer feedback will determine how the pilot progresses, with the scheme expected to be evaluated towards the end of March.

Lianne McKnight, fleet business development manager at Volkswagen UK, said: “The new live chat feature on the fleet section of Volkswagen.co.uk is already being warmly received by clients, and was conceived in response to customer feedback.

“Now, the system provides all the help and support that fleet drivers and managers require to make their booking, and get behind the wheel of a Volkswagen.

“The extended hours of the advisor service are of particular importance – having real customer advisors online offers the kind of convenience that Volkswagen prides itself on delivering.”

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