1 min read

The Real Role of AI in Service Retention

Bill Springer | October 8, 2026

Episode 42 — Featuring Guest Sean Hartman |

The service drive isn’t always where customers decide to leave. More often, it happens after hours, between visits, or during a second call that never gets answered. Nothing dramatic, but just enough friction for a customer to try somewhere else.

In this episode, sponsored by DriveSure, Bill Springer is joined by Sean Hartman, Founder of Toma AI, to explore how AI can help dealerships capture and resolve these moments without sacrificing trust or personalization. Sean shares where communication most often breaks down in fixed ops, how adoption matters just as much as capability when introducing new technology, and why AI should be designed to support service teams. The conversation also dives into what dealerships should measure early on to ensure AI is actually improving retention, not just efficiency.

Takeaways from this episode:

Where service communication breaks down most often and why customers notice
How missed calls and stalled conversations quietly erode trust
Why AI adoption depends on design, transparency, and continuity
Which interactions AI handles well today and when human empathy still matters most
The KPIs that matter when rolling out AI in service operations