Dealers Are all car salesmen the same? - Page 3

BOBBYJ · 27th September 2007, 19:52

I have worked around and trained car sales people all my life and thank god they are not all the same. There is absolutely no excuse for a salesman to take your order and then forget you exist. This person is nothing but a commission machine and would fare beterr in the double glazing world!

tomcat · 27th September 2007, 21:25

I love that "Ontime Automotive". Not one of my 3 new Honda's have ever arrived on time. However, I probably couldn't blame the logistics company on every occasion, as the Civic got delayed due to the bad weather in July. Wouldn't have believed that normally, until Sky News showed a picture of the "Honda Swindon Plant" Car Park underwater

.

john_lickman · 27th September 2007, 21:46

Are all car salesmen the same?

Nope! Kevin from Darlingtons in Harlow was fine. I signed on the line, he kept me fully informed - even called me while I was away on business in Italy, after I didn't reply to one of his txt messages. Since collecting the car, I've had the satisfaction check call from both Darlingtons and from Honda. He even came over for a chat, while I was checking my car in for its first service.

All in all, an excellent customer experience.

bobbyrobbo · 27th September 2007, 22:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by nellz_bassettshonda

Hi Bobby

Appreciate your comments & concerns ! Sorry I feel bad as I am getting no positives with On Time ( Honda's Logistic agent ) Honest

.

Mats & a full tank will be sorted

also one or two lil extra's I will fight for.

The likelyhood is next week now as dreaded

Sorry again mate

Nellz

Hey Neil,

So you are on here also, glad I haven't been slagging you off

. Don't hold you responsible **, just a little dissapointed. Appreciate your efforts and of course the one or two lil extra's

.

TT is right, you could well be one of the good guys!

BOBBYJ · 28th September 2007, 19:20

Having worked with and trained sales staff within the motor trade I can totally understand the frustrations of not being called back when promised. Alas it's this thing called commission - once the order is signed then its on to the next one. Honda however do tend to attract the more genuine sales staff and if you find you are being ignored then tell the dealer principal or even Honda because they still want your car in to service. If however you have used an internet site or one of the car supermarkets then there's definitely no chance of that call back!

illegalhunter · 28th September 2007, 19:42

Andy Strath of Hyndland Honda Glasgow is a top man, he let me take the 18" JCW alloys of my MCS & put on the original back on . I sold them for £800 ,top man.

FergusTheDog · 29th September 2007, 08:05

No, some are really good. We got (and still get) excellent and attentive service from the sales team at August Motors in Salisbury.

Having dealt with dealers of other makes recently though, the good salesman seems to be a dying breed....

DerekR · 29th September 2007, 17:15

Dealt with Qash at Holdcroft, He's a star. If thier after sales is as good as thier pre sale service I will be more than happy

screawm · 1st October 2007, 14:03

bought my spaceship through Stuart Graham Honda, they did me the deal I asked for, got the car in ontime, and I got to take it out earlier than the expected time on the day of pickup, (27th September), and got a phone call today asking if everything is ok with the car.

Thats the best service I've ever had from a dealer, Ive only been driving for 14 years, but I've had a lot of cars and dealt with a lot of dealerships and small time car yards.

I can't argue with anything Honda have done so far.

Keasden · 1st October 2007, 22:41

Its good to hear that plenty of folk have positive experiences of their sales person, wish I could join them.

I rang the dealership at 10am this morning to query whose name the car was being registered in, mine or my wifes. The receptionist said he wasn't at his desk but she would get him to call me back.

Hands up anyone who thinks he called back.

If anyone has their hand up right now, they are wrong.

This salesman has completely destroyed my faith in this particular dealership and I will be only too happy to spell that out to the general manager once I have collected my car.

john_lickman · 1st October 2007, 22:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keasden

This salesman has completely destroyed my faith in this particular dealership and I will be only too happy to spell that out to the general manager once I have collected my car.

I'm assuming that this isn't the first time that the salesman / dealership has let you down. If so, I'd suggest speaking to the manager now, before you collect the car, to express your concern. Never does any harm to be on the management radar

Keasden · 1st October 2007, 23:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by john_lickman

I'm assuming that this isn't the first time that the salesman / dealership has let you down.

John, see the first post in this thread to get an idea of this particular salesman lack of call backs. I have actually lost count but it is somewhere around 7 or 8 calls in the past week that he has failed to return. The majority of the calls were made by me in an attempt to get the registration number that he neglected to give me when I placed the order.

When I got a call out of the blue from the dealership business manager (whatever that is) I went in and paid for my car within an hour of being asked and he said that ideally he needed an insurance cover note that day so they could tax the car.

I did point out that I had spent several days and phone calls trying to get a reg number from the salesman so that I could do exactly that!

Dimplyred · 1st October 2007, 23:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by DerekR

Dealt with Qash at Holdcroft, He's a star. If thier after sales is as good as thier pre sale service I will be more than happy

I dealt with Qash too. And I have to say I agree with DerekR. I have also dealt with Gareth from the parts department. So far I am very impressed with Holcroft Honda

john_lickman · 1st October 2007, 23:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keasden

John, see the first post in this thread...

Ah yes, I should have read that...

I'd still try seeing the general manager (the guy the "Dealership Business Manager" reports to) and tell him/her something along the lines of "This is the last straw, I've run out of patience. Please tell me why I shouldn't demand your money back right now and go up the road to the VW/Ford/whomever dealer where I'll be treated like a valued customer for a change".

One of two things will happen:

1. You will have found someone who cares enough to make sure you get good service from now on or
2. You'll be one step nearer that high satisfying moment when you storm out, cash in hand, never to darken their doors again

The down side of option 2 is that you'll be minus one Civic, but would you really want to take your car back there anyway?

Keasden · 2nd October 2007, 00:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by john_lickman

1. You will have found someone who cares enough to make sure you get good service from now on or
2. You'll be one step nearer that high satisfying moment when you storm out, cash in hand, never to darken their doors again

The down side of option 2 is that you'll be minus one Civic, but would you really want to take your car back there anyway?

John, firstly, there is no way on earth my car will go back to this dealership. I will be purchasing the Honda Happiness service package once I have confirmed that I can take it to any Honda dealers for servicing.

Secondly, the deal I have been offered is so good that I fear I cannot better it elsewhere and do not want to bite my nose off to spite my face. But that is what I am getting close to doing.

Having said that I am getting a good deal, I still do not see that as an excuse to treat me like a second class citizen, and in any case it is the deal they proposed, I haven't haggled the salesman to death. He offered me a price to purchase and I only asked for an additional £25 out of him from his initial part ex offer and a free set of mats. So it is effectively THEIR deal, not mine.

HappyMan · 2nd October 2007, 07:03

In my experience with sales managers some are able to get a balance between sales and customer service and instill that in their staff and the customer can feel this effect when they purchase a car. The salesperson is attentive and listens and is very supportive to the customer. And in this senario the sales manager is openly encouraging his staff to maintain contact with his client - whatever the news!

There are also those sales manager who simply work on volume and don't care about customer service because more and more people will walk through the door and it is up to the salesperson to sell as many cars as possible to maintain the bottom line. So calling clients/customers is simply wasting the salespersons time where they could be selling a car.

I don't understand why we get bad service in today's world as the internet very quickly informs people about our bad experiences. Thus, reducing the walkthrough of people in to dealerships/shops etc.

Whatever the deal Keasden, you shouldn't expect to be treated like a second class citizen, but I would wait until you have the car to give the dealer principal a good piece of your mind.

Now a little sidenote: Living here in poland really opens your eyes to how good customer service is in the UK. I have a Fabia right now and I took it in to be serviced with my wife ( a year or so ago) and we hadn't had a service done, as we didn't know it needed doing. I think it was a 13,000km service, I have no idea why. The service guy held the book in his hand open next to his head facing us and said " What is this?" we had no idea what he was going on about. He then proceeding to talk to us like to small children as if he was the headmaster and really laid into us. I ended up telling him to shut up and do the service and that if they had informed us about the need for this small service after purchasing we would have done.

polish customer service - abuse is second to none!!

john_lickman · 2nd October 2007, 14:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keasden

I will be purchasing the Honda Happiness service package once I have confirmed that I can take it to any Honda dealers for servicing.

Respects to your buying strategy, Keasden.

Personally, I take a different approach. When buying new, I buy the dealer, not the car (or motorcycle or whatever). The cost and hassle of having to take the car somewhere else in the future is too much for me. I always look to leverage the good will from my dealer if possible.

Clearly, if I'm buying an old banger, or something that I will be maintaining myself, this doesn't apply. However, when buying new I always manage to get "lost" and end up in the workshops. I like to check that they are well organised and the sort of place I'd like my car to be serviced. I tend to "accidentally" bump into the workshop supervisor or manager in my attempts to find my way out of where ever I've got lost in. I like to chat to these people. They are after all, the individuals who will be responsible for my car in the future. If I like them and they seem "on the ball" then I can be reasonably confident that my car will get the level of service that I expect for it and I then go and buy the car.

Don't get me wrong, I always expect and get a good deal, although I suspect that the degree of latitude that dealers have is somewhat limited - but that's another subject.

Not withstanding any of the above, good service is good service and it costs nothing! Good service is a matter of management focus and staff training, nothing else! The keenness of the deal is certainly not a factor! Speaking as a salesman, I tend to be more mindful of the service I give to good negotiators, because they tend to care more about what they are buying.

john_lickman · 2nd October 2007, 14:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by HappyMan

polish customer service - abuse is second to none!!

Priceless!!!

Sumps · 13th October 2007, 13:52

Sounds like the same dealer as me. Once I had signed, the only time they rang me was when they needed my insurance details to tax the car. They never even made a call to tell me the delivery date. Still waiting for the post collection call to see if the car is ok.

andylangtree · 13th October 2007, 14:28

Finally got my car on the 2-10-07, (worth waiting for). Got call of Honda and told them what i thought of the dealers. Got a call from dealers last Thursday saying that if i took my car down to them they would fill tank with petrol for me, did this today and now got full tank of petrol for free. Still a little short for me to buy another car of them.

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This thread is about: Are all car salesmen the same?, it's in Buying, Dealers and Servicing at the Honda Civic forum Civinfo; I have worked around and trained car sales people all my life and thank god they are not all the same. There is absolutely no ...

27th September 2007, 19:52	#41 (permalink)
BOBBYJ Valve Cap Join Date: 27th September 2007 Location: South east - where else Posts: 25 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader: (0)	I have worked around and trained car sales people all my life and thank god they are not all the same. There is absolutely no excuse for a salesman to take your order and then forget you exist. This person is nothing but a commission machine and would fare beterr in the double glazing world!

27th September 2007, 21:25	#42 (permalink)
tomcat Valve Cap Join Date: 5th February 2007 Posts: 37 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader: (0)	I love that "Ontime Automotive". Not one of my 3 new Honda's have ever arrived on time. However, I probably couldn't blame the logistics company on every occasion, as the Civic got delayed due to the bad weather in July. Wouldn't have believed that normally, until Sky News showed a picture of the "Honda Swindon Plant" Car Park underwater .

27th September 2007, 21:46	#43 (permalink)
john_lickman Wheelnut Join Date: 3rd August 2007 Location: Essex, UK Posts: 70 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post iTrader: (0)	Are all car salesmen the same? Nope! Kevin from Darlingtons in Harlow was fine. I signed on the line, he kept me fully informed - even called me while I was away on business in Italy, after I didn't reply to one of his txt messages. Since collecting the car, I've had the satisfaction check call from both Darlingtons and from Honda. He even came over for a chat, while I was checking my car in for its first service. All in all, an excellent customer experience.

28th September 2007, 19:20	#45 (permalink)
BOBBYJ Valve Cap Join Date: 27th September 2007 Location: South east - where else Posts: 25 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader: (0)	Having worked with and trained sales staff within the motor trade I can totally understand the frustrations of not being called back when promised. Alas it's this thing called commission - once the order is signed then its on to the next one. Honda however do tend to attract the more genuine sales staff and if you find you are being ignored then tell the dealer principal or even Honda because they still want your car in to service. If however you have used an internet site or one of the car supermarkets then there's definitely no chance of that call back!

28th September 2007, 19:42	#46 (permalink)
illegalhunter RELOADING FOR ELK Civinfo guru Join Date: 10th May 2007 Location: FILLING THE HILLS WITH LEAD Posts: 3,235 Thanks: 7 Thanked 39 Times in 38 Posts iTrader: (0)	Andy Strath of Hyndland Honda Glasgow is a top man, he let me take the 18" JCW alloys of my MCS & put on the original back on . I sold them for £800 ,top man.

29th September 2007, 08:05	#47 (permalink)
FergusTheDog Wheelnut Join Date: 25th May 2007 Location: Wiltshire Posts: 95 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader: (0)	No, some are really good. We got (and still get) excellent and attentive service from the sales team at August Motors in Salisbury. Having dealt with dealers of other makes recently though, the good salesman seems to be a dying breed....

29th September 2007, 17:15	#48 (permalink)
DerekR Valve Cap Join Date: 25th July 2007 Posts: 19 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader: (0)	Dealt with Qash at Holdcroft, He's a star. If thier after sales is as good as thier pre sale service I will be more than happy

1st October 2007, 14:03	#49 (permalink)
screawm Valve Cap Join Date: 21st July 2007 Posts: 31 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader: (0)	bought my spaceship through Stuart Graham Honda, they did me the deal I asked for, got the car in ontime, and I got to take it out earlier than the expected time on the day of pickup, (27th September), and got a phone call today asking if everything is ok with the car. Thats the best service I've ever had from a dealer, Ive only been driving for 14 years, but I've had a lot of cars and dealt with a lot of dealerships and small time car yards. I can't argue with anything Honda have done so far.

1st October 2007, 22:41	#50 (permalink)
Keasden Supporter Valve Cap Join Date: 27th August 2007 Posts: 44 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader: (0)	Its good to hear that plenty of folk have positive experiences of their sales person, wish I could join them. I rang the dealership at 10am this morning to query whose name the car was being registered in, mine or my wifes. The receptionist said he wasn't at his desk but she would get him to call me back. Hands up anyone who thinks he called back. If anyone has their hand up right now, they are wrong. This salesman has completely destroyed my faith in this particular dealership and I will be only too happy to spell that out to the general manager once I have collected my car.

2nd October 2007, 07:03	#56 (permalink)
HappyMan Super Moderator Civinfo guru Join Date: 16th August 2007 Location: Poland Posts: 3,601 Thanks: 30 Thanked 91 Times in 85 Posts iTrader: (0)	In my experience with sales managers some are able to get a balance between sales and customer service and instill that in their staff and the customer can feel this effect when they purchase a car. The salesperson is attentive and listens and is very supportive to the customer. And in this senario the sales manager is openly encouraging his staff to maintain contact with his client - whatever the news! There are also those sales manager who simply work on volume and don't care about customer service because more and more people will walk through the door and it is up to the salesperson to sell as many cars as possible to maintain the bottom line. So calling clients/customers is simply wasting the salespersons time where they could be selling a car. I don't understand why we get bad service in today's world as the internet very quickly informs people about our bad experiences. Thus, reducing the walkthrough of people in to dealerships/shops etc. Whatever the deal Keasden, you shouldn't expect to be treated like a second class citizen, but I would wait until you have the car to give the dealer principal a good piece of your mind. Now a little sidenote: Living here in poland really opens your eyes to how good customer service is in the UK. I have a Fabia right now and I took it in to be serviced with my wife ( a year or so ago) and we hadn't had a service done, as we didn't know it needed doing. I think it was a 13,000km service, I have no idea why. The service guy held the book in his hand open next to his head facing us and said " What is this?" we had no idea what he was going on about. He then proceeding to talk to us like to small children as if he was the headmaster and really laid into us. I ended up telling him to shut up and do the service and that if they had informed us about the need for this small service after purchasing we would have done. polish customer service - abuse is second to none!!

13th October 2007, 13:52	#59 (permalink)
Sumps Valve Cap Join Date: 13th October 2007 Posts: 2 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader: (0)	Sounds like the same dealer as me. Once I had signed, the only time they rang me was when they needed my insurance details to tax the car. They never even made a call to tell me the delivery date. Still waiting for the post collection call to see if the car is ok.

13th October 2007, 14:28	#60 (permalink)
andylangtree Supporter Valve Cap Join Date: 10th August 2007 Location: Blackburn, Lancashire Posts: 43 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader: (0)	Finally got my car on the 2-10-07, (worth waiting for). Got call of Honda and told them what i thought of the dealers. Got a call from dealers last Thursday saying that if i took my car down to them they would fill tank with petrol for me, did this today and now got full tank of petrol for free. Still a little short for me to buy another car of them.