diskullman

I was there to seriously test drive a CTS, possibly to buy. I ended up with a loaded Chevy Impala SS, which was comparable in price to the CTS. If you prejudge your clients, you have already lost the sale. The proper mindset is assume everyone is there to BUY. You will have much more success. Their lack of any kind of attention proves this point.

Goose

Absolutely right..I know owners of companies(big companies)I have seen walking around the mall dressed like they forgot to look in the mirror before they left the house..if he walked into a dealership and the salesman judged him on the way they looked and ignored them...well..as a salesman you better treat everyone the same initially then make a decision.

I went looking at motorcycles yesterday and was approached by 3 or 4 salesman...everyone one of them greeted me correctly and gave me space unless I approached them...I really enjoyed that..it was refreshing..


Car salesman have nothing but time these days...nobody is wasting anyones time...especially when I'm up front and say directly "I'm just killing time" I think that is a pretty clear signal that "I'm not going to waste your time" They stand around all day right outside the dealership doors in their little semi circles smoking cigarettes.

Wasting time? That's all they have to do nowadays



Goose

Doc brown

There are only a couple of dealerships in the Milwaukee area that I will go to now days. I'm tired of being called "buddy" or "Charlie" (MY NAME IS CHUCK! Do I need to repeat it?). I'm tired of bold faced lies. I'm tired of being told things like "a front end alignment will fix that" when its clear that the rack is screwed up, or "A wax job will fix that right up" when the car has obviously been repainted and has terrrible checking and sand scratches.. I'm tired of being held on a lot until after hours for the financing only to be told that I have to pay a 17% interest rate because the dealer uses a fly-by-night finance company out of some town in Ohio that no one ever heard of. I really hate looking at cars.

I have purchased 3 cars from a dealer who's sales people are not only polite, you'd be proud to have them live next door to you. Its the type of place that hands you the keys and tells you to enjoy yourself. They don't even hound you when you get back, you usually have to find them! They cut 1k off of a 4k '98Lumina that I bought for my daughter. They failed to disclose the broken A/C on the window sticker, not because they were hiding something, but because they really thought it was working. The sales guy apologized and said since we're repeat customers and they had no idea how much the A/C repair would run, so we'll give it to you for 2900. They gave us no special deal on the HHR, but they did treat us with respect and worked hard to make us comfortable while waiting for the car to be preped and the financing to go through.

calgaryhhr

First impressions do mean a lot but beyond that a salesperson should know the right initial questions to ask a potential customer in order to determine whether or not they might buy something. If a salesperson knows how to do their job they can greet the customer, ask a couple of questions and within a minute know whether or not to spend some time with the customer. If they are so busy that they can't spare a minute the dealership should probably hire some more staff.

I work a consultant so its very important to know what questions to ask right away so that you can establish a go forward plan or else you could spin your wheels for a while and not get anywhere.

calgaryhhr

When my girlfriend was shopping for a vehicle about two months ago we made a sweep of about 10 dealerships. Some were really good. They treated us well, offered water, answered questions and set up a test drive within 10 minutes or so. Some dealership we stood around looking at a car, sitting in it, playing with the features and no one approached us. When we finally asked for some help we seemed to be a burden to the salesperson. One dealership had three younger sales guys standing around talking and laughing with each other. They saw us looking at a car for a good 5 minutes and I made eye contact thinking one would come over and do their job. Nothing happened and we walked out and they didn't seem to care.

I know that GM does customer surveys and other things to evaluate dealerships and service but it might be time to start running dealerships as GM entities as opposed to franchise locations. Maybe GM could really nail down some set standards and training and such. I'm sure there are various top down programs but in most cases it seems like some dealerships have little to no standards of practice which does leave a sore mark on the corporation as a whole. If a company like GM is really wanting to thrive they need to go beyond just making good cars and start focusing on the street level, where the business meets the people.

ChevyMgr

See this thread for my thoughts on this thread! Just my 2¢......

https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/show...7560&page=2#16

diskullman

Chevy Mgr, what rage in your link! The simple way is to avoid places that treat you that way. These things have a way of working themselves out. My wife & I were once yelled at, at a K Mart, by a store employee. My wife was trying to find a set of pajamas and the display was a mess, all the sets were scattered. When the clerk yelled at us, I told my wife to drop everything on the floor and walk out. Americans are waking up to the fact that pleasantness keeps the customer coming back, and that it is EVERYONE's job, all the way down the food chain. I wasn't sad, nor surprised when I heard K Mart filed for chapter 11. The only way you should put up with any kind of abuse in a customer service situation is if the price is so low, you just can't pass it by. I'm sure your small local hardware store proprietor will gladly walk you to the very item you desire with just a description. He'll charge you a buck or 2 more than Home Depot, but "ya gets what ya pays for", and I don't mind supporting the little local guy for his extra service. He deserves the extra buck, and he probably appreciates his customers.
As a manager, you should know how to motivate employees through posative thinking, and I'm sure you do.

ChevyMgr

That was a good rant. I sure felt better after I typed it.

Of course I can always take my business elsewhere. But what will I find, more of the same? I like to shop locally so I am stuck with the people who are there to service me.

I have worked for dealerships since I was 19 and most sales people have always been twits, but there have always been good ones, just not enough of them. I guess I am getting tired of reading about it on the forum. I guess I need a break from it.

kwboydston

You know I have read though this thread and I see lot of simalarities in what people are saying to both sides of the issue I respect these sales folks for being there yea maybe some are twits but I hope the majority are not. unfortunatly we seem to bee approched by the twits first and it burns us and we dont get to meet the sale people that are trying to do a good job IE make us feel like a valued cutomer and still make money

hhrcrafty

If you really want to avoid getting a twit for a sales consultant, ask your friends where they shop or call the general manager and make an appointment. Chances are you'll wind up with a career consultant who has a book of business and never has to take an UP off the lot. Most of the internet managers are like that. When you get on the lot and the new guys/buzzards/gypsies start circling, just tell 'em you have an appointment with someone else.

I've probably made $500 referring people to sales consultants I've met over the years who've treated me well, so there's money in it if you get someone good and you pass the word.