How would you react if...

[Wile E. Coyote]

... you've decided to change your car and:

 

1) You've sorted a test drive

2) Worked out the spec you want

3) Dropped into the dealers midweek to confirm lead times (and when the sales guy for that product will be around at the weekend)

 

Only to discover when you get there with the intention of placing an order that he's busy with someone else (not a problem, we hadn't made an appointment) BUT...

 

...after you've waited 20 mins (and he knows this/has acknowledged you're there) in full sight of you and within earshot decides to start dealing with someone who's literally just walked in (and from the conversation he doesn't already know, clearly isn't buying that day, and hasn't even decided that it's the car for them).

 

What would WSCC do?

[jeff oakley]

Go elsewhere. If that is the service you get when you are spending what will it be afterwards. I would do the deal elsewhere and then call the dealer principle to tell him why.

[SteveD]

go over to the sales manager and politely say ,thank you for waisting my  time let him know your intentions of what you were buying and say I will take my custom elsewhere

 

 

I knew a guy that was a multi millionare he went into the same land rover dealer in knutsford  he had for god knows how many years to place a order for a new range rover the same as he did every 18 months , he went in his scruffs the new sales guy ignored him and dealt with someone else so he left and never went back ,he had a call from the dealer a while later saying we have not seen you for a while mr xxxxxx are you not changing your range rover , so he told them what went on and he had changed it at another dealer ,there loss ,imagine that was a big earner for them every 18 months

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

I'd be going somewhere else and making sure they knew why.

[ralphy]

Reports like this are far too common nowadays: there’s a long-running thread on a non-car forum I belong to with some astonishing recounts of such experiences from potential car-buyers.  

 

To answer the OP’s question: I’d leave and I’ve done so before.  FWIW here’s my story: Hartwells Jaguar Bristol - and it cost them, I bought an identical model by telephone from H R Owen in Guildford five days later.

Presumably the commission on a £30k XJR wasn’t enough to tear the salesman away from watching day-time tv - and doing so on the television provided in the Reception area for the customers.  

 

R

[Wile E. Coyote]

I've had various fun and games with dealers before.

 

When I bought my current car the "Business (Mis)Manager" at the dealer in Liverpool basically told me I couldn't afford it without their finance which apparently the cheapest around and left us whilst he went to fetch the sales guy back: 10 mins later we left (sales guy was incredibly p******** off to discover, when he phoned on the Monday to find out what had happened, that we'd got in the car driven 100 miles to another dealer with stock and bought it on the spot*).

 

* I'd saved the cash from when my previous car had been written off and bought an old banger of a Mondeo just to tide me over until I decided what I wanted!  2nd dealer gave me a token £500 for it!

 

So which dealer named in the thread might it have been..? 

 

I wonder if the salesman's attitude would have been any different if he knew that the rest of the guys I work with were also planning orders within the next six months... with a combined value 8 x what I was spending!?!

[Norman Verona]

First problem is the margins on new cars are derisory. The commission to the salesman is not a lot. Many people just don't believe how little a dealer earns selling new cars. The money is made up with target bonuses.

 

Therefore the car salesman are bottom of the sales food chain.

 

Back in the 70's I was walking through our showroom (Datsun at the time) when a builder chappie with cement covered boots, torn jeans and a donkey jacket walked in and was standing there. The two salesman had looked up and then carried on reading their newspapers. I asked the chap if I could help. He bought a very high priced one year old Mercedes we had  on the front. The salesman were expecting commission. They didn't get it. But they did deal with everyone who walked in after that.

[Captain Colonial]

Yep, walk away, as Jeff rightly says, if they treat like that when you buy the car, what will they treat you like when you need it servicing, a dead fish usually smells bad from the head down.  Same reason I ended up with my current tin top when I was looking to buy a car, went around and made test drive appointments at my local Jag, BMW and Audi dealers, explaining in detail what I wanted and that I was dead serious.  Came the day of carefully planned multiple test drives, every one of them either tried to keep me waiting or jumped on a nobody who walked through the door.  I went in to the Volvo dealer next door and was treated like a respected person.  Surprisingly good test drive, sensible haggling, deal done, and always had good service as well.

 

Drives me mad when some place tries to make you feel privileged for giving them your money.

[Onliest Smeg David]

Walk away.

 

I dress down and try to appear as if I'm not really interested in buying but just browsing, then I'll buy where I get the help and genuine non pushy service.

[dombanks]

if its a car that anywhere can get then walk away, if its the only one you've found you like and there i guess you're a bit screwed.

 

it seems pretty common that car dealers are often crap, and norm whilst you may be right about the margins they make it is no excuse. the minimum wage shop assistant who helped me buy my suit the other week makes chuff all from the deal but she was still kind and helpful. that was only 180 quid let alone the 30K a new audi etc is.

[WestyNottm]

Having been in high end retail for over 30 years I have plenty of anecdotal evidence that the way someone looks bears absolutely no relationship to their spending power. Having dealt with several 'ordinary' looking people in the last few years who turned out to be lottery winners definitely keeps my sales staff in check!

[Norman Verona]

Dom, of course there are exceptions. Our experience of shop assistants is spotty youths who do not know how to talk correctly and chew gum. HM will just turn and walk out if the assistant is chewing gum. Most cannot even say "can I help you, Madam/Sir" but just grunt something.

 

Higher wages do not mean better staff but with a higher wage the manager should be able to select better quality.

 

Having employed many salesman in the motor and computer industries I have a very low opinion of them. Out current salesman earns a huge wage (basic and commission) but hasn't yet sold more per annum that I used to. I sold 13 systems a year, year in year out. That was on top of running the company, doing all the development software and visiting the prospects. I had an elderly salesman who's job was to dig out the prospects, ensure they were genuinely in the market for a new system and then hand them over to me.

[Nick Algar - Competition Secretary]

Just buy it off Jeff C, always get excellent service there and a coffee and chat :D

[jeff oakley]

It is a really big hate of mine, poor customer service in the UK. And the reason we have it is because people do not complain when they get bad service. Too many times I hear when in resteraunts people moaning but when asked they meekly say everything is fine.

 

I was dragged shopping with Jeanette and in M&S i saw two appaling pieces of customer service whilst waiting for her to try on half the shop. Two women were not helped at all by a young girl with so much metal in her face that I was surprised she was there.

 

Once home I emailed M&S and told them what I had witnessed. Some might ask why as it was nothing to do with me. Well my pension fund has M&S shares so as they are performing badly it is everything to do with me. The response from M&S was corprate, which is why they are doing badly.

 

So after that went to Morrisons to shop and the fresh produce was empty. the fish counter was staffed by a young girl who did not know one end of a fish to the other. So emailed them. They called me up discussed it, confirmed they had looked at the CCTV and the fresh produce was empty. A good response, they offered some vouchers which I explained was very nice but not the reason I contacted them, I donated these to charity but unless we all do this we will get poor service.

 

Was there enough training done at M&S, were enough staff on at Morrisons? Unless the management are told they will not know how we really feel.

 

I send letters of praise equally I will add but we do get what we allow them to provide.

[Norman Verona]

Jeff, both M&S and Morrisons will have managers who should be aware of these shortcomings. 

 

I suspect that Metal Marianne was the best they can get, you must know how difficult it is to get smart, decent staff. I wonder what would happen if Metal Marianne was sacked over the way she dresses/looks. Probably get a 4 figure sum for wrongful dismissal.

 

I would lay the blame further up the chain. If the middle managers can't employ local managers who can run the store professionally it's not always the staff at fault.

 

I do agree with you, we just don't complain enough about bad service. Mind you, I just walk away but HM gets the manager and makes a fuss.