Jen X, Y & Me

Aug20

customer service, car buying experience, electronic communication

Car Buying Update

So I have managed to find the exact same car I spoke about earlier at a different dealership. This new dealership, we’ll call them “Dealer B”, has been very courteous, aggressive, and efficient. Dealer A refused to put anything in an email, saying “I don’t really like using email and would prefer just to talk to people on the phone.“. Question to Dealer A, “Is this the 1950’s?“.... If a customer requests a specific communication method, service laws dictate that you use that method. You sell cars. Hundreds of other people sells cars too. If you were the only person on the face of the earth to perform that particular service, then you could afford to be persnickety. You are not unique and could well afford to take lessons from Dealer B’s efficient and courteous customer service performance. They communicate with me in a way that is preferential to me, the actual customer.

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Posted by Jennifer Carey on Aug. 20, 2009

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Aug14

customer service, car buying experience, automotive industry health

New Car Shopping Rant

I am looking to purchase a new (or new to me) car. I’ve visited many dealership websites and actual locations and have come to the following opinion; Either they have all the money in the world and are really not needing a “sale” or the idea of heightened customer service has not penetrated their car-selling brains. While I am physically in the dealership, they’re all hot and heavy “What can we do to get you to sign the deal we want to give you, today.“ but if by chance I am not in love with the deal they are offering and depart, they are practically impossible to reach afterward. I always thought that car buying was a multi-visit/multi-day ordeal. Maybe this is my misconception. My latest frustration point is that I think I’ve found the car I want, but the dealership has been slow to respond to my requests for information. Again, when I was physically there, my sales rep was courteous and helpful. That ended the second I walked off the lot. Now it’s like pulling teeth to get in writing the deal they have engineered for me. It feels a little bit like trickery and if this were some “buy-here-pay-here” lot I would have walked out by now. If automakers really want to improve their bottom line, they need to improve the experience of car-buying. Right now, the experience of buying a car is the same as getting a new drivers license at the DMV or sitting in the dentist chair having your gums scraped. I will keep you posted on the search for my perfect vehicle. My hope is that it will be cute, affordable, and gets great gas mileage for a price that I am comfortable with….. I am beginning to think that doesn’t exist.

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Posted by Jennifer Carey on Aug. 14, 2009

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Have you tried a car buying service? I bought my last car with the help of Auto Advantage. They find what you are looking for and work out the deal for you. It was great when hunting for a good…

Posted by Bob on 08/17/2009 08:07 AM

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Jennifer Carey