Useless sales executives!

[Sonicriot13 0]

:bad-words: I was gonna post this in Andy665's rocco thread but thought better of sabotaging it with my abject rage.

 

Just been to my local VW. Now, I've only ever heard bad things about them but I always give people the benefit of the doubt. More fool me because I have just been subjected to perhaps the most embarrassing 30 minutes I have had in a long time. I started off by browsing the forecourt. 5 minutes of that and no sign of any one of the four staff coming out to see if I needed anything, I decided to give them a life line and enter the building. To my right was a guy serving a lovely old couple at one of the stations. Directly in front of me were no fewer than 3 execs including the franchise manager, who proceeded to just stand there ignoring me. At that point yet another exec came in from outside, and walked straight past me about 2 feet away, he had a laugh with the other execs, walked past me again, stared out the window for thirty seconds, then walked past me again, then picked up his coat and walked out through the back of the building. I am literally standing ten feet inside the entrance in plain view of everybody. Then the manager walked out back with one of the other execs leaving one at another computer just staring at it. I couldn't believe it. So I just stood there. Looking bored. Looking at my watch as much as possible and tapping my feet. Nothing. The one exec still in plain view of me who wasn't already serving acted like I wasn't even there. The others I could hear laughing out the back about one of the other staff. I just walked in the end.

 

Out of the three VW garages in my area the only one that hasn't annoyed me to the point that I am never going there again is Northgate Street in Bury.

[Critical_Mass 10]

Sorry to hear about your bad experience mate. I think id have been just as annoyed as you, to the point where id have gone up to them and said you've just lost yourself a sale because you didnt seem bothered that i was there. Next time you'll know not to ignore someone standing in your showroom.

[stevej 0]

in my experience a lot of these sales exec's have already made their mind up about whether or not your are browsing or buying based on appearance alone, and that influences their reaction / response. I feel generally i have been treated badly before in main dealers especially if your younger and not particulary smartly dressed, they just assume you cant afford anything. :?

 

i have had equally bad service when looking for a car with my wife and daughter present.

 

To be fair they are not all like this, a local Mistubsushi main dealer near us could not have been more helpful when we were looking.

[Sonicriot13 0]

Yeah, on my way home I was thinking of all the things I should have said. But I vote with my feet. If a company/business annoys me I don't complain I just make sure I never have anything to do with them ever again. The fact I'm writing an email shows how annoyed I am. I've worked with enough incompetent people to know that it's the ones that get all the complaints that don't listen to them. Oh well, down to Northgate street tomorrow then.... That's great. I have to drive to Bury now instead of just go to the garage that's 5 minutes from my house.

 

You're right stevej, they're not all like this. I was in my garage this morning picking up some brochures and a couple pulled up and hadn't even got out of the car when my colleague was out of their seat. My experience today has just made me more determined to do the job well when I start in a couple of weeks.

 

Judging people by appearance is ridiculous if they are a customer. My girlfriend's parents are minted. And I mean minted. And her dad is the scruffiest man I've ever seen. As are all their Daily Mail reading friends when they're just casually dressed. If anyone it's the salesman that should be judged on appearance, not the customer.

[Andy665 0]

With your permission I would like to send your post to their Area Manager who I know quite well - hopefully it will get some attention and used to highlight to the retailer that this is not the way to treat a potential customer.

 

It hacks me off as this is the industry I work in and when people act like this I take it very personally - seriously hacked off myself now

[12 DEG BEN 0]

Well I had my first experience of a merc dealer in newbury. Im 31 and turned up kitted out in scruffy clothes. They treated me awsomely well. The lady receptionist grabbed me straight away and was overly lovely. The salesman got me a tea and was not up his own rectum so I purchased a car for a friend from them. Others take note.

[Phil K 0]

Very nice of you to buy a merc for your mate!!!

 

I did similar with Skoda in Aldershot... sales guy kept me waiting for over 30 minutes, failed to acknowledge me and when he eventualy had a spare moment he went off to chat to his mate! I walked after giving a peice of my mind to their service manager (who was a nice chap and very understanding)

 

Best bit was when the sales guy phoned a couple of weeks later and I was only too happy to inform him that I'd decided against the VRS and had just bought the LCR! Tw@ :lol:

 

Having said that I wouldn't recommend Wiltshire and Sons Seat dealership in Farnham either but thats another story... over all I wouldn't say I'm overly impressed with VAG dealers in general but Guildford VW have always been pretty good to me

[Sonicriot13 0]

With your permission I would like to send your post to their Area Manager who I know very well - hopefully it will get someone a serious kicking.

 

By all means mate. They can't be allowed to continue like this. It doesn't make sense to do that. I wasn't even that scruffily dressed. Clean jeans, full length Crombie, scarf, new Converse, clean shaven. I had made an effort with my appearance today because I'd called in to my garage and I didn't want to turn up there in my oil stained rags. Maybe it was my age? Maybe they just didn't like my face or something?

 

This is my promise to everyone. When I start with my dealership you can come in covered in mud for all I care and you will get nothing but my best customer service.

[Andy665 0]

Currently all dealerships, irrespective of manufacturer, are complaining that they are not seeing enough potential customers - I have always said that that it total crap - your experience clearly demonstrates that i'm probably not wrong - most sales execs could not sell to save their lives - most are mere order takers.

[Sonicriot13 0]

Order takers are the worst. You expect that level of customer service in a corner shop but not somewhere where you are potentially going to make the second biggest investment of your life after your house.

 

Yeah mate, will be interesting to see what the area manager says.

[G60SC_Stoney 0]

I wouldn't say I'm overly impressed with VAG dealers in general but Guildford VW have always been pretty good to me

 

havent been good to me, or at least the parts Dept, still waiting on my front subframe which was ordered WAY before christmas, no phone call nothing. Petersfield VW is even worse, if your car is over 5 years old they couldnt give a toss about you. Only VW garage i use now is Coopers VW in Chichester. Top people who are always there to help. may be something to do with me spending nearly 3K on parts for the G60 in the last 2 months.... :lol:

[Jim 2]

That is absolutely shocking I have to say. As Andy says, you can't help but laugh about VW complaining about a lack of customers when jokers like that are messing around in the dealerships and ignoring the people under their noses.

 

Very sad state of affairs.

[Andy665 0]

I've generally had very good service at Volkswagen parts counters, makes you wonder whether these are the people that should be in the showroom dealing with customers interested in buying a car

[Sonicriot13 0]

Cheers for doing that Andy. You are proof positive that not everyone in the industry is complacent and useless. :D

[Guest]

in my experience a lot of these sales exec's have already made their mind up about whether or not your are browsing or buying based on appearance alone,

 

Totally agree. Ages ago I (and my then other half) turned up at a Toyota dealers in a very tatty white Renault Van. We looked respectable as we had just left work (both in branch banking) and as it was 10+ years ago we were pretty young.....but we were totally ignored.

We gave up and went on to look at other cars and ended up buying the Storm for £18k cash.... A lot of money today but even more so 10 years ago.

 

 

 

Also agree with the statement that those with money often look untidy. Again, from my years in branch banking I saw it over and over again. The customers that you knew were loaded often looked like the couldn't rub 2 ha'pennys together. But that was often why they were loaded, they never spend any money....

[Sonicriot13 0]

Also agree with the statement that those with money often look untidy. Again, from my years in branch banking I saw it over and over again. The customers that you knew were loaded often looked like the couldn't rub 2 ha'pennys together. But that was often why they were loaded, they never spend any money....

 

I always just put it down to the fact they don't feel like they have anything to prove. I don't know. When you're going for a job or something then first impressions matter. You need to make an effort. But when you are going to buy a car why should you? I'm thinking of going back in there today in one of my suits and I bet their attitude would be completely different, even though my bank balance is still exactly the same as it was yesterday. I'm still stewing about it.

[Guest]

LOL. Go on do it.

Sorry to bring up a chick flick scene but it would be like Pretty Woman when she goes back in all dressed up carrying loads of 'names' bags and saying 'Big mistake, BIG mistake....'

 

Do it, do it :lol:

[Sonicriot13 0]

LOL. Go on do it.

Sorry to bring up a chick flick scene but it would be like Pretty Woman when she goes back in all dressed up carrying loads of 'names' bags and saying 'Big mistake, BIG mistake....'

 

Do it, do it :lol:

 

I've not seen this "Pretty Woman" to which you are referring.... :lol:

 

I don't know, it is tempting. But at the moment I'm embarrassed for them. I couldn't bare to look them in the eyes even. Either that or I'd lose my rag because they'll probably just ignore me again.

[Andy665 0]

Volkswagen as a network is, in my opinion, a lot better than most other manufacturer networks, I mystery shop circa 50 dealers per year and am always shocked at how bad things are in non Volkswagen sites.

 

The job of a sales executive is not difficult, its about caring about your customers and doing the basics right and it mystifies me why so few sales execs (or Sales Managers, Dealer Principals etc) can't seem to grasp it.

[cymru-corrado 0]

this is rather crap, i know our sales manager wont let that happen at all, and especially during the week as andy just said we can get mystery shopped at any moment and if we dont respond within 3 minutes to a customer walking in your marks get automatically halved and we personally get fined on it.

And as others have said just from appearance you cant judge someone, i've sold r32's to people who look like they've just got out of bed but thats because they own there own business and dont have to get up early!

 

and andy our sales manager thinks mystery shoppers are worse than paedophiles just to let you know.lol

[Andy665 0]

Fornutely I do not conduct formal Mystery Shops, I call in on non Volkswagen sites when I have the time to check what they are like, if they are busy with "real" customers I'll leave them to it

[craigowl 0]

An old school friend of mine inherited a £0.9 million estate from an elderly lady he looked after from time to time. He lived in a lodge house on the estate with no central heating, etc, etc and worked as a teacher at a private school in Edinburgh.

 

His cars had always been things like old Citroen Dyanes, etc. and he had no hifi or anything like that, preferring to spend his money on going out and travelling abroad.

 

Well, once he had bought his new house in a posh part of East Lothian, he decided he would go shopping for a new Toyota Celica (a hairdresser's car does suit him actually! :shock: ). He still dresses as he always did, a baggy jumper, often with holes, hanging on him like an old sack. He does speak in a refined way, though.

 

At the Toyota dealers he asked if he could have a test drive of the blue Celica he fancied.

 

Salesman - "Well, you actually have to prearrange a test drive, sir, it's not as if you are going to buy the car today, is it?"

 

My friend - "Ecktually, I can write you a cheque for the full amount today if the car were to come up to my expectations."

 

Talk about a 180 degree change in attitude when the salesman heard that! What a humiliated groveller he then had to be.

We often ask for a repeat of this story from our acquaintance when others are present who have not heard it. Has a real feelgood edge to it. 8)

[Sonicriot13 0]

It's just all backwards with some people. Why do some sales execs think the customers have to live up to their expectations? They're the ones that have to live up to the customers expectations. Whether that customer turns up wearing a tailored suit or a potato sack.

 

Edit: Sorry to keep repeating myself. But it has wound me up greatly.

[mic_VR 3]

Well unfortunately this is a subject that I have recently changed my mind about. Firstly the good service, can highly recommend Northgate VW in Bury st Edmunds. Been really good with me in the past and now well worth the 45min round trip from Cambridge just to avoid the frankly terrible service I've been getting recently from Vindis Group which is my local VW.

 

Now that hasn't always been the case, in particular the Milton road branch in cambridge used to be very good for parts and always were really helpful if I needed parts quickly. But in recent times they've not been get the right parts in, in the time promised, or even sometimes just not even knowing where to find parts on the etka diagrams without me almost showing them myself! Then the actual service you get, not the most welcoming to say the least! :lol:

 

But the worst by far had to be when my girlfriend brought a mk5 golf TDi from the St ives branch, she's always wanted a golf and was really happy when she finally had the money to get one and we decided to go to the st ives branch as they had one in the right colour spec etc. Now originally we went along together to have a look but all subsequent visits my girlfriend had to go alone as I have to work long hours, and basically everytime she came back she was really upset with the service she'd had and one time she had decided not to buy the car as she couldn't face going back.

 

So I went with her and I had the absolute pleasure of meeting one of the most arrogant and unlikeable salesmen in my life, to the point at which he actually called my girlfriend a liar to my face and I could have smacked him there and then. Basically I refused to deal with the guy and lucky for us I happen to know a couple of other members of staff high up in the Vindis group and we were able to get the car without dealing with him again. We wrote a letter to VW so they know what kind of associates they have (I know vindis is a franchise but its still VW's image) and I also spoke to Vindis themselves so I also know the guy was eventually let go from his position, although only after he did it again. But to this day we have never, ever, received a followup call or apology for his actions from VW or Vindis.

 

It disturbs me sometimes that a company the size of VW, who don't sell exactly cheap cars, aren't able to follow up on things like this. I will never even consider going back there again and I have to say good luck to anyone that does. Its a shame really that someone felt that it was ok to treat another person in the way we were treated. If I treated a client of my company like that I would have been sacked instantly.

 

Sorry for the war & peace esc essay, just got writing! :lol: Oh and by the way, I'm an accountant so was dressed very smart.

[craigowl 0]

Remember, guys, the customer is king and stick to your principles.

I have never gone back to garages who treated me in an unforgiveably shabby manner.

 

One is our nearest VAG dealer 7 miles from here. I prefer to do a round trip of 40 miles rather than go to them again. A pity really as they were let down by only one member of staff with an attitude problem. Sometimes it seems as if customer care courses have never reached staff at many UK garages.