Dealer satisfaction score

chris719 · 01-15-2019, 04:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sideshow

I will be honest, I collected my car yesterday.....we're steady at 5 out of 10. I was told " we don't have the personnel to pick you up at the airport". Well, yesterday morning I was there an hour after they opened. I was the only customer there for two hours after I got there......the guys were in the M showroom throwing a football around. "Help yourself, we have an awesome coffee machine".....it was out of order.

It was a Chevy delivery experience....but that might have gone better because a Chevy salesman may have been more appreciative.

We're at 5....

If you're not going back for service or to be a regular customer, give them what they deserve.

doug_999 · 01-15-2019, 06:27 AM

Guys
Let's understand what is happening here.... In short, we search around for the best price, negotiate hard and ruthless, and then somehow expect the white glove treatment when we walk in.

This is why BMW has done away with Dealer Satisfaction scoring - because it is like an airline ticket these days, we only care about price. But damn, we sure are good about bitching about crappy service.

My wife and I picked up a BMW exec Clubman from a Mini dealer about 5 hours from our house this summer. To be fair, it was one of the only stick shift cars we could find - but it was also a good deal and we had a nice trade (her 2010 was mint with 33K on it). So there was lots of remote negotiations - ending with me having a call with the sales manager and coming to a deal.

When we arrived, we were sort of treated like crap. I'm not going to get into details, but it should not have taken that long and we were never given the once over on the car - "It's out there, see ya " were their last words to us.

Was I happy? Not really - that was a chit delivery experience. But at the end of the day, They knew some facts:
1. We were probably never coming back (too far)
2. Price mattered most to us
3. No matter what I rated them (and it was not pretty), it would not hurt them

So I sort of got what I expected and possibly deserved.

Long story short here, we are not looking for relationships, we are looking for price and the sat scores are meaningless. Sucks to be us, but we get what we pay for.

aWanderlustSeoul · 01-17-2019, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sideshow

Quote:

Originally Posted by aWanderlustSeoul

Based on your experience, it seems like 5 is a generous rating.

What dealer provided this so so experience or if you rather not say how far from the Bay Area did you fly? I'm assuming you are driving the car back home so it's not too far from where you live.

I bought it in Camarillo and drove it home...about 5 hours.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sideshow

I bought it in Camarillo and drove it home...about 5 hours.

I hope the time spent in the car and drive home made up for the lackluster dealer experience.

How do you like the car so far?

Sideshow · 01-17-2019, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aWanderlustSeoul

I hope the time spent in the car and drive home made up for the lackluster dealer experience.

How do you like the car so far?

I was a great drive. I've been in California for 26 years and I thought I had seen most of it. Going up 101 however showed me an idyllic side I hadn't seen before. Santa Barbara and Los Osos were really gorgeous. I was very happy I got the sunroof, when it wasn't raining.

MarkDemma · 01-17-2019, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doug_999

Guys
Let's understand what is happening here.... In short, we search around for the best price, negotiate hard and ruthless, and then somehow expect the white glove treatment when we walk in.

This is why BMW has done away with Dealer Satisfaction scoring - because it is like an airline ticket these days, we only care about price. But damn, we sure are good about bitching about crappy service.

My wife and I picked up a BMW exec Clubman from a Mini dealer about 5 hours from our house this summer. To be fair, it was one of the only stick shift cars we could find - but it was also a good deal and we had a nice trade (her 2010 was mint with 33K on it). So there was lots of remote negotiations - ending with me having a call with the sales manager and coming to a deal.

When we arrived, we were sort of treated like crap. I'm not going to get into details, but it should not have taken that long and we were never given the once over on the car - "It's out there, see ya " were their last words to us.

Was I happy? Not really - that was a chit delivery experience. But at the end of the day, They knew some facts:
1. We were probably never coming back (too far)
2. Price mattered most to us
3. No matter what I rated them (and it was not pretty), it would not hurt them

So I sort of got what I expected and possibly deserved.

Long story short here, we are not looking for relationships, we are looking for price and the sat scores are meaningless. Sucks to be us, but we get what we pay for.

Doug,

Some good points you've made here. The comparison to people shopping around for the lowest air fare seems apt.

I ended up buying my M240i at a dealer an hours drive away to shave off another $750 from the price. With incentives, I was able to get it at $10K under MSRP ... which was the main reason I went that route instead of a M2.

In hindsight, I'm kinda wishing I'd gone with the nearby dealer. Turns out the hour away dealer was fibbing about actually having an allocation and it would be another 3 months before it went "status 150" and so it took 7 months in all from the time I ordered to the time it arrived.

But you make some good points, if bottomline price is the single driving concern, you shouldn't be surprised if some other aspects of the experience are lacking.

And although I realize that you can take to any dealership for service work, I'm thinking that you might have a better experience with a dealer that you have a relationship with from purchasing it there.

I think that's something you end up missing out on when you go looking far and wide for the lowest price, and it ends up being a dealer that's quite a distance from you. You don't end up forging any real relationship with a dealer. Small things like being invited to special preview events for new models or bigger things like will they give you a nice loaner or give you a preferred spot on wait lists for things like M2C allocation.

If we were talking about a Camry or Accord, yeah sure who cares. But if you are gonna be buying a high performance car that needs special care, perhaps being on really good terms with the place that you will be using to service it (while under warranty at least) seems to have some value.

TheAMackAttack · 01-17-2019, 01:01 PM

I do think out of state buyers do have some leverage in Google ratings (or something similar). I bought my M2 out of state and the dealership asked me to review them on Google (their site of choice). It might not be a large part of their business, but if there are reviews online that say the out of state buying experience and customer service was poor, that would be meaningful to them.

After I wrote my review, the owner of the dealer called me and asked me how he could help me work through the one issue I dinged them for in the review... and he came through.

Quietmind · 01-17-2019, 03:07 PM

The whole customer service thing is pretty much non-existent on cars in this price class. For sure $65k is a lot of money to most of us, but it really doesn’t even rank anymore. We absolutely do deserve better treatment, but it isn’t in the offering in 2019. It used to be much better that when you were a well-heeled buyer, you’d get better treatment.

I don’t know what the answer is, but I can’t say that I’ve even been treated decently (let alone well) when spending even $150k on a car purchase (Merc G 550). Just the times we live in sadly.

Aim.F32 · 01-18-2019, 03:19 AM

It's sad for the declining industry, where loyalty should be a thing that dealerships are trying to earn. With declining new car sales in the UK/ Europe and this trend will with be either flat or still decline. I think the USA had growth but it was around 1% YoY so won't be any different especially with the trade wars. Dealerships need more people in if they want to sell cars. Marketing helps drive traffic into the dealerships but if the they don't give good customer service then they lose potential sales. The general customer does research around and ask people they know before they go to a specific dealership and if someone has a bad opinion then that will be reflected and customers will avoid that dealership. Yes, some of us like to be a bit savvy and get some discounts but that doesn't mean we deserve shit treatment. This ruins future customers to visit the dealership and reduces brand perception (which is a very important KPI that suits in the boardroom look for). If the general customer doesn't really haggle and get a discount then why do we need dealerships? Strip all of them and just have an Amazonesque system to buy a new car. Yes I know with some brands they are doing this and letting you buy a car online. And this seems like a trend a lot of automotive brands are doing and if dealerships want to avoid this and continue to line their pockets with commission than lose to the machine then they need to give good customer service so that they get return customers (they rely heavily on retention) and have a good word of mouth.

01-15-2019, 06:27 AM	#24
doug_999 Brigadier General 2545 Rep 3,968 Posts Drives: 2011 1M/2021 992/2023 X3 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Chicago, IL iTrader: (0)	Guys Let's understand what is happening here.... In short, we search around for the best price, negotiate hard and ruthless, and then somehow expect the white glove treatment when we walk in. This is why BMW has done away with Dealer Satisfaction scoring - because it is like an airline ticket these days, we only care about price. But damn, we sure are good about bitching about crappy service. My wife and I picked up a BMW exec Clubman from a Mini dealer about 5 hours from our house this summer. To be fair, it was one of the only stick shift cars we could find - but it was also a good deal and we had a nice trade (her 2010 was mint with 33K on it). So there was lots of remote negotiations - ending with me having a call with the sales manager and coming to a deal. When we arrived, we were sort of treated like crap. I'm not going to get into details, but it should not have taken that long and we were never given the once over on the car - "It's out there, see ya " were their last words to us. Was I happy? Not really - that was a chit delivery experience. But at the end of the day, They knew some facts: 1. We were probably never coming back (too far) 2. Price mattered most to us 3. No matter what I rated them (and it was not pretty), it would not hurt them So I sort of got what I expected and possibly deserved. Long story short here, we are not looking for relationships, we are looking for price and the sat scores are meaningless. Sucks to be us, but we get what we pay for. __________________ 2011 1M, Black loaded sans sat radio 2021 911 C4S Gentian Blue, manual 2023 X3 M40i - loaded sans Park Assist
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01-17-2019, 01:01 PM	#28
TheAMackAttack Private First Class 47 Rep 104 Posts Drives: 2016 M2 LBB DCT Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: Salt Lake City iTrader: (0)	I do think out of state buyers do have some leverage in Google ratings (or something similar). I bought my M2 out of state and the dealership asked me to review them on Google (their site of choice). It might not be a large part of their business, but if there are reviews online that say the out of state buying experience and customer service was poor, that would be meaningful to them. After I wrote my review, the owner of the dealer called me and asked me how he could help me work through the one issue I dinged them for in the review... and he came through.
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01-17-2019, 03:07 PM	#29
Quietmind Private 87 Rep 72 Posts Drives: 2019 M2C 6MT Join Date: Sep 2018 Location: New York iTrader: (0) Garage List 2019 Mercedes Gelan ... [0.00] 2019 BMW M2 [0.00] 2016 Audi S3 [0.00] 2011 Land Rover LR4 [0.00] 2009 Nissan GT-R [0.00] 2006 Porsche 997 C2S [0.00]	The whole customer service thing is pretty much non-existent on cars in this price class. For sure $65k is a lot of money to most of us, but it really doesn’t even rank anymore. We absolutely do deserve better treatment, but it isn’t in the offering in 2019. It used to be much better that when you were a well-heeled buyer, you’d get better treatment. I don’t know what the answer is, but I can’t say that I’ve even been treated decently (let alone well) when spending even $150k on a car purchase (Merc G 550). Just the times we live in sadly.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

01-18-2019, 03:19 AM	#30
Aim.F32 Second Lieutenant 304 Rep 271 Posts Drives: SO M2C Join Date: Oct 2018 Location: UK iTrader: (0)	It's sad for the declining industry, where loyalty should be a thing that dealerships are trying to earn. With declining new car sales in the UK/ Europe and this trend will with be either flat or still decline. I think the USA had growth but it was around 1% YoY so won't be any different especially with the trade wars. Dealerships need more people in if they want to sell cars. Marketing helps drive traffic into the dealerships but if the they don't give good customer service then they lose potential sales. The general customer does research around and ask people they know before they go to a specific dealership and if someone has a bad opinion then that will be reflected and customers will avoid that dealership. Yes, some of us like to be a bit savvy and get some discounts but that doesn't mean we deserve shit treatment. This ruins future customers to visit the dealership and reduces brand perception (which is a very important KPI that suits in the boardroom look for). If the general customer doesn't really haggle and get a discount then why do we need dealerships? Strip all of them and just have an Amazonesque system to buy a new car. Yes I know with some brands they are doing this and letting you buy a car online. And this seems like a trend a lot of automotive brands are doing and if dealerships want to avoid this and continue to line their pockets with commission than lose to the machine then they need to give good customer service so that they get return customers (they rely heavily on retention) and have a good word of mouth.
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