Stories from the Sales Frontlines

oldfarmer50

"...will be in Amsterdam..."

While you're in the area keep an eye out for an old blue GMC van heading in the direction of Canada. He'll be easy to spot as he will be the one getting "a feel of the road" like he never dreamed. :P

Happy Thanksgiving all! (except for the Canadians who scheduled their's on Columbus day so I missed it).

crkyolfrt

"it could cause serious injury"

Bingo! - see what I just posted, driver.

I couldn't agree more.

isellhondas

It's usually the aftermarket alarm systems that make the most noise and have the most false alarms.

As far as your Jeep, I think you can program the alarm so they don't chirp.

We once took in a POS Chevy truck that had a huge lift kit installed. It was painted bright orange and you almost needed a ladder to get into it.

The alarm system was hooked up to a series of musical horns mounted under the hood that played "Dixie"...LOUD!

We parked it at the top of our lot waiting to be wholesaled.

There just happens to be a hotel right next door and for some reason, in the middle of the night those horns went off every ten minutes or so.

Boy, did we ever hear about that the next morning!

jipster

And why do manufacturers make cars so they make a loud chirping noise when you use the remote?

Yeah, it drives me crazy when my wife hits the lock button on the remote that second time, the resulting chirp loud enough to loosen my tooth fillings.

This despite locking them manually before exiting the car and then hitting the lock button on the remote, after exiting the car, giving you the sound of locks locking (again) and head lights flash.... why oh why must you lock the car that third time? :sick:

isellhondas

My wife does the same thing and it drives me nuts.

I think they must find comfort in hearing that chirp?

fezo

I like my Hondas that just flash the lights and you can hear the locks locking or unlocking. The Accord's panic button is too easily triggered though.

The Camry has a beep when you lock it or unlock it which is mildly annoying but way better than the ones that beep their horns.

I think I'd pay extra for a car without an alarm!

canadiantoyota

Happy Thanksgiving and safe travel to all my American friends. May you and yours enjoy the holiday, be blessed with good weather, safe travel and good times.

jayrider

As I pour the gravy over everything on the plate, I give thanks I don't have a gallbladder anymore. Younz all have a nice Thanksgiving.

houdini1

But they will investigate, and said SM will have to face the camera and lie thru his teeth or possibly tell the truth, whatever the case may be. Many times just the threat of having to do this along with the resulting bad publicity is enough to get action.

The bad guys don't want any part of something like this. If someone starts asking questions, what else might come up and who else has been ripped off in the past that might step forward.

tifighter

My wife loves the chirp when she locks the door on her car. Sometimes she'll press it 2 or 3 times when we are walking away from the car, and I'll ask why she presses the fob so much. And she'll reply, "He's Happy!"

Ugh. :sick:

fezo

Oy! On the Hondas if you press it a second time you get a beep of the horn. No, thanks.

fezo

Too darn quiet in here today. Some of us are stuck at work a couple more hours....

mako1a

SELLER VERY DIFFICULT TO DEAL WITH,NEVER AGAIN, STAFF IS CLUELESS!!!

This is Ebay feedback for Lance Cunningham Ford in Knoxville, TN
Too bad, because he's the first dealer to offer a Mustang in Yellow with V-6,A/T.

Maybe if the staff had half of a clue I'd drive the 180 miles.

deltheking

Can you post the link to the vehicle ad?

deltheking

And what exactly happened?? Because the item/car for which you left the negative feedback for them is listed as a 2011 Ford F250 lariat King truck . :confuse:

Also, these are classified listings - not bidding auctions or items. They are like classified ads in the paper or websites. You have to go locally and buy and pick up your car. These are not Ebay auctions. Hope this helps.

mako1a

link title

Yellow Mustang

mako1a

I didn't leave negative feedback.
I rather enjoy Ebay buying.

No, you don't have to go to the dealer. $300 shipping and no snarly dealer faces.
Problem is, he said "only bid what you are willing to pay"
Then adds a caveat that there are dealer fees.
To my way of thinking I'll pay advertised price as I do my own
TTL at DMV since he's in another state.

deltheking

Sorry,my bad- yes,it's not a classified ad. I somehow overlooked that.
The ad says buyer is responsible for shipping but the seller will help.. So did he say shipping would be 350?

Yes,you can contact him and ask him what the dealer fees are? use the email option from Ebay. And then enter or bid what you want to pay. On used cars they list the dealer fees as say 150 or 200 or no fees depending on the ad. but as this is a new car,you should contact the dealer first and find out the fees before bidding.
And the negative feedback is from another buyer then. The buyer has no history on Ebay and the feedback was for a classified listing ,not an ebay bidding item. So dont know what happened there.

isellhondas

Anyone can slander a business by leaving negative feedback.

It could have been a competitor or a disgruntled ex employee.

This assumes most of the other feedback is positive.

mako1a

Here ya go.

isellhondas

Haha. Pretty cool!

snakeweasel

I really don't see a local news show carrying this unless they have nothing else to show. Its pretty simple, you have a signed contract that states a certain amount and you can't prove what was agreed to verbally. If the dealership comes out and says "no we didn't quote that price, we quoted the price on the contract" then you have a he said-she said situation and how do you determine who is right.

And even if the dealership stated that they did verbally quote a certain price that "contract" would not be enforceable anyway.

Simply put the contract should have been read first, but since it's been signed he is pretty much out of luck unless the dealership takes pity or you can find that one of the conditions of a contract didn't exist (which you most likely won't).

snakeweasel

And why do manufacturers make cars so they make a loud chirping noise when you use the remote?

On the Sebring I read in the manual how to turn that chirp on and off. It's one of the few things you can program yourself.

jipster

Hope all you turkies out there have a safe and happy ( ) Thanksgiving. They seem to be coming around faster and faster these days, so enjoy! :shades:

houdini1

Assuming our poster is telling the whole truth, two things could have happened here. One, someone at the dealership made an honest mistake, a typo or something like that, or two, they committed fraud.

If it was an honest mistake, I assume they would be happy to correct it, as any honest businessman would. I hope our poster lets us know what their response was. He appears to be a long time member here and not one of those guys who joins, makes one post and disappears.

isellhondas

Your take on this is right on.

I just hope he let's us know the outcome.

roadburner

And I might even have a sales story soon...

snakeweasel

Just as long as it doesn't include that you were one of the guys camped out in front of Best Buy at 9am on Thanksgiving day.

roadburner

No way no how!!!

driver100

Any dealers got Black Friday car sales going on?

driver100

Yesterday I was cut off by 2 black Dodge Calibres...in separate incidences. Today, the same thing happened! They sped up and quickly cut into my lane.

Do you think it is part of a conspiracy?
Have they been told to do this to BMW drivers?
Has anyone else noticed this phenomenon?

jayrider

The auto ads are screaming --"Special Prices" in St. Louis. One dealer had discounts decreasing hourly starting at 7am. Don't think anyone camped out. The Hyundai store is touting free Stabucks coffee. Of course they always have free Starbucks. These guys really know how to jump on a marketing concept.
In the past month I've bought 4 tv's - 2 blu rays- one garmin gps -and a home theater sound system. They were all less money than the exact models currently priced as Black Friday blow outs. The one tv 73" dlp [1299 free delivery + no tax ] and bluray was for my son.

jipster

Do you think it is part of a conspiracy?

I'm sure it is. I think they are trying to tell you they are in possession of the higher quality, best "feel of the road" performance car. Did the lisence plate, seen from the back as you were eating their smoke, say "snkwsl"? :surprise:

tidester

in separate incidences

That would be "incidents."

"Incident" refers to an event while "incidence" relates to how often something occurs.

tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

graphicguy

jay....like you, I was relatively unimpressed with the "Black Friday" deals. Saw the newspaper ads yesterday. I think the price cutting began way before yesterday.

I just upgraded my kitchen appliances to stainless. I paid less for them two weeks ago than the prices I saw in the ads.

Although, I did take advantage of an alleged Best Buy doorbuster for a 50" Panasonic 1080p plasma to put in my den. This is normally a $1,000 TV. They advertised it for $700. I wasn't sitting at their door at whatever unreal hour they opened, but got there about 11:00 a.m. They were already sold out of it.

Went to one of their competitors, who was more than happy to meet BB's price, and since they didn't have any of the model that was advertised, upgrade me to the next model up for the same price.

Just like the car business, competition is good.

roadburner

In my opinion the Panasonic plasmas are the best TVs currently on the market. I have a 720p 42" in our basement 5.1 theater/game room. Playing COD Black Ops is a way kewl experience.

driver100

in separate incidences
That would be "incidents."

I'll try to remember that for the future, if I should use the word ever again.

By the way, what do you think is going on with these black Calibres?

houdini1

I just figured that was Canadian spelling !!

tidester

By the way, what do you think is going on with these black Calibres?

It is interesting that such coINCIDENCES occur but that's just Murphy's law at work.

tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

snakeweasel

Although, I did take advantage of an alleged Best Buy doorbuster for a 50" Panasonic 1080p plasma to put in my den

There is a secret to getting those door busters at Best Buy, If yours operates like mine what they do is go out a few hours before the store opens and give out "tickets" to the doorbuster deals to those at the beginning of the line and go back until they run out of "tickets" (one ticket for each individual doorbuster item), The holder of the ticket has to 9am to redeem the ticket for the item. At 9am any unclaimed doorbuster item is sold first come first served.

For whatever reason many of these doorbuster items never get redeemed so many are grabbed by people who come in maybe after 7 or so and wait in line inside the store for an hour or so. thats how I got this great new laptop I am using to post this.

driver100

I just figured that was Canadian spelling !!

I should have remembered that excuse. Me of all people, should have remembered to just say it was the Canadian way to spell it, I'll remember that for next time.

driver100

e grabbed by people who come in maybe after 7 or so and wait in line inside the store for an hour or so. thats how I got this great new laptop I am using to post this

I am impressed. I know personally, I wouldn't get up before 7 a.m. to wait in line to save any amount of money..........unless I was guaranteed to be able to get one, and the savings would have to be at least 25% off the regular selling price....and even then I'd have to think about it.

I am not saying there's anything wrong in it. I am just saying that that is the way I feel about these sales. Out of curiosity, what model did you by, what was the pre sale price, what did you pay,...if you don't mind me asking. If you do mind, then just tell me you don't want to give that information, I would understand...fair enough.(I never ask how much stuff is, but I am curious about how much can be saved at these things).

snakeweasel

I am impressed. I know personally, I wouldn't get up before 7 a.m. to wait in line to save any amount of money..........

I got there at about 7:30 and on a typical Friday at that time I am usually stuck in traffic trying to get to work so it was no big deal for me. Its not like I was camped out there like the guy I saw on Thursday morning.

I got an HP with 15.something screen 4GB memory and 500G hard drive with an intel processor. Overall I saved around $150 on this computer over what I would have paid about two weeks ago when I originally was going to buy. So it comes to about 23% off. Not bad considering the only other thing I would be doing is reading things on edmunds.

isellhondas

A Best Buy just opened this week about 5 minutes from our house.

Man, if you check out the Best Buy reviews, they are HORRIBLE!

nyccarguy

I seriously despise bestbuy & do not plan to spend another dime there as long as I live.

roadburner

The two Best Buys that I've dealt with in Louisville have treated me very well. No tricks, great prices, and no attempts to upsell me $100 HDMI cables or $500 "power conditioners".

tidester

Our local Best Buy has a number of very tech savvy people who have been most helpful. And that's high praise coming from me!

tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

driver100

about 23% off. Not bad considering the only other thing I would be doing is reading things on edmunds.

LOL I guess like the comedy network says....it's time well wasted!

There seems to be a lot of negativity to Best Buy, not from you obviously. Relating to the car business, do you think the salespeople can make a difference in how people perceive the Best Buy experience? Or is it something else, like extended warranties, selling up, pushing mop n glo.

I know I was told I had to get this $25 screen cleaner for the LCD TV. I forgot about it but I haven't noticed it needing a cleaning. Also, the Geek Squad who installed the TV (cords are hidden in the wall) weren't that bright. I had to have our IT guy from work come in and wire it properly...something about one chord could do the work of about 9 that they installed.

Our IT guy said they get teenagers and pay them $10 an hour, so he hates Best Buy and almost all big businesses. He buys everything online, possibly from Best Buy or Staples, but resents it.

nyccarguy

My dealings & feelings towards Best Buy actually have nothing to do with their sales staff, but their customer service is just terrible. About 3 years ago I bought an Insignia (best buy's brand) portable DVD player ($400) for the car (I was against it at 1st too, but when your child doesn't sleep in the car it is a godsend). It stopped working 32 days after I bought it.

Brought the DVD player back. Waited on line for about a half hour. Once it was my turn, I explained how we were very happy with the product, used it a few times, then it wouldn't turn on. Showed my receipt & asked for my money back. I wanted to go with another brand because I wasn't sure about the long term reliability of the product. He pointed to the sign that shows the 30 day return policy, looked at my receipt & told me I could get a new one because the 30 days were up. I told him I didn't want another one, just my money back. "We're literally talking about 2 Days."

His answer was " the return policy stands as is. I don't care if it is 1 day. If I make an exception for you, I have to make an exception for the next person who's product is only a week out of the return policy. You can have a new one & you are luck we're giving you that because it is our brand."

"I'd like to speak to a manager please."

"I am the highest ranking manager at this store, if you have a problem with me or the return policy, call 1 800 Best buy."

So not only was I forced to keep a product I wasn't happy with, I felt compelled to purchase the $100 something dollar extended warranty, which I never do. I haven't set foot in a best buy since. That was almost 3 years ago.

graphicguy

I personally like my Best Buy. There are probably 3 of them within a 10 mile radius of me, however. The one closest to my house has employees that have been there for years, too. So, I know some of them. I find their pricing to be some of the most aggressive in the industry. And, they've always bent over backwards for me on the customer service side.

That said, I've spent quite a bit of money at this store, too. There delivery and installation people are great. They always match any price (even on-line) I come in with, too.

After seeing me wandering the TV dept, one of the long time "managers" came up and asked me what I was looking for. I told him I was looking for one of the door buster TVs (snake, thanks for the advice on the doorbusters). He said he only had 8 of them and that they sold out of them the within the first two hours they were open.

He offered to order another for me, but said according to the "stock report", he couldn't tell when they'd get more in. They were super busy so I told him I'd consider it if I couldn't find something else.

Maybe a regional chain but we have HH Gregg appliance/TV stores, too. I normally don't like going there because their people are pretty aggressive as you are just trying to look around. They didn't have the Panasonic Best Buy advertised either. But, they had the next step up of Panasonic. They matched Best Buy's price for the lower model on the higher end model they carried. I was pleased.

roadburner....I agree that Panasonic makes some really nice TVs. And, I still prefer plasma TVs over LCD/LED sets for a variety of reasons. I have a 60" Pioneer KURO plasma in my home theater room. By far, it's the best TV I've ever seen, bar none. But, Pioneer got out of the TV business unfortunately. Panasonic bought most of their technology. So yes, Panasonic TVs do look very good.

Today, it's time to finish up Christmas shopping, and look for either a stand or wall mount for the TV. After that, meet up with friends for dinner and drinks (more food...LOL). Then, get ready for a business trip all next week.