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Re: My $.02 Posted by Justin VanAbrahams [Email]  (#32) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Justin VanAbrahams) on Sat, 8 Mar 2008 00:29:56
In Reply to: My $.02, Benji, Fri, 7 Mar 2008 23:00:12 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
On the contrary, I never make any of those assumptions. By virtue of the fact that Saab sells 1/10th of the number of cars that most of its competitors do, and by virtue of the fact that Saab has been teetering on the edge of financial stability for the bulk of my lifetime (and I'm 33...) and by virtue of the fact that the local Saab dealership has passed through three owners and employs none of the techs or sales staff they had two years ago I'm very cognoscente of the fact that very few people like Saabs, and even fewer professionals stick around to deal with them.
I never expect anybody to give me anything for free, and really wouldn't get terribly miffed if someone *did* charge me $109 to pull a dumb CEL code. It sure sucks, but it's nothing to get upset about. That's business, that's fair play. My issue is that if you are number last in the marketplace, you might want to go above and beyond what's expected or what's fair to try and draw people into your product - plenty of businesses succeed and even flourish not because they offer the best product, but because they're the most pleasant to deal with...
I understand that Mr. Salesguy and Mr. Code Pulling Guy aren't Saab enthusiasts, and they know they'll be working at Ford or Benz in a few months, but if I was Mr. Saab Dealer Owner Guy and I had millions of dollars invested in a property, a building, tools, and equipment and I wanted something positive to come of that investment, I would be damned certain ALL of my employees understood exactly how dedicated I was to my success and how dedicated they should be if they wanted to keep their jobs. Helpfulness and customer appreciation are cultures that are seeded and developed from the top.
That these dealerships don't go that extra mile isn't because the low-level guys don't care, it's that ownership and management don't care. And that's really the problem, IMHO. If these Saab dealer franchisees want business in a market that clearly isn't tripping over itself to give them money, they're going to have to earn it. I can tell you pretty assuredly that telling an informed, intelligent owner that a 10 minute task will cost $109 is not earning anything except ire.
When I bought my first Saab, the salesguy gave me his card and told me just show it to whoever was working if I needed the car washed and they'd take care of me. My POS, '84 Saab that was 10 years old at the time! Amazing stuff! That act of kindness is what kept me coming back to Niello Saab for five years, paying way too much for oil changes and scheduled maintenance. But, it was totally worth it for the kind treatment and little extras that being a Niello customer meant. That's good stuff, and the yahoos that have had the local franchise since Niello sold it could learn a thing or two about winning customer retention...
(And, before anyone says it, I understand that most automotive techs get paid by the job, and a 10 minute free diagnosis doesn't get you paid. And that is why I reiterate this kind of "go the extra mile" stuff has to come from the top...)
posted by 65.78.132...
, Fri, 7 Mar 2008 19:45:48, Sat, 8 Mar 2008 00:29:56 <-- Viewing This Message
, Sat, 8 Mar 2008 08:10:18, Sun, 9 Mar 2008 11:35:02
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