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3219 messages,  Last post on May 19, 2013 at 1:46 PM

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What is this discussion about? Car Buying, Car Selling

Messages Page 313 of 323

#3112 of 3219 Re: Trade or sell a car? [uga91] by isellhondas

Feb 05, 2013 (8:45 am)

Replying to: uga91 (Jan 28, 2013 1:07 pm)
timadams didn't give you a "lecture". He gave you solid advice and answers to the questions YOU asked!

#3113 of 3219 Re: Trade or sell a car? [isellhondas] by kirstie_h HOST

Feb 05, 2013 (11:00 am)

Replying to: isellhondas (Feb 05, 2013 8:45 am)
Oh, I think we can let this go and just call it even. I can see why uga91 was offended by the suggestion that he took out a 72-month loan because he bought more car than he could afford. I probably would be too.
 
However, I can also see why the assumption was made, since most cases we see posted around here involving a longer-term loan are, indeed, cases in which the buyer couldn't otherwise afford the payment. Everyone seems to be at peace now, in any case.

#3114 of 3219 Privacy Law Violations by wsb2

Feb 08, 2013 (8:38 am)

Nalley Audi North Atlanta in Roswell GA is requiring all sales people to make 700 individual phone calls per month. If they do not make the required number of calls they will not receive all of their bonus money. This is written in to their pay plans which I have received a copy of from an employee. The dealership has 10 sales people. That is 7000 calls a month! They are harassing people who do not wish to be disturbed about a car purchase. In a world of Privacy Laws and Do Not Call lists I am sure that this policy is in violation of the existing laws. It is also highly unethical. I also have been informed that this type of harassment has been going on at all dealerships owned by the Asbury Automotive Group based in Duluth GA. They have about 90 dealers in the country with a dozen situated here in the Atlanta area. Please help stop this abuse.

#3115 of 3219 Re: Privacy Law Violations [wsb2] by boomchek

Feb 08, 2013 (1:03 pm)

Replying to: wsb2 (Feb 08, 2013 8:38 am)
If you're a client of a dealership, whether in service or by purchasing a car, you would automatically get added onto a database and a call list.
 
It's a privacy violation only if they actually sold your personal info to another company.
 
Otherwise when sales and service transactions are done most customers ok the dealer to contact them with special deals and offers.
 
Yes it can be annoying and from working in the car business for nearly 10 years I know it's like that everywhere.
 
The only thing you can do is write a letter asking them not to contact you or speak with management directly and say that if they continue to harass you that you will not do business with them anymore.
 
I worked at a Honda dealer where every 3 months the owner decided to do an "invite only private sale". Everybody who ever bought something or serviced something at that dealership was called, every 3 months. Ultimately the management eased up but it did tend ot tick off a small percentage of customers.
 
Unfortunately these days, especially at this time of the year when walk ins are few and far in between and competition is fierce, management finds it more cost effective to get sales guys who are just hanging out to call existing clients rather than spend money to send out 10000 mailouts to the neighbourhood with little or no results.
 
I would talk to the management and ask that they don't contact you. On our client followup system we had a few clients whose numbers were marked in red stating not to contact them. Good luck.

#3116 of 3219 Re: Privacy Law Violations [boomchek] by houdini1

Feb 08, 2013 (1:13 pm)

Replying to: boomchek (Feb 08, 2013 1:03 pm)
Sounds like excellent advice from someone who was in the biz for many years.

#3117 of 3219 Re: Privacy Law Violations [wsb2] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Feb 08, 2013 (1:38 pm)

Replying to: wsb2 (Feb 08, 2013 8:38 am)
Also sounds like fairly clunky management. If a person works 25 days a week, that's 28 phone calls a DAY--at 10 minutes per, average, that's over 4.5 hours a day sitting on your butt rather than addressing people who come into the showroom, learning product, and enjoying your work well enough to want to come back next week.
 
This is my idea of "micro-managing", which, in my opinion, builds an unimaginative, paranoid and dispirited sales force.

#3118 of 3219 Re: Privacy Law Violations [Mr_Shiftright] by boomchek

Feb 08, 2013 (2:09 pm)

Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Feb 08, 2013 1:38 pm)
Usually phone calls last 1-2 minutes as people don't pick up or tell you they're not interested, or 5 minutes tops just to set an appointment and get the customer to come in.
 
There is a lot of downtime at this time of the year in the showrooms. The last place I was at, you'd be lucky if in a 6 hour shift you talked to more than one customer.

#3119 of 3219 Re: Privacy Law Violations [boomchek] by wsb2

Feb 08, 2013 (2:14 pm)

Replying to: boomchek (Feb 08, 2013 2:09 pm)
I have a 2008 A4. I service there. Four people called me in two weeks!

#3120 of 3219 Re: Privacy Law Violations [wsb2] by boomchek

Feb 08, 2013 (2:26 pm)

Replying to: wsb2 (Feb 08, 2013 2:14 pm)
One dealer I used to work at where I bought a car for myself, still calls me. It's usually new sales guys who don't know I worked there that start the pitch right away until I interrupt them.
 
The managers don't look at lists, they just print them off and divide them up between sales guys.

#3121 of 3219 Re: Privacy Law Violations [boomchek] by isellhondas

Feb 08, 2013 (3:08 pm)

Replying to: boomchek (Feb 08, 2013 2:26 pm)
The store I worked at required that we make "old owner" calls every six months for I think, the first two years after the sale.
 
I used to hope I got an answering machine.
 
Some wer happy to hear from me, others seemed to just wonder why I would call and a few (very few) seemed annoyed.
 
The idea was to keep our name in front of them. It was probably better than doing nothing but not much better.
 
I have heard that some stores have managers tear pages out of a phone book and make their salespeople cold call people. I couldn't/wouldn't do that.
 
A lot of stores treat their salespeople like little kids or like garbage. One local Ford store makes their salespeople stand outside in a row calling "Up's" as cars drive into the lot. If it's a bad " up" like someone picking up parts or selling something, that salesperson go's to the end of the line.
 
A lot of stores turn their staff over every six months. They don't care.
 
Then there are the stores where the "managers" sit in a "tower" on the showroom floor and watch everything like a strict teacher.
 
Horrible!

Messages Page 313 of 323

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