I used to have a problem saying this, but I work in the retail/wholesale industry. I've done it for 20 years now, mainly because I didn't see any sense in changing jobs or going to school to learn a new trade just to start at the bottom again. I take my work seriously and my skills have developed to the point that should I choose to go to another retailer I would gather a comparable pay rate to what I make now (if other retailers paid what mine does). I wake up most days and just say "how did I get so lucky to work where I do?"
My job for the most part is 1 part babysitting, 1 part management, and another part conflict resolution. I have a reputation at work that I will shoot straight with people and after they talk to me they know where they stand, that I am willing to see the other side of the issue, and come up with a win-win situation for all parties. My management is happy with the job I do, mainly I feel this way because I keep getting new responsibility. If my job was compared to the military I would probably be special ops for the sake that I work on having a force multiplying effect in my job. I utilize my resources and assets to get my job done.
With this being said, one car dealership in this town decided to try their skills versus my skills. [Shaking head]["What are they thinking?"]
Settle in with your popcorn, blanky and drink, here is where our story begins...
Two years ago, I decided I wanted a new car for a Father's Day gift to myself. Ok, the passenger side window of the mini van we owned was being held up with a 2x4. You don't know how many days I prayed my car would be protected against termites. I digress though, so I go online to my company's auto buying program and get the name of a dealership that was selling the car that I was looking for. I was forwarded to Dealership X Kia. [Later in this post you will realize why I am hiding the identity of this dealership.] Now at the same time I had Dealership Y vying for my business also, blowing up my e-mail. I went down to Dealership X Kia and they offered a good deal, I felt comfortable with it, so I went with it. Yes, it was an hour out of my way to get there. Yes, it was a one stop shop. Most of all I felt comfortable with the salesman. Now when I getting ready to get in my new pride and joy I was told that if I referred someone there they would make a car payment up to $500 for me, upon completion of the sale.
Let us now fast forward 18 months. Friends of Sexy Bride need new car. Their car was drive able, but expected any moment that they would have to put their Flintstone feet through the floor board to get the car moving. So we call Dealership X Kia to talk to our salesman only to find out that he went to Dealership X's Hyundai side. Ok, no problem, we figured that he could get the sale, we would get the referral, all is well. He works the magic to get them in a new Hyundai, down payment held for a few days until payday, we should have a check 7 to 10 days later. He lets our friends know that if they referred someone that they would get a car payment made like we were getting.
First of year: We call to be told that since the check was held they had to wait longer to make sure that it cleared. We were still on track for the payment as soon as we get over this hurdle.
January 7: Check is cleared and the check actually comes from Kia so we are now just waiting for that. Give it just a few more days. The Hyundai guys are trying to bump it down lower, but he is fighting for us. What?!?!?!? First we hear of this.
January 14: I'm eyebrow deep in inventory. Sexy Bride calls salesman told that check was lost. Was getting a new one issued would be there in a few days. [I'm starting to see a pattern]
January 21: Don't understand why the check hasn't gotten there, he's getting the General Manager involved to take care of it.
January 23: Checked mail. No check.
January 26, 27, 28: No Check. Escalate to General Manager. He states that he personally took that to Accounting. They should have taken care of the check. Call Accounting, person who answered the phone is hacked, because she is the one that issued the check.
January 29: Called Dealership X Hyundai to see if the check is waiting. Apparently it has been sitting there for a few days now. What?!?!?!?!?!? We get transferred from the receptionist to the Salesman. He says that he's really sorry, he's trying to get us $500, but we only get $100. He would make up the difference, but he was a little short right now. I'm stunned, silent, turning red on the phone. I'm on my way to the dealership to get what little I would be getting. He calls back and talks to Sexy Bride, and with all things considered he should have probably got me again, I was still in shock. I can sum up that conversation here: You lied, you knew, you told us anyway, you told our friends, quit giving excuses, this isn't over. You [Explitive] !
Meanwhile I'm at the dealership picking up the check. I get the check, ask if this is it. I'm told yeah, that's all it is. I pick up my phone and call the General Manager. I'm told that the bottom line is that's all I get. I tell him I'm sorry to hear that. Little does he know, he just fired the shot across the bow.
"Do you know what you're getting into? If they pull a knife, you pull a gun. If they send one of yours to the hospital, you send one of theirs to the morgue! That's the Chicago way."
––– The Untouchables
Most of my ride home involved me being quiet thinking about my next move. I call Sexy Bride and tell her to e-mail the local TV station regarding a "What's Bugging Me?" segment. I figure at this point the $400 is lost, I can exact $400 in lost sales and bad press on these jerks in the process. Sexy Bride calls her friend to tell her that the person she was going to refer, don't do it. She replies with "if they did that to you they'll do it to me." Sexy Bride e-mails the local station, I then look for the Better Business Bureau site to lodge a complaint. Again, I have resigned myself to the loss of the $400 and don't plan on seeing it. However, if I'm not going to see it, it's worth "blowing the world up" sort to speak to make a point.
While I'm on the BBB website, I discover a nugget of pure gold. One simple e-mail address: [name removed]@[Dealershipgroup].com. I figure that this guy who many said was untouchable would like to see the carnage that was coming his way. So I sent him the following e-mail.
I wanted to give you a chance to read the news idea that was sent to Fox 4 News regarding the our recent experience with your referral program. We have called on many occasions to talk to you personally, but have been brushed off equal amount of times. We have been told that you are unreachable, but yet when I looked on the BBB site to see if any other complaints have been lodged regarding the same thing I found your e-mail address and decided to forward this to you. Ideally we are just looking for what we were told when we purchased our vehicle from your dealership and if there was really an issue regarding Kia and Hyundai it should have been communicated to us when we called the salesman in the first place. Ideally also we would like to receive the common courtesy of when we leave a message, or are told that we would be called back the next day that we would not have to initiate the call the next day. Needless to say when it comes time to upgrade my vehicle in the future this will be a deciding factor. The people that we referred are also highly interested in the outcome of this as they were almost on the verge of referring someone they knew that was interested in buying a new car. In the current economic conditions where every sale and purchase is needed to maintain a business footing I find it interesting that your dealership would choose to potentially lose a new customer and two repeat customers and the circle of influence they represent over the additional $400. With four dealerships I commend you on having a "Big Picture" idea which is evident by the expansion that you have been able to build in the number of dealerships you have. Unfortunately, I do not believe that your subordinates do.
I appreciate your time, and hope that this actually does make its way to be viewed by you.
Terry
[My Phone Number]
Begin forwarded message:
From: Sexy Bride
Date: January 29, 2009 3:17:52 PM CST
To: [what'sbuggingmeguy]@localtv.com
Subject: What's bugging me.......
Referral programs from Dealership X's Dealer Group. We purchased a car from Dealership X's Kia dealership. We were told at that time, that if we referred a friend, and they purchased a vehicle, we would receive a referral for a car payment up to $500. Since our car payment was over $500, we were told it would be $500. We referred a friend to the same salesman who helped us. He, however, now worked at the Dealership X's Hyundai dealership (also owned by [Name Removed]). When I contacted the salesman to tell him I was sending a friend, I was again told of the $500 referral fee I would receive. After 1 month (was only supposed to be 7-10 days), I finally got my check. FOR $100. Yes, that's correct, $100. After calling for weeks, being jerked around, lied to, and the worst customer service EVER, I was robbed of $400. I was told then that it was because I had bought a Kia, and they a Hyundai. But, that was not what I was told all along. If [Name Revoved] owns them all, and all state the same referral program, what difference should that make. I spoke with the general manager of the Hyundai dealership, and basically was brushed off. I asked to speak with [Name Removed], and was told he was unreachable. I find it hard to believe that NO ONE can get ahold of him when he is out. Any help you can give, will be appreciated. I'm not asking for much, just some common courtesy, and the other $400 I was promised.
Thank You,
Sexy Bride
[Her Phone Number]
So here is where we stood as of 6pm yesterday... $100, not $500. No return phone calls, I was told the bottom line was I got $100 (basically told "deal with it" in not those words), an e-mail to the "General Manager" of the Group, an e-mail to the local TV station, a complaint lodged with the Better Business Bureau, a head cold (I feel like crap), a massive case of insomnia, one person contacted that was going to buy a $28,000 SUV from them that has now changed their mind due to this story, the first shot of what I felt was going to be a very long and drawn out conflict, and my return barrage of fire back to show that if they want a "blow the world up scenario" [Note: I use the term figuratively, not literally. It is just the level at which I pick my battles] in their world, they have one. It's the German in me.
This Morning... I wake up after about 5 hours of sleep when I finally got relaxed enough to sleep. I'm still feeling congested and miserable so I go to the bathroom to just soak in a hot tub of water and plan to try to replace some of the day that I lost the previous day launching Bad Public Relations Operations against the car dealership. I'm soaking there for a little while as munchkin is leaving to get Fruit Loops, and Sexy Bride is cruising around her Facebook page. She is probably gone for about 10 minutes when she walks in and tells me "Guess who I just talked to?" I'm like "who?" I'm not really in the mood for guessing games this morning as I feel absolutely miserable.
Apparently the guy that I e-mailed called back and talked to Sexy Bride. Probably a good thing, because in the mood I was in this morning I would have probably told him I had just launched major combat against his dealership and I would see him in hell. Ahhh Sexy Bride you are the Yin to my Yang. She talks to him in firm terms so that he understood that the ball was in his court on how far he wanted this to go. He did some very common-sense things like admitting wrong, listening to what was going on, suggesting that there were issues that needed to be fixed, his busy schedule was no excuse to not take care of customers. I give him an A+ for handling the situation, but considering that was only 50% of his grade, would he pass the final? He then stated that he would get the check for the remaining $400 ready, he would sign it, in another hour another person who could sign the 2nd signature would sign it and it would be ready no later than lunch time. We leave the neighborhood at 11am after Sexy Bride calls to see if it is ready and you would have thought that we were the 1st customer they had after opening the doors. We make it there 45 minutes later, I go in and pick up the check from no other than the guy that told me 'here's your $100 deal with it' (paraphrase for intention) and he's apologizing. I told him "Now, we are good."
Yes, I left it at four words. The last words he heard from me before today was "I'm sorry to hear that". I am hoping that he realizes that I can be a person of few words (hard to tell here! tee hee hee), but actions that create consequences for not doing what you say you will do. I could have launched into "I was going to see this dealership crumble", or "We're not done until I have your job", "Kiss my [imagine what], because look at how much money I cost you!" At that moment I thought about my job and how I would want to be treated if I was in Dude's shoes at that moment. This is the reason that through out this post I have removed names of people, dealerships, and news people. At 9:30am the war ended, not with media attention, not with graveling and screaming, but with one man saying–– "I'm sorry, we'll fix this." That was all I wanted, what they said they would do in a timely manner, and a little courtesy. So therefore when I say "Now, we're good." that means we're good. There is no need to drag it out. Just to say for a brief moment this morning Sexy Bride and I hugged each other and said for all the little people out there that feel "Big" Business has a one up on you, "We won for you too."
More later,
T
[Post Script: I read the following post, as I usually do before I post things, and realized an important point that I missed. The point that I missed would be that the Owner's vision of his business is sometimes diluted by well-intentioned employees that do not realize the same vision, the same big picture that the Owner does. They feel that in these uncertain economic times they need to help the company keep all the money that it can, sometimes at the sake of customer service. I believe that that point has been communicated by this Owner now. I hope that my trust in him by helping us today is not misplaced, but an epiphany to the employees that his business is entrusted to in his absence. I realize in my own world that a multi-billion dollar company is in the hands, sometimes, of a college student, an person in their early 20's, someone who feels that they are saving the company so much money, but not realizing the word of mouth and growth of future sales by that person. I hope that we all have learned a lesson from this.]
