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My Experience Shopping Online

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craigh

craigh

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May 19, 2011
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Craig
#1
I meant to make a journal of this as I went, but then I forgot.
For the first time ever I am in the market for a car and am considering a dealership purchase.

I'm looking at a Subaru and have been looking at Subaru dealers as well as non-Subaru dealers for a specific model.
I have submitted 1 lead on AutoTrader, but I submitted the rest directly on the dealership website.

I don't know what I expected, but what I got was terrible.
I submitted 6 leads to dealerships and have so far received 2 responses.
None of my leads were, "Give me the lowest price" related or "Can it go fast" or anything else - I asked genuine, educated questions.

1. I found a vehicle matching my needs at a Honda dealership, but it listed it as a 6-speed transmission. Since it's possible to switch the 5 for a 6, I decided to inquire if this was the case.

Response:
Good Afternoon Craig,

I noticed that you showed some interest in a few cars on our website recently. I would love to help you out further with your inquiries; However if you could provide me with further contact information that would be very much appreciated and aid in speeding along the process of answering any questions you may have. You can also contact me at the phone numbers below. Thanks very much and have a great day!

Thoughts: While this may be a professional response, it's not only untrue (I only looked at one car), but they didn't answer the one yes or no question that I proposed. If I submitted an email lead, do you really think I wanted to talk on the phone?

2. I found another matching vehicle at another Honda dealership. I noticed it had an intake installed, which usually means the car has had it's ECU flashed. When buying a car with the ECU flashed, one of two things happens:
a) They flashed it back to stock and it needs to be reflashed back to take advantage of the intake
b) They didn't flash it back to stock and I have no way of ever getting it back to stock without the original AccessPort
So, I ask if they know if the vehicle has been flashed back to stock or if it was ever flashed in the first place - did the previous owner mention anything?

Response: Good morning Craig,

Thank you very much for taking the time to email us at Windsor Honda. Would you be interested in purchasing this vehicle from us?

Thoughts: Seriously? I ask one question and you email me back without an answer, asking me if I want to purchase the vehicle. Why would I ask such an educated question if I wasn't interested?

3. The other 4 leads were all submitted to Subaru stores and I have received no responses, but the vehicles are still online. Maybe they don't have internet in their stores and only make it to the public library once a month to check their emails.

I don't mean to be really hard on these dealers (or do I?) but what is this?


 
#6
Your not being to hard at all. In my opinion this all starts at the top. If the Dealers, GM's, etc. do not believe in the Internet and what it can do for the dealership then more than likely they won't have much of an Internet department. Then there are those who have been hearing that the Internet is where it all is, but they don't have staff that is knowledgeable enough to answer correctly. If an dealers or Gm's are reading this then my advice to you is pay your Internet Director / Internet Manager. Pay them good and hold them accountable for the results. The investment will be well worth it in the long run.

Maybe this will get someone a raise...
 
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#7
Chris,

I can understand sales people being handed an email print out and being asked to follow up. They're not good at it, so their success rate is 5%. Now they're getting their spirits down and they start following up with, "You want buy 2day?" because it no longer matters to them.

What I don't understand is when I ask a dealership a simple question like, "Is this the 265 Premium model? I don't see it listed." and getting no response.
 
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#10
I'm falling back to some of the same taglines that I wrote here years ago. Who you work with matters more to CX than anything else in the transaction. This is a people business Craig, you are experiencing it for the first time as a "regular person."

The systems that were built to stop the clock on an internet lead need revising when you stop the clock by adding friction. Let's be honest for a minute, a lot of what vendors are selling to dealers sounds good, but it does more harm than good for a "regular person" just trying to get some questions answered to reduce their consideration set. Not only did you not get your questions answered, you're about to not get them answered every 24 hours in a perpetual automated "follow up." Hope you used a burner email address. ;)

What is the solution? I've really enjoyed watching my friend Mike Davenport's success over the last several years. He does a lot of things differently than others in our industry, but one of the main things is that he treats the business like HIS business. Mike acts more like a real estate agent. the dealer is the brokerage house. He does this with the utmost respect for his employer which is admirable and as it should be, but he owns his business. He invests his time, energy and financial resources in building his own brand and features his product knowledge as a key differentiation and unique value proposition for his customers.

You are an educated buyer with a well-defined target vehicle. You should be able to seek out a specialist in your market area in the same way that you would seek out a real-estate agent that lived in the community and could advise you on schools, churches, kids sports teams and property taxes.
 
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